What is E-mail?
Email is an electronic way to send or retrieve personal and/or business-related
messages, including text and pictures. No postage stamps are required!
How Does E-mail Work?
Think of email like the postal service. To receive email,
you must have an account on a mail server. This is
similar to your mailing address where you receive
letters. We will be using the Gmail mail server.
Your email message is sent from your computer to a
server (it’s like the post office) where the computer
looks at the address (like the address on a letter) and
then directs the message on to the server associated
with the recipient’s email account. Once your email
arrives at its destination mail server, the message is stored in an electronic
mailbox (like your regular mail box) until the recipient retrieves it.
You can still receive email while your computer is turned off. The mail server
collects and stores your incoming email until the next time you access your email
by opening your mailbox and downloading your messages.
Understanding Email Addresses
You can send email to anyone in the world, as long as you have his or her email
address.
Example of an email address: JSmith@gmail.com
vs.
A web address: http://www.introducingemail.com