Hotmail replacement?

[BKColeman]

Anyone know of a good, free web-based email service? Hotmail has gotten on my nerves for a while but now they are doing away with the POP mail retrieval option. That is the main reason I use it. I am a consultant so I'm usually on site, so I have it set to check my home email and my company email.

Anyone know of any alternatives that work any better?

--Brad

 

[Inspector507]

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.compuserve.com/gateway/webmail/default.asp>http://www.compuserve.com/gateway/webmail/default.asp</A>

 

[gws]

yahoo mail has pop mail retreival now

 

[Inspector507]

Yahoo will be discontinuing that feature soon.

 

[Gatorboy]

If you are interested in POP email, why are you concerned with it being Web-based?

 

[BKColeman]

<font color=blue>If you are interested in POP email, why are you concerned with it being Web-based? </font color=blue>

Because I don't want to have to setup 4 different pop accounts every time I go to a different client site. Plus some clients use odd email software. It is just much easier to manage them all through one web-based account.

--Brad

 

[gws]

Inspector, Where did you hear yahoo was getting rid of pop mail? I know they switched to pay service for the POP from yahoo email. But pop to yahoo keeps the people on their site.

 

[MikePA]

My personal ISP offers web based email retrieval which allows me to read my personal email wherever I have access to the Internet. Does your home email offer web based retrieval?

At work, I can set things up to auto-forward all emails sent to my work email address to my personal email address. So, there's no need to set up POP or email software. Please note: I do not auto forward my work email to my personal email since doing so would violate serveral workplace policies and compromise security. Something to consider, depending who your clients are.

 

[Inspector507]

Gary,
I may have been confusing "paying for it" versus them dropping it.

 

[BKColeman]

Mike,
I can access my home email through my ISPs page, and I can access my consulting company's email in a similar manner. But that takes too long to login and out of 4 separate accounts (1 at home for me, 1 for my wife, 2 at work for different reasons). I also usually have an email address at the client's site but, typically, I don't care to check it when I'm not there.

Right now I can go to Hotmail and click POP Mail and check all 4 at once. I do this 10 times a day probably, maybe more (on my way to check in on TBN /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif). Now they're moving that feature to the pay version only. I'm not opposed to paying for a good service, but Hotmail is so overloaded with spam, I don't think it is worth the money.

Plus, I was a member of Photopoint since the beginning. When they decide to switch to a pay site, I gladly ponied up the money. A few weeks later, they shut down without warning and without a refund. I had over 600 pictures up there; with untold number of hours spent arranging them into albums and adding captions and such. Now I'm a little shy of sites switching from free to pay.

I guess the days of cool free stuff on the Internet are almost gone.

--Brad

 

[MikePA]

Brad, now I understand.

 

[Gatorboy]

Using Outlook Express, you can check an unlimited number of POP accounts all at once, without the need for logging in/out of different accounts. If you are a computer consultant, I assume you are using your own laptop at each client site -- correct?

I guess I just don't see the problem.

 

[BKColeman]

You're right it isn't a big deal. But I don't use my own laptop. I always use the client's computers. So setting them up would be a pain every time I move.

--Brad

 

[BillG_in_TX]

Brad,

Just a question. If pop mail retrieval is such a great feature, why aren't you willing to pay for it? Everything in life isn't free.

By the way, I use Hotmail for popmail retrieval when I'm away from the office, and have for a long time. I think it's a great feature and have been surprised that they don't charge for it. They are going to charge $20 a year for their enhanced service which will include this feature. I'm trying to decide if it's worth it.

 

[Trev]

You might want to take a peek at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.operamail.com>http://www.operamail.com</A>

I love the Opera browser, so got myself an operamail account too. I don't use it much.. mostly as a throw-away account. You know, when some nosy company insists on you giving them an email address, you give them the throw-away address. When the spam gets overwhelming, you just abandon the account and create a new one.

Anyway, I believe Operamail lets you have POP mail retrieval.

HTH,
Bob

 

[BKColeman]

<font color=blue>If pop mail retrieval is such a great feature, why aren't you willing to pay for it? Everything in life isn't free.</font color=blue>

Bill did you read my reply above? I said I would gladly pay for it if the service was better. But I've not been too happy with Hotmail overall for some time. The amount of spam is unbearable, even though I add every address I can to their spam filter. Plus I was somewhat annoyed when they forced everyone to use Passport to login.

Also, the last time I paid for a site that had been free (photopoint), I got burned. So I'm not anxious to do it again.

I'm not cheap, I'd gladly pay for a good service. I just don't think Hotmail is it.

 

[BillG_in_TX]

Brad,

Sorry. I didn't read your second post before I replied./w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif For some reason I don't get much spam on Hotmail - it all comes to my POP accounts. But I don't like using the Hotmail interface to retrieve messages - too much advertising.

I'm going to check into the web based e-mail service that my isp (XO) provides as MikePA mentioned above. Since I'm already paying for that - I'll probably use it instead of paying another $20 for the Hotmail option. (of course, XO may not be long for this world, either)./w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif

 

[MikePA]

Of all the emails I send in a month, there are only 2 domains that ever get kicked back as undeliverable; .hotmail and .msn and I have to re-send.

It's not every email sent to these domains, but when it happens, it's hotmail and msn.

When people call me to assist with 'email problems' it's invariably hotmail and msn accounts.

I wouldn't pay for email accounts with either of them.

 

[Ozarker]

Zap Zone Network

www.zzn.com

Allows you to set up your own e-mail service so that you and all your friends can have an address with your private name. Allows POP for any and all of your users.

It can be whatever@coleman.zzn.com or whatever else you want it to be.

Or. if you don't want to go through the process of creating your own e-mail service, you can use one of mine.

MidMo

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://freedom-net.zzn.com/email/english/login/login.asp>Freedom-net</A>

Webmaster@OzarkMall.zzn.com
Ozarker@Ozarkmall.zzn.com