Email (Electronic Mail)

Email:

Electronic Mail is sending and receiving messages by a computer on the Internet. Emails have become an indispensable part of communication. The messages are sent electronically. With the inception of this tool, sending of messages has become fast virtually instantaneously. Email messages are generally sent from and received by mail servers- computers that are dedicated to processing and directing email. Once a server has received a message it directs it to the specific computer that the mail is addressed to.

Advantages of Email:

Email is changing the way the world thinks about exchanging information. It has invaded every area of computing and has revolutionized science and business. Scientists across the world are sharing information through emails; there are cases where scientists working on the same project never meet, they do all their work through emails. Business travelers using laptops can communicate with others without annoying “phone-tag” sessions. This popularity of email is all because of its advantages which are given below-

• No cost- The cost of communicating with others has nothing to do with the distance or the size of the message.
• Emails are Noiseless- Unlike the telephone or the fax, it does not ring in between important meetings or in the middle of the night. Email can be checked and replied to at one’s convenience.
• High Speed- Electronic Mail can be sent very fast and almost instantaneously. Similarly, the message sent by the other can be received instantaneously by us.
• Easy to Use- It is easy to send an e-mail. Just we have to do is type the message and flash it with a click of the mouse. We don’t have to go to the post office for burying envelopes or postage stamps or other stationery. We do not have to write it on paper.
• Time-Saving- It saves a lot of time. We do not have to use carbon papers to write multiple copies of the letter. We can send multiple copies of the letter to the same recipient or various other recipients at the click of a mouse.
• Automated Text- It is possible to send automated emails with a certain text. In such a way it is possible to tell the sender that you are on vacation. These emails are called auto-responders.
• Versatility- It is a versatile mode of communication i.e. any form of data such as text, graphics, sound or video can be sent through emails.
• Environmentally friendly- Sending an email does not require paper (Paperless), cardboard, or packing tape i.e. conserving paper resources.
• Record Maintenance- Record maintenance of emails sent and received is also because all the messages are stored in the form of files on the computer.
• Message Storing- If for the reason, the recipient is away, the email message waits for him/her until he/she receives and reads the message.
• Advertisement- Products can be advertised with emails. Companies can reach a lot of people and inform them in a short time.

Limitations of Email:

Despite its several advantages, email suffers from the following limitations:

• Requires hardware devices, such as computers and printers, and a network connection to access and print email messages.
• As email is sent instantly, if you make any mistake, such as sending an email to the wrong recipient, it may be too late to do anything about it.
• Emails may carry viruses. These are small programs that harm your computer system. They can read out your email address book and send themselves to several people around the world.
• Many people send unwanted emails to others. These are called spam mails. It tasks a lot of time to filter out the unwanted emails from those that are really important.
• A slight error in the email address of the recipient is enough to prevent the delivery of the message and even when you do everything right, there is always the chance of failure in one of the links between you and your recipient.
• Emails are not checked regularly. As a result, sometimes the recipient may not read an important message in time.