Here Are The Abc’s Of E-Mail

What you need

A personal computer (PC or Macintosh).

A modem (typical price: $50 to $200) to connect your computer to a phone line. (If you’re buying a new modem, faster is better; look for speeds of 14.4 or 28.8.)

Access to the Internet through a direct provider or on-line service.

E-mail software (provided free by on-line services and many direct providers).

Typical costs:

$10 to $30 per month for Internet access, depending on provider and usage.

Some services charge additional fees for sending or receiving e-mail.

If you live in a rural area, you may pay a long-distance fee to gain access via the nearest big city.

How it works

Every person on the Internet has a unique personal “address” (mine, for example, is: GrahamV@spokesman.com).

When you send a message to that person, your computer sends it to the company that provides Internet access for the recipient. The next time the recipient “logs on” to the Internet, he or she will receive your mail.

On-line providers

The largest providers (America Online, Prodigy, CompuServe, etc.) advertise in computer magazines. All provide free software and trial periods, usually one month.

Direct providers can be found in newspaper classified ads under Computers or in the Yellow Pages under Computers-Networking.

, DataTimes MEMO: See two related stories under the following headlines: E-mail: Computers breed a letter-writing renaissance Cutting-edge or impersonal? Not everyone loves e-mail