Practical PC, 4e

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Chapter 9 Sending E-mail and Attachments
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Sending E-mail and Attachments

• In this Chapter, you will learn
• How E-mail works
• How to send and receive e-mail messages
• What an attachment is
• Whether there are maximum sizes for e-mail
  messages and attachments
• What smileys, flame wars and spam are
• How to use an e-mail address book
• About local area networks

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How e-mail works

• E-mail is a way of sending an electronic letter.
• An electronic letter is called an e-mail message.
• E-mail messages can be delivered in minutes and
  the same message can be sent to multiple people.
• The computer and software you use to send
  messages is called an e-mail system.
• The post office that receives and sends the
  messages to the correct address is called an
  e-mail server.

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How e-mail works

• E-mail server software is used by the e-mail
  server to create an electronic mailbox for each
  person.
• The e-mail server sorts and sends messages to
  other e-mail servers to deliver e-mail to the
  correct person.
• To use e-mail, you must have e-mail client
  software and an account with an e-mail server
  company.

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How e-mail works

• Microsoft Outlook Express (among others) is an
  e-mail client software package and can manage
  your e-mail.
• The way e-mail is handled is called a
  store-and-forward technology.
• E-mail server stores messages in your mailbox
• You sign on and request your mail
• The e-mail server forwards your mail to your PC

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How e-mail works
Store-and-forward technology
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Sending and Receiving E-mail

• To manage your e-mail, you will need to
• Compose or write messages
• Read incoming messages
• Reply or forward messages
• Your new messages will be put into your Inbox by
  your mail server.
• As you write, reply or forward messages, they are
  put into your Outbox waiting for you to connect
  to the mail server.

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Sending and Receiving E-mail
A typical e-mail message
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Using attachments

• E-mail systems handles only unformatted text
  files.
• You can send formatted text, graphics or
  virtually any file format by sending it along
  with an e-mail as an e-mail attachment.
• The receiver of the e-mail can open the
  attachment if the receiving PC has software that
  can handle the attachments format.

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Using attachments
E-mail with an attachment
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Size Limits for Messages and Attachments

• Some e-mail systems place limits on messages and
  attachments.
• You should try to keep the size less than 1 MB.
• Zip or compression technology can reduce the size
  of the file before sending it.
• The amount of compression depends on the file
  type.
• WinZip is a typical zip/unzip software package.

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Size Limits for Messages and Attachments
Using WinZip to compress a file
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Smileys, Flame Wars and Spams

• E-mail has its own shorthand, including a whole
  array of emoticons or smileys indicating a smile
  or frown or other emotion.
• There are many other protocols like typing in
  all capitals the equivalent of shouting.
• You can get easily caught up in a flame war
  resulting from a series of increasingly nasty or
  insulting messages flying back and forth.

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Smileys, Flame Wars and Spams

• The unwritten code of ethics governing e-mail is
  called netiguette.
• Flame wars are rude and unproductive use of the
  Internet.
• Spam mail unsolicited junk e-mail is also a
  bad and irritating use of e-mail.

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Smileys, Flame Wars and Spams

• Correct netiquette to follow
• Read and respond to e-mail promptly
• Check your grammar and spelling
• Think before you send a negative or irritating
  message
• Use smileys to help convey your message
• Dont reply to all if your message is just to the
  sender
• Dont send unnecessary e-mail
• Use Zip to shrink the size of your attachments
  when appropriate

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Smileys, Flame Wars and Spams
Smileys or Emoticons
-) -( -O
Dont take this seriously
Unhappy face
Surprise
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Hardware Local Area Networks

• Many businesses connect their office PCs to each
  other and the Internet by using a Local Area
  Network (LAN).
• This connection is always available.
• The LAN can provide shared access to many
  resources such as software, files, printers and
  the Internet.

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Hardware Local Area Networks

• The key elements of a LAN are
• Workstations usually standard PCs, connected to
  a LAN for sharing resources
• A network server a computer that helps control
  the resources and provide services to the
  workstations
• A file server to store data files or software
• A print server to control the attached printers
• An e-mail server to control the mail services
• A hub to connect all of the other devices

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Hardware Local Area Networks
A typical network setup
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Hardware Local Area Networks

• LANs usually require a network specialist to
  install and maintain them.
• For a PC or laptop to connect to a LAN, it must
  have a network interface card (NIC)
• Desktops are connected using a 10Base-T or
  coaxial cable
• Notebook computers use PCMCIA cards for easy
  removal

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Hardware Local Area Networks
The LAN connection for a desktop
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Hardware Local Area Networks

• When you sign onto a LAN, you will need a
  userid/password to identify yourself.
• The sign on process usually includes a login
  script to connect you to the network.
• The My Network Places icon (or Network
  Neighborhood) gives you an overview of the entire
  network.

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Hardware Local Area Networks
My Network Places window
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Using Your E-mail Address Book

• An address book allows you to keep a list of
  frequently used addresses
• The address book allows you to create mail groups
  
• composed on multiple e-mail addresses

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Using Your E-mail Address Book
The Eudora Address Book
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What do you think?
Just how private is e-mail?

• Do you think most people believe that their
  e-mail is private?
• Do you agree with CalTechs decision to expel the
  student who was accused of sending harassing
  e-mail to another student?
• Do you think that e-mail should have the same
  privacy protections as telephone conversations
  and mail under U.S. laws?

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Chapter Summary

• You should now be able to
• Create and send an e-mail message.
• Read, reply and forward e-mail messages.
• Zip and attach files to e-mails.
• Understand e-mail netiguette and use smileys.
• Create and use an e-mail address book.
• Understand the basic workings of a LAN.