Communicating with email
[ 日本語 ]Email is your full-service, two-way communication tool on the Internet. From your own computer you can send and receive messages to and from any other Internet user around the world, including your friends, family, co-workers and business partners. You can send email to The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President Bill Clinton. Best of all, there is no additional charge whether the recipient is in Tokyo, Osaka, New York, Paris, Moscow or Tibet.
As a full-service tool, Internet email combines the speed of facsimile, the flexibility of regular mail and the power of a Local Area Network (LAN). You can send simple letters or you can send files that contain formatted text, data, sound an image or a mix of them all.
You can send a love letter across town as easily as you can send a detailed spreadsheet from your company's head office to a field office in South America -- and the recipient can use the data on his or her own computer. With one message, you can send your latest delivery requirements to all of your suppliers, or your customer in Chicago can order 1,000 more units of product X.
Universities and government organizations have been using Internet email to communicate for over 20 years; now individuals and both small and large businesses are beginning to tap the power and cost savings of Internet email.
Sounds pretty powerful, and it is. The ability to send an email message is so valuable you'll never want to write a letter on paper again. To start, you will need an Internet account and an email software program -- there are many available for downloading from the Internet. With these two tools you can begin using your own electronic post box address.
Next you'll need to know someone's email address. Just look at the last business card you received. Nowadays, chances are it will have an email address. If not, look around the Internet and you will find millions of email addresses that are just waiting to receive email.