| To send e-mail, you need to connect to the | | | | up and sends you a failure notification. |
| Internet and an e-mail application, such as | | | | |
| Microsoft Outlook Express or Eudora. The | | | | When the e-mail is received at the |
| e-mail application connects to your mail | | | | destination mail server, it is stored until |
| server that can forward your mail. The | | | | it is retrieved by the addressee. To retrieve |
| standard protocol used for sending Internet | | | | your e-mails, your e-mail client (such as |
| e-mail is called SMTP, an acronym for Simple | | | | Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express) |
| Mail Transfer Protocol. It works in | | | | connects to the POP3 or IMAP server and |
| conjunction with a POP3 (Post Office | | | | issues a series of commands to download |
| Protocol) server or an IMAP (Internet Mail | | | | copies of your e-mail messages to your |
| Access Protocol) server, which are used to | | | | computer. |
| receive e-mails. | | | | |
| | | | E-mails can be sent anywhere in the world to |
| When you send an e-mail message, your | | | | anyone who has an e-mail address. Almost all |
| computer transmits it to an SMTP server using | | | | Internet service providers (ISPs) offer an |
| the Internet. The server looks at the e-mail | | | | e-mail address with every account. |
| address (like the address on an envelope), | | | | |
| then forwards on it to the recipient's mail | | | | Initially, when e-mail technology was |
| server using an application called Sendmail. | | | | introduced, only short messages could be |
| If for some reason, the recipient?s e-mail | | | | sent. Attachments such as formatted |
| server is inaccessible, Sendmail periodically | | | | documents, photographs etc could not be sent. |
| re-tries to send the e-mail. If after 4 hours | | | | With the introduction of Multipurpose |
| the e-mail has not been delivered, you | | | | Internet Mail Extension (MIME) and other |
| receive a notification informing you about | | | | encoding techniques, it has become possible |
| the problem. If the e-mail cannot be | | | | to send almost any kind of attachments. |
| delivered even after 5 days, Sendmail gives | | | | |