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An email client is a program on your computer that can download email from an account, allowing the user to read, send and store emails. While some email service providers offer a web-based email program, as we do at www.onyourmark.com/email, an email client usually offers more robust features for email management. Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, Calypso, Courier and Thunderbird are some of the most popular email clients on the market today. In this edition of Ask the Pro, we’ll look at the pros and cons of these email clients.

Outlook/Outlook Express- www.microsoft.com/outlook

Microsoft’s email clients, Outlook and Outlook Express, are included with all Windows installs. Outlook Express is a basic email client. The full version of Outlook includes the Outlook Express email client, along with contact management and calendar tools. Outlook interfaces with many applications, including advanced contact management software like ACT!. It also supports SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), the most popular protocol for transferring email on the Internet.

Outlook is often affected by many security flaws. Because Outlook is such a popular email program, many viruses are created to tamper with Outlook. Outlook does not have the ability to turn off HTML email, a format often used by spammers and hackers to transport malicious content. The user interface and email setup procedures change with every version, making upgrades to new versions more time consuming. These constant changes force tech support personnel to learn and troubleshoot many different versions of the same program. Outlook also causes problems for Systems Administrators when email backups are needed.

Eudora - www.eudora.com

Named after Eudora Welty, author of “Why I Live at the P.O.,” the Eudora email client has been available since 1990. It is available for download on the Eudora website. The “Light” mode of Eudora is the most basic version and includes the least amount of features. An upgrade to the “Sponsored” mode features ads but includes most features of the “Paid” mode. For $49.95, the “Paid” version includes spam filtering, tech support and 12 months of upgrades.

Eudora is a very stable and versatile email client. Backups and upgrades are easy to implement. The built-in spam filtering and the ability to turn off HTML viewing offer additional protection against virus invasion. Eudora allows users to enable personal filters, and also color-codes messages to make them easy to find. However, Eudora’s interface may be a bit confusing at first if a user is more familiar with Outlook.

Calypso- www.rosecitysoftware.com/calypso
Courier- www.rosecitysoftware.com/courier

Calypso is a free email client; Courier is the upgraded, paid version available for $29.95. Calypso/Courier mailboxes are contained in one file, making backups simple. Calypso/Courier offers a neat “locking” feature. Users can leave their email program running on their computer and “lock” the program with a password. If another user sits down at the computer, they cannot open the email program without knowing the password. The Calypso/Courier interface is very similar to Eudora.

The distinguishing “locking” feature of Calypso/Courier can also be it’s biggest drawback. If you forget the password to unlock your mailbox, getting back in to your email is an ordeal. You may have to create an entirely new mailbox from backups! The free version, Calypso, does not support SMTP authentication.

Thunderbird- www.mozilla.org/thunderbird

Thunderbird is a relatively new email client from the Mozilla Foundation. The Mozilla Foundation is a network of developers that create open source software. All Mozilla products are available for free download. If inclined, users can choose to donate to the foundation financially or with programming contributions.

Thunderbird features a very simple user interface, which may attract Outlook users. The spam filtering within Thunderbird allows users to “train” the program to know which emails are spam and which are not. Users can view “threads” of messages, helpful when tracking the responses on a long string of emails. Thunderbird also offers extensions, or small add-ons, that enhance the client’s features.

One con with open source software is that end-user documentation is not always comprehensive. Because the developers working on Thunderbird are volunteers, upgrades and new features may lag. Thunderbird can import email from most email clients, but cannot import Calypso email boxes.

With all the email clients available today, you no longer need to use the client bundled with your operating system. Most email clients support imports of messages from others, so changing programs is usually an option. Don’t feel that you must use Outlook because it came with Windows. Many of the new email programs have been developed specifically to include features that Outlook does not. Some contact management tools, such as ACT! and NetSuite include built-in email clients. Experiment to see which email client is best for you!

Links Mentioned in this Article:

- www.onyourmark.com/email
- www.act.com
- www.microsoft.com/outlook
- www.eudora.com
- www.rosecitysoftware.com/calypso
- www.rosecitysoftware.com/courier
- www.mozilla.org/thunderbird
- www.mozilla.org
- www.netsuite.com

What would you like to ask the pro? Email your questions to askthepro@OnYourMark.com!

This month

This month’s pro discusses the pros and cons of laptop and desktop computer.

As wireless technology becomes more widespread and business becomes increasingly mobile, many businesspeople find themselves wondering if it might be time to drop the short leash that is their desktop PC. In this month

This month’s pro discusses how to use the Internet for travel planning.Planning a trip today is easier than ever. With access to the Internet, you can plan a trip around the world in 30 days… the planning takes just hours. Granted, you would be quite exhausted, have spent quite a bit of money, spent most of your time at the airport and probably not seen too much in the process, but it is now possible! Here are a few helpful steps you should take when planning a trip online.

Decide where you want to go:
The first thing you need to do is decide where you want to go. The world is a very large place, and you can go just about anywhere you heart desires. There is no time like the present. Travel agency websites such as Travelocity and Expedia are good staring points in helping you choose a destination.

Searching through Google, as well as other search engines and online forums, can provide you with limitless information on places you can go, and things to do while you’re there.

Verify your travel documents:
It is very important to make sure that all your travel documents are in order if you are traveling out of the country. Passports are almost always required for entry and exit from each country, and in some instances, vaccinations are needed. The U.S. Department of State website offers scores of information on passports.

No airline, hotel, or tour company will refund your money if you don’t do your homework. More important, if you leave the country without the correct documents, you may not be able to get back in, particularly if you aren’t a U.S. citizen.

When traveling abroad always verify whether or not you need a visa or a passport, and don’t rely solely on a travel guide or a magazine article for information. The requirements can change at the drop of a hat. Always double-check your passport if you are traveling abroad to make sure it expires at least 6 months after you return; this will meet the guidelines of the more stringent countries.

Create your own guidebook:
Now that you have decided where you want to go, and verified your travel documents, it is a good time to create our own guidebook.

The Internet is a limitless resource and all that information is at your fingertips. There are several well-established guidebook companies with websites. Some of the most notable are Lonely Planet, Fodor’s, and Rough Guides. With these sites, you can find information about your destination, and compile a list of places and things you would like to see.

A few of the helpful tidbits these guides and travel magazines can help you learn when you are creating your guidebook are:

• Traveler facts
• When to go, including weather stats
• Events
• Money & costs
• Attractions
• Things you can see “off the beaten track”
• Activities
• History
• Culture
• Environment
• How to get there… and away
• How to get around

These sites also provide additional resources to help you learn about your travel destination.

If you are taking a road trip through the USA and looking for bizarre roadside attractions, a visit to Roadside America will help you find attractions like the Worlds Largest Replica Cheese, in Neillsville, Wisconsin, or Dinosaur Park, in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Make your reservations:
After choosing your destination, you need to get there. You can use the Internet to examine airline fares and schedules through an online travel agency. There are several online travel agencies on the web such as Travelocity, Priceline, Hotwire, Expedia, and Apple Vacations.

These online travel agencies will provide you with prices, schedules, as well as options to purchase plane tickets. Hotel rooms and rental vehicles are among other features these sites offer.

Most online travel agencies compare prices from several vendors and sites to provide you with the lowest rates possible. Often rates posted on the web are discounted more than booking directly through the airline, hotel or vehicle rental agency itself. This type of information was once only available to travel professionals. Only recently has it been made available to the public through the Internet.

Sometimes it is best to contact the airline, hotel or vehicle rental company directly. This would especially be advised if you have frequent flier miles, discounts, coupons or special arrangements with one of the companies through an employer.

In the end, it all comes down to you. Where you want to go, what you want to do, how much are you willing to spend and how much time you have are all questions that you need to ask yourself!.

Links Mentioned in this Article:

- travelocity.com
- expedia.com
- google.com
- travel.state.gov/passport/index.html
- lonelyplanet.com
- fodors.com
- travel.roughguides.com
- roadsideamerica.com
- roadsideamerica.com/map/wi.html
- roadsideamerica.com/
attract/SDRAPdino.html
- priceline.com
- hotwire.com
- applevacations.com

What would you like to ask the pro? Email your questions to askthepro@OnYourMark.com!

This month

There are literally millions of games on the internet, with skill levels ranging from beginner through expert, and themes to fit all tastes, in single-player, two player, and multiplayer setups. These games can be themed for preschoolers and school-age children to help improve reading and learning skills, or for older children (and adults) for trivia, fun, or just to waste time. There are games that can be played for free, games that require single purchases of software, and games that you subscribe to. All these games allow you to interact with, or compete against, others online.

Some of the most popular simple games, requiring no long-term committment on the part of the player, can be found at games.yahoo.com, zone.msn.com and similar sites. Popular games like MahJong, Sheepshead, Blackjack and Chess can be played against other users on these websites. We even offer a Wisconsin Games Page on our own theBubbler.com. These games can range in skill from very simplistic to insanely difficult, depending on the game, and usually require a reasonably up-to-date computer to run decently. These games can be played directly in your web browser, and are usually written in Macromedia Flash, Shockwave or Sun Java, and so usually require the most up-to-date versions of these free programs.

A few of the more obscure games, because of their relative simplicity, will be immediately recognizable by internet ‘old timers’. These are the text-based online games popularized in the 80’s by Bulletin Board Systems, or BBSes. These games include MUDs, MUCKs and ASCII games. Their popularity in this time of flashy games and high-quality sound are due to their extremely low system requirements. You can play them on ancient computers and still get the full effect, because, like a good book, most of the action happens in your own imagination.

MUDs, or Multi-User Dungeons, get their name from a popular game series called Dungeons and Dragons, where a series of players go on quests or campaigns to complete a goal or accumulate prizes. MUCKs, or Multi-User Chat Kingdoms, share the same look, but are a more relaxed environment. Instead of slaying monsters, you can kick back and roleplay with your friends. ASCII games are significantly different from both MUDs and MUCKS, in that the only form of competition is to see who can finish the game fastest, or get the most points.

There is a class of games called FPSes, or First-Person Shooters, though they don’t always involve shooting. This class of online games gets their name from the way the game is played: you are seeing the game in the first-person perspective, or through the character’s eyes. This category includes such classics as Unreal, CounterStrike and the new and very popular Second Life or Final Fantasy XI. These games, like their text-only counterparts, range in complexity, skill level and game goal, and almost always require a powerful computer to play due to the graphical detail.

You might consider online games to attract viewers and repeat viewers to your website, as we do on theBubbler.com. Surveys and contests like those on Sites4Brokers.com (courtesy of KnowYourBiz.com) encourage users to provide information, helping you learn more about your prospects and customers.

While there are many safe choices for online gaming, online betting and casino sites abound. Many of these sites have reputations for scamming users by not paying out promised winnings. Some of these sites exist only to steal credit card numbers. Use caution with any gaming website that asks for a credit card. Online gambling is also illegal in some states; be sure to check your state’s laws.

Links Mentioned in this Article:
- games.yahoo.com
- zone.msn.com
- theBubbler.com/games
- macromedia.com
- sdc.shockwave.com
- java.sun.com
- Unreal.com
- Counter-Strike.net
- SecondLife.com
- playonline.com/ff11us/index.shtml
- sites4brokers.com/epgabout.php

What would you like to ask the pro? Email your questions to askthepro@OnYourMark.com!

This month’s pro discusses “phishing,” a common email scam.”Phishing,” pronounced “fishing,” is the newest buzzword being used to describe a scam that is nearly as old as email itself. The con is simple but insidious - claim to be a legitimate authority in order to get someone to divulge privileged information that can then be used for identity theft. The simplicity of this attack is what makes it so effective. Phishers take advantage of a number of simple tricks that allow them access to your most sensitive information.

One of the most common tricks that phishers use is to take advantage of HTML email to trick their targets into visiting a web page designed to install spyware (see the July 2003 PromoSupport for more information on spyware) onto their target