Controling Your Tech (Part 1)

Use a web based E-mail client

Many people don't even think twice about what email they use. It was of course the first thing someone offered them for free. This is usually AOL since it was so huge when people had dial-up, but in our city, Charter is the dominant beast. Now people are stuck using their AOL email address because they have since the start of the Internet (beginning of time). And also Charter forced people to use MS Outlook. This is a great program for people that only use one computer. However I use anywhere between 3-7 different computers a day (sometimes more). So it doesn't really make sense for my email to be tied down to one computer, does it.

I started off using AOL back when we had Dial-up. Oh those were the days, the first and only time I'll ever use chat rooms for anything. But quickly after that, Microsoft tricked me into signing up for Hotmail since it was part of their MSN messenger application (which really hasn't even been updated since then). I must admit, I still use my Hotmail account today. I use it for any junk site i have to put in a registration for. It works great as a spam box. But only a few years after I started using that... Google decided to launch their own amazing service, Gmail. They trumped the other dominant companies (yahoo and Hotmail) at the time by offering unlimited storage for free online mail.

I am still using Gmail right now (look I just got a message!) and I couldn't be happier with the service (except it needs a task list). I think at last count, i have 1 primary Gmail account and 20 other Gmail accounts that support it in a variety of secret ways. But hands down, being able to check my email from no matter what computer I'm on ( or my iPhone) is the best means of accessibility for me.

I started using Outlook when I started working at a corporation. I only have one computer at this company and I only check my email when I am at work. I suppose they are supposed to back up the information in my email, but who trusts those tech guys anymore... So if my email or computer were to corrupt or crash at work, Poof! all gone. That is the #1 reason to use web mail. If your computer crashes (which IT WILL!!!!!) you're email is all backed up if you use a web mail service like Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail. Outlook, or evenThunderbird (Mozilla's alternative to Outlook) do not provide this functionality, and if your computer crashes, it should cost you quite a bit to get it back (Believe me, it's a REAL PAIN! to get it back).

Summary - You never have to worry about losing your email or contacts! You can access your email from any device that connects to theInterweb . You never have to worry about a bulky program trying to load and hoping it doesn't crash. You just cant go wrong with web mail I tell you! Oops! I forgot the best part... the SPAM FILTER! Just reference how many I get with how many you get... Ready??? Less than 10 a Year. And even the ones I get are obvious... They are some person I don't know telling some gibberish story, (you can see it in the preview text). That's it! It just works well andeliminates all the hassle that comes with a computer crash.

Remember... You should never be afraid of a computer crashing on you. Don't let your Tech control your information, only manage it.