Automatic synchronization for your E-mail

With the completion of the next phase of our advanced E-mail server farm deployment, we are now supporting not just POP3 but also IMAP4 access for all E-mail accounts.  Don't worry if you don't understand all the tech jargon, keep reading to understand why this is a phenomenal advantage.

The majority of E-mail systems, both commercial or free (ad-supported) use only POP3.  Post Office Protocol version 3 ("POP3") is the technical name for the commands that are sent back and forth between the E-mail software on your computer and the server.

POP3 was designed over 20 years ago when disk storage was very expensive, communication lines were slow, and networking was unreliable.  POP3 works by having your computer download all new E-mail messages and then delete them from the server.  This makes it very hard to access your E-mail using more than one computer or from more than one location.

For example, if you have Outlook, Eudora, or some other popular E-mail program installed on your PC at home all your messages will be downloaded to your home computer.  If you leave home and go to your office, when you check your E-mail using WebMail, you do not have access to any of your existing messages.  Your mailbox will look empty because all the messages are actually on your computer at home.

Even worse, if you install Outlook on your computer at your office, so you can use the more advanced message composing, editing, and filing capabilities, you'll find that some messages end up on your computer at work, and other messages are on your computer at home.  You have "dueling PCs" fighting with each other depending upon which one you last used.

The newer Internet Messaging Access Protocol version 4 ("IMAP4") solves this problem!  When you configure your E-mail software to use IMAP4, your computer will automatically synchronize will the mail server and download a copy of your messages but leave the original on the server.   Thus, you can use multiple computers (home, office, other locations) to manage your E-mail without any confusion - each computer or location will see a complete and identical view of all your messages.

You can now use WebMail very effectively.  If you delete a message from your computer at home,  you will not see it again when you login from work or with WebMail.  If you use Outlook at home and WebMail at work, you can see all your messages in both locations.

It's easy to use IMAP4.  Over the past few years all the major E-Mail programs including Outlook Express, Outlook, Eudora, and others fully support IMAP4.  Setup is straightforward - when you configure your software, simply select "IMAP4" as the mail protocol instead of accepting the automatic default of "POP3". (Consult the documentation or help files that come with your E-mail software for more information on setup.)

You'll find that virtually NONE of the big ISP, cable modem, DSL, or large E-mail services support IMAP4.  There is a simple reason for this -- they don't care about their users and are more concerned about profits.  Because IMAP4 keeps the original messages on the server, it uses up a lot more storage and therefore the E-mail server operator must invest in bigger hard disks and more servers to handle the load.

The typical ISP wants you to "dump and go" -- get your E-mail off their servers as quickly as possible and use as little of their resources as necessary.  In contrast, at Voicegateway.com Web Services, we understand that E-mail is still one of the most important uses of the Internet and that is why we have spent much time, effort, and money to bring you advanced capabilities such as server-based anti-virus scanning, spam blocking, WebMail and now fully synchronized IMAP4 E-mail.

Did I mention it's free?  All our E-mail accounts are now IMAP4 enabled.  There is no extra cost or setup charges.  Simply reconfigure your E-Mail software to use IMAP4 instead of POP3 and you can immediately use it.  PLEASE use caution when changing your E-mail configuration.  Make sure you keep a backup of all your E-mail and consult your IT specialist or computer consultant if you need help.  We don't want you to lose your existing email messages by accident.

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If you choose to start using IMAP4, here's a few links to help you get started:

Macintosh Entourage: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;272325

Outlook Express: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;264580

Outlook: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;286197

Eudora: http://computing.arizona.edu/help/email/eudora/imapwin.shtml

Pegasus: http://www.pmail.com

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One of the new ways to promote your web site is to use paid search engine marketing.  Unlike banner ads, which are annoying and have become fairly ineffective, paid search engine advertising is growing rapidly and most web site owners report getting a good return on their advertising money.

The two biggest systems are Overture and Google Adwords.  If you are interested in generating more traffic to your web site, take a look at both of these new advertising tools.

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Visit their web sites for more info or contact a search engine marketing consultant for assistance if you want an expert to help you or manage your campaigns for you.

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