Once you have opened your CSA account, you need to learn to use email right away, if you do not already know how.

Why Should I Check My Email Regularly?

Throughout this course, Email will be used to send you important class announcements about cancelled sections, possible assignment extensions, etc. If you'd like to know about such things, you should plan to log on to your CSA account every day or two to check for any class email. NOTE: Since these announcements will only be going to your CSA email address, they will not show up in email on your ACS account, if you have one. Later in this class, you will learn how to consolidate all your email messages in a single account.

What Program Should I Use to Read/Send Email?

There are many types of email software available to choose from, and you may use any one you like as long as it allows you to read and send email messages. Your choices include popular email programs: Pine and Elm (on our Unix Machines) and Eudora (on your Mac or PC). If you don't have a preference, then I would like to suggest using Netscape's Email Management capabilities.

Pine:

Pine is a very easy to use Email management software. You will find a good description and demonstration of it in the Internet Essentials [IE] optional textbook, pages 16-33.

Elm:

Elm is another easy to use Email management software. A rather complete description of it can be found in the Office of Information Technology's free handout ``Using the Elm Electronic Mail Program''. You can pick this up in the large main terminal room in the basement of 111 Cummington Street at the Consulting Services Help Desk.

Netscape:

Netscape allows the integration of "Surfing the Web", "Reading of Newsgroups", and "Email Management" in a single applications. There are many other similar programs (including Microsoft's Internet Explorer) that allow for the same basic functionalities. To set up Netscape so that it could retreive your email and send email on your behalf, you must "configure" it first. The configuration of Netscape allows the software to find out where your incoming mailbox is and who (i.e. which SMTP mailer demon) will handle your outgoing mail. Details on how to do so have been discussed in class and are available on the web through the supplementary readings page for the course.

Created on: 1997.09.02
Updated on: 1997.09.10
Maintainer: Azer Bestavros
            best@cs.bu.edu