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EMAIL
Electronic Mail; messages that
are sent from one computer to another.
More Detailed Definition:
Short for electronic mail, the
transmission of messages over communications networks. The
messages can be notes entered from the keyboard or electronic
files stored on disk. Most mainframes, minicomputers, and computer
networks have an e-mail system. Some electronic-mail systems are
confined to a single computer system or network, but others have
gateways to other computer systems, enabling users to send
electronic mail anywhere in the world. Companies that are fully
computerized make extensive use of e-mail because it is fast,
flexible, and reliable.
Most e-mail systems include a rudimentary text editor for
composing messages, but many allow you to edit your messages using
any editor you want. You then send the message to the recipient by
specifying the recipient's address. You can also send the same
message to several users at once. This is called broadcasting.
Sent messages are stored in electronic mailboxes until the
recipient fetches them. To see if you have any mail, you may have
to check your electronic mailbox periodically, although many
systems alert you when mail is received. After reading your mail,
you can store it in a text file, forward it to other users, or
delete it. Copies of memos can be printed out on a printer if you
want a paper copy.
All online services and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer
e-mail, and most also support gateways so that you can exchange
mail with users of other systems. Usually, it takes only a few
seconds or minutes for mail to arrive at its destination. This is
a particularly effective way to communicate with a group because
you can broadcast a message or document to everyone in the group
at once.
Although different e-mail systems use different formats, there are
some emerging standards that are making it possible for users on
all systems to exchange messages. In the PC world, an important
e-mail standard is MAPI. The CCITT standards organization has
developed the X.400 standard, which attempts to provide a
universal way of addressing messages. To date, though, the de
facto addressing standard is the one used by the Internet system
because almost all e-mail systems have an Internet gateway.
Another common spelling for e-mail is email.
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