What is an
Email?
Electronic mail is an online mailing service provided on the
internet by which one can send messages to any person
around the world through computing devices. It has become
the fastest, easiest and cheapest means of communication
for business, governance, administration, education,
tourism, etc.
Parts of an Email Address:
Components Overview
Component Example
User name editorial
Domain name orangeeducation.in
@ (At the rate) @
Example: [email protected]
Usage & Importance
User name
The proportion before the at (@) symbol is called the user
name. It is unique to every individual sending or receiving
e-mails.
Domain name
It tells which type of server the user is using. It has
two parts – mail server and top-level domain. The
domain name is common to all the individuals
using a particular server or network for sending or
receiving e-mails.
@ (At the rate)
The ‘@’ i.e., ‘at the rate’ sign connects the user with the
domain name.
Advantages of
an Email
Key Benefits
Fast Cost-Effective
An e-mail message can For sending and receiving
reach any corner of the e-mails, there is no fee.
world in seconds. E-mail Once connected in
messages are delivered internet, one does not
much faster when need to pay for sending a
compared to any message.
conventional system of
sending letters.
Convenience Resource Saving
An e-mail message can be sent at An e-mail does not require paper,
any point in time from anywhere on envelope or stamp. It is digital in
the earth. An e-mail message does nature. So, the wastage of natural
not require the person receiving the resource is minimum.
message to be present at his/her
computer at that moment. The
received messages are stored in the
inbox of the account holder. One can
receive and read the messages as
per convenience.
Maintenance of Record Reusable
The sender or the receiver can The e-mail messages can be reused
always keep the records of the or forwarded to other recipients as
messages in the ‘Sent Mail’ section and when required.
of the mail box or computer as soft
copy.
Similarity between e-mail
and Postal Letters
• E-mail can be said to be the advanced version of a postal letter. Just
as a postal letter is sent to a specific address, an e-mail is also sent to
a specific address known as the e-mail ID. The e-mail ID is however
shorter than the postal address.
• Both postal letters as well as e-mails have a specific sender, receiver
and message.
• Earlier when the written messages were sent through postal services,
most of the houses had a small mail box near their main gates in
which the postman used to deliver the letters. In a similar manner,
we have a mail box to which e-mails get delivered. This mail box is
known as an inbox.
• There is a channel (bus/train/aeroplane) through which postal
messages traverse from one place to another and then get delivered
by the postman. E-mail messages also reach us through a channel
known as the internet.
Limitations of e-mail
• Although e-mails are delivered instantly, the recipient may or
may not read his/her mail at that point in time. This defeats the
purpose of quickness of an electronic mailing system.
• Most of the websites display advertisements during the usage
which are called spam mails. There are many spams that are
sent to the e-mail accounts. It results in the increased size of the
mail box, which brings a significant decrease in the speed of
usage and consumes extra time of a user who has to navigate
through all the mails to search for the required one.
• A slight error in the address of the recipient may result in the
non-delivery of the message or delivery to some other recipient.
• Since e-mail passes through various networks, sometimes it may
be intercepted in between. A failure or fault in one of the links
(of network) between the sender and receiver prevents delivery
of the e-mail, though the sender assumes that e-mail has been
delivered.
E-mail Services
There are two kinds of e-mail services: Web-based and Application-based.
Webmail
Webmail, or web-based e-mail, is portable and accessible
from any Internet-enabled web browser. In such a setup,
e-mail is accessed on a website. Some of the popular
webmail are Gmail, Yahoo, Roundcube, SquirrelMail, etc.
Some of the advantages of using webmail are:
• No need to install specific software foe accessing e-mail.
• Saves storage space on the computer as the e-mail is
stored online.
Email Applications
An e-mail application is a dedicated application software installed on a computer or
mobile device that is used to access services related to e-mail. This application enables
the user to store e-mail messages on the storage device of a computer or mobile. Once
the e-mail is downloaded, it can be accessed offline also. Some common e-mail
applications are Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, etc. Some of the advantages of
using an e-mail application are:
• It is accessible offline as it can easily store e-mail on a computer.
• It sends an immediate notification to a device.
• It manages multiple e-mail addresses in one application.
Steps to create an e-mail id :
Click on the
‘Create Account’
button.
Click on ‘For myself’
to create a personal
account or Click on
‘For work or my
business’ to create a
business account.
Type the First name and Last name.
Type the desired Username.
Type the desired Password and confirm the typed
Password.
Type the phone number.
Type the verification code received on the
SMS inbox.
Fill in the required information.
Type the Recovery e-mail address.
If you agree with the given privacy
and terms then click on the ‘I agree’
button.
Click on ‘Yes, I’m in’, if you
want to link the same
phone number for all the
services of Google or else
click on the ‘Skip’ button.
Gmail account
opens with the
inbox screen.
