I’m not a big fan of webmail. I have far too many accounts scattered across Gmail, Hotmail, Live Mail, Yahoo, and my POP3 mail. It’s REALLY onerous to log in to all these places to check my mail! :-p So I’m a big fan of desktop email clients. I’ve tried them all! Eudora, Thunderbird, Windows Mail, Outlook, Windows Live Mail, and a ton I don’t remember their names to. I liked Outlook, but after I upgraded my computer it wouldn’t run the old version I had (2000), and I wasn’t willing to shell out the big bucks for Microsoft Office. So I’ve reverted to Windows Mail, which is “ok.”
But I found another email client recently, a big one. Zimbra. It’s open source, so it’s free. And the program is HUGE. Not the file size, but what is has to offer. It’s a lot like Outlook– it has a built-in calendar, address/contacts section, etc. The calendar is very, very nice.
Now be aware that there are many “versions” of Zimbra, including a few beefed-up versions that you pay for. I just LOVE their synchronization suite (I have multiple computers and check my email on them all), but it’s a premium service and a little too pricey for my tastes. But it’s a very sleek email client, and the Zimbra Desktop is free! Can’t beat that!
If you use Twitter and Microsoft Outlook, you may be interested in this small software program: Twinbox. It allows Outlook users to monitor Twitter communications.
If you are a Microsoft ® Outlook user, you probably have it open all the time. Now you can have a fully-featured, powerful Twitter client at your fingertips without having to open any other applications. TwInbox seamlessly integrates Twitter into Outlook. It is a perfect Twitter client for any Outlook user, from a Twitter newbie to a business professional.
I like such software that merges functions, because I dislike clutter in my tasktray/browser/desktop. So I post it here, hoping that some of you my readers may find it useful. Personally, I do not “Twitter.” I have too much on my plate, as it is. And honestly, I have no desire to read every little mindless snippet that pop into people’s heads! And I have no desire to publish mine, either! So I have about as much use for Twitter as I do the latest diet pill… With that said, I am a little surprised that business people have latched on to Twitter. I suppose Twitter could have some functionality in this way, even if Twitter is used mostly as a promotional tool (that’s all I have seen, anyway).
When I first heard of Twitter, I actually thought it was a fad and would be history in a matter of months (like SezWho); so I’m surprised Twitter still survives.
I happened upon an interesting post by Staci at Just Bloggled, when she was confronted with a nasty surprise image after opening an email. Staci assumed the email was from a legitimate source, opened it, and got quite a shock. She was very glad the kids weren’t around at the time, either.
I’m going to do a little technology preaching here: never open email with attachments and never open any email unless you are 100% sure you know who it is from. In Staci’s case, she assumed her email came from a friend, so she opened it. When you encounter a large attachment in an email, you can, just to be sure, send an email to the presumed sender, asking them if they did indeed send an email with a photo attached. When it comes to computers, don’t live dangerously!
I’m going to give you a few tips about preventing those “surprises” when you do open the email. For the sake of brevity, I’m going to assume the email client is Outlook Express, Windows Mail or Live Mail. Depending on your version, the settings may vary. You may have to hunt around a little, but the basic idea is you want to block images in mail.
1. Block images from loading in your emails until you allow them.
Select Tools >> Options from the menu.
Go to the Security tab.
Make sure Block images and other external content in HTML e-mail is checked.
Click OK.
The image below is what you will see whenever you open an email. All HTML images are now blocked, as evidenced by the red Xs. The text of the email is still very visible and readable, so you can read the content of the email without the pictures. But you can still choose to view them for this email. Just click on the bar that says “Some pictures have been blocked to help prevent the sender from identifying your computer. Click here to download pictures.”
The email will load and the pictures will now be visible.
2. View message in raw text format.
I did a quick video to show how to do this. This enables you to look at the raw data behind the email, bypassing the images altogether. Most of what you will see is in HTML coding (and therefore, gobbledegook), but you can make out the test message in the email if you look for it, and you can also see whether an attachment is an image or not. I find this technique useful when looking for IP headers, to see where the email is originating.
These few steps should eliminate most of the unpleasant surprises you’d encounter by opening up a simple email.
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