Email Tasks (Part 3)

Benefits and Problems of Email (2):
Disadvantages:

• Users can accidentally send malware, and viruses if files are not scanned before they are sent/recieved.
• Emails can easily be hacked into.
• The inbox is subject to plenty of spam and junk mail which can "fill up" the Email memory.
• Emails can get caught up in internet "traffic" and can sometimes take more than a few minutes to arrive.
• Users have to have access to the internet.

(2) News Stories About Email Use:

• "NASA found a computer virus on a laptop aboard the International Space Station, which carries about 50 computers. Email continues to be one of the most common distribution methods for new viruses and other malware, underscoring the need for organizations to deploy anti-virus technology at the email gateway, email server and end-user desktop levels" (http://www.pclnews.com/)
• "In the US, an information technology worker inadvertently sent a routine e-mail intended for the payroll department to every inbox on the city's system. The e-mail had an attachment with the names, addresses, Social Security numbers and 401(k) account numbers of 1,974 city employees."(http://www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_News_Local_R_remail27.3e23640.html)

Bibliography:
http://www.pc1news.com/news/0316/proofpoint-s-report-top-10-email-incidents-in-2008.html
http://www.ehow.com/about_4740742_benefits-of-email.html
http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mail
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotmail

E-mail Tasks (Part 2 - Friday's Work)

The features of 2 Email Services (Part 2):

2. Hotmail

• In hotmail, users can chat to there friends on msn messenger right from their inbox. This allows users to share photos and messgages quicker than using e-mail, but, still from there inbox.
• If a hotmail user has another account (e.g. Gmail or Yahoo) they can synchronise there accounts into one inbox, rather than opening up several inboxes at once. This allows e-mails to be answered quickly and efficiently. However, hotmail doesnt provide such an efficient method of filtering junk mail, everything has to be set manually.
• Hotmail's spam filter is effective, and does remove a hefty amount of spam, however it is still being developed everyday and some spam does get through the filters.
• A new feature is that the user can edit microsoft office documents straight from the inbox, however the user must have microsoft office installed on their PC. This makes Email production easier however it can dramatically slow down the browser being used.

Microsoft Office Web Apps

• Users also have the opportunity to have a "Sky Drive". This is a useful online storage place which can be used for backing up files. The files are locked by the user and if they wish they can make the files public.
• Hotmail is part of the "Windows Live" network. This connects with features such as XBox 360, msn and windows live photo gallery. This is easier than logging into several accounts in different windows, therefore making it more efficient and making sharing even easier.
• Sweep is a feature that allows users to delete users to delete all messages from certain contacts, as well as deleting future messages. This saves time trawling through unwanted messages, however potentially important emails could be missed if a use is blocked.

Sweep feature

Benefits and Problems of Email (1):

Benefits

• 
  
  It is cheaper than sending a real letter (you do not need to pay for stamps).
• 
  
  Emails can be sent using SMS, this means that you do not even need to own a computer to send an email.
• 
  
  Users can attatch files and photos, saving having to transfer files manually from one computer to another.
• 
  
  It can be sent in bulk, to many people, at the same time.
• 
  
  E-mail has no time or place constrainsts, it can be sent anywhere at anytime.

E-mail Tasks (Part 1)

Definition of Email:
Email is a system that allows the sending and receiving messages electronically the internet. E-mail does not require the receiver of the message to be online at the time the message is sent or received; it can be read at a later time. With Email, the user can send the message to more than one person if they desire.

The features of 2 Email Services (Part 1):
1. Gmail

• Priority Inbox finds "important" or useful messages and arranges the inbox so that the most important messages appear first in line. This reduces the need to scroll through unwanted junk mail to find messages that are important to the user. The benefit of this is that it may help emails that require a deadline for a reply, arranging it before e-mail newsletters and promotional offers.

The Gmail layout, the emails with a star are important
and have been marked by the user to identify which
emails need to be replied. The priority inbox is in the left
hand menu and "important messages" are listed above.

• 
  
  If a message is important and you wish to reply it later, you can give it a "star", this means that you can easily identify which messages to reply the next time you log on.
• 
  
  Gmail also has a filter system so that you can set which contacts are more important. The system works by using history of which e-mails you open and reply regularly. Therefore the people that are most important to the user are prioritised. This makes the system more user-friendly, protecting  them from potential malware disguised spam as well as stopping the user from wasting there time trawling through unwanted messages.
• 
  
  If the system doesn't work, the user can manually choose that is important so that the system can learn and develop knowing which e-mails are important.
• 
  
  Unfortunately, for the system to work, the user must have an account for a lengthy period of time so that the gmail sytem can learn which e-mails are opened, deleted and replied.
• 
  
  Gmail also has the "buzz" feature which is Google's own social networking site which opens up on Gmail. Users can share photos with friends, family and the world. They can also connect it to twitter if they desire. The concept is very clever and it is useful for friends and family (epecially if they live far away). However buzz is controversially "too public" and it publicly posts where (up to street name detail) the post was created, this is obviously personal information that theives can use.

Google Buzz Icon