Posts filed under 'Web'
Many different options are available to you, the email-user. To decide which option is best for you, the first thing you need to decide is how you are going to use your email. Let’s start by following questions:
- Do you have a computer? If YES, go to question 2. If NO, go to question 3.
- Do you only use email on that one computer? If YES, go to the POP3 section. If NO, go to question 3.
- Do you have access to an email client like Outlook to manage your email on the computers you use for email? If YES, goto IMAP section. If NO, go to Webmail section.
POP3
This is the way you’ve always done email. You open up an email client (like Outlook) and it downloads all of your email. Quick and easy, but if you need to reference an email when you’re at another computer, you can’t because it was downloaded to the first machine you used. If you open up your webmail (see below), none of your old messages will be there because you’ve downloaded them all.
IMAP
IMAP is great for people who want to have access to their email on several different computers and still use a client like Outlook. All messages are stored on the server permanently, but get synchronized every time you connect. If you want to use webmail, all your messages are still available because they’re always on the server. IMAP and webmail are a powerful and flexible combination.
Webmail
You can use Webmail along with any of the above options, or all by itself like you would use Hotmail or Yahoo!Mail. Webmail is a great option if you have an always-on connection to the Internet. However, if need to get to your email and you’re offline, you’re out of luck.
So now that you know a little about the different flavors of email, contact your Internet Service Provider to find out if they offer a package to meet your needs.
October 22nd, 2004
I read a recent study claiming that the costs of malware in the first quarter of 2004 have already exceeded the entire year of 2003. Malware hasn’t made it into Webster’s just yet, but it won’t take long. Malware is basically the category of malicious software: worms, viruses, spyware, adware, etc. — it is software gone bad.
The rise of viruses and worms has been well documented. Few computer users have been immune to the flood of these malicious bits of code, especially considering their rise in popularity and severity. Today’s viruses aren’t semi-funny hoaxes, they are just plain nasty.
Festinate reactions to ActiveX pop-ups can have very dangerous consequences. Malware authors know most users instinctively press the “Install” button by force of habit, and exploit that tendency to get their malware on to your machine. This particular subset of malware is typically called adware or spyware. This stuff is more annoying than destructive, but it can change your homepage, monitor your surfing habits, serve up ads endlessly, and redirect you to sites that you don’t want to go to.
So, how do you battle malware in your home or business? Here are a few tools that will help you get rid of malware on your machine. The first time you use these tools, you will be amazed at how much of this garbage has crept onto your computer.
Ad-aware Plus has a freeware version which will take care of just about everything.
Spybot – Search & Destroy is my personal favorite, but it is almost too thorough — just make sure not to remove any legitimate tools or you will have to reinstall them.
May 8th, 2004
As any small business owner can tell you, a website is a great way to communicate with customers, generate business, and pour money right down the drain.
For a small business, maintaining a website can be a chore — it can be someone’s full-time job. Most small business owners can’t afford to keep a webmaster on staff, but most would like to have a website that was current and offered customers access to relevant information.
Once a website is up and running, the dilemma is to outsource the management or to take care of it in house.
The outsourcing option is attractive because the website is in the hands of quote-unquote professionals. However, they often prove to be much more costly and much less helpful than first promised. Plus, their main objective is to make money, not to ensure that the website is aligned with the company strategy and contains latest information. Outsourcing that can create a disconnect between the business and the website — which end up negating any possible benefits that were first anticipated.
Given that hiring a webmaster is not in the budget, taking care of everything in-house (and by in-house I mean yourself) seems impossible. Small business owners have stiff necks from wearing so many hats, and acting as webmaster is just adding to the collection. Granted, not paying those quote-unquote professionals is nice [accountant hat] and having control [CEO hat] is even better, but what about the added time [accountant hat] that could be spent with kids [parent hat], the better half [spouse hat], or personal time [fantasy dreamer hat]?
With technology these days, it’s easy to publish content to a website — even for someone without a great deal of background in the web. WordPress is free software that can serve as the publishing interface for press releases, front pages, or anywhere else where content needs updating. With minimal setup and tech expertise, you can modify this service to join seamlessly your website’s look and feel.
The secret to success with this method is with the initial setup of the website. Combining technologies like cascading style sheets, scripting technology like ASP or PHP, and XHTML will create a small business website that is not only easy to use and update, but looks and functions like the websites of the big boys with huge budgets and dedicated webmasters. Some careful planning in the beginning will make it easier to reach customers with your website, generate business, and keep the money around instead of burning it.
February 28th, 2004
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