One advantage of webmail over application-based e-mail is that a user has the ability to access their inbox from any Internet-connected computer around the world. However, the need for Internet access is also a drawback, in that one cannot access old messages when not connected to the Internet (with the exception of some newer technologies, such as Gmail's "Offline Mail"[2] feature). On the other hand, if one uses the IMAP protocol through an application-based e-mail client, all contents of the mailbox will be consistently displayed in both the webmail and the PC e-mail client contexts.
In 1997, before its acquisition by Microsoft, Hotmail (now Windows Live Hotmail) introduced its service, which became one of the first popular web-based e-mail offerings. Following Hotmail's success, Google's introduction of Gmail in 2004 sparked a period of rapid development in webmail, due to Gmail's new features such as JavaScript menus, text-based ads, and bigger storage.
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[edit] History
The first webmail software was called WWW Mail[3] and was developed in perl by Soren Vejrum when he was studying and working at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. The development started in 1994 and after a period of personal use the first public version was released with freely downloadable source code on February 28, 1995.[4]The second webmail software was called WebMail and was developed in perl by Luca Manunza[5][6] when he was working at CRS4, in Sardinia. The first working demo[7] was released on March 10, 1995; thereafter the source[8] was released (with registration required) on March 30, 1995.
[edit] Software packages
There are also software packages that allow organizations to offer e-mail through the web for their associates. Some solutions are open source software like Atmail, SquirrelMail, RoundCube, BlueMamba, IlohaMail, and UebiMiau, while others are commercial open source like Atmail or closed source like the Outlook Web Access module for Microsoft Exchange. Conversely, there are programs that can simulate a web browser to access webmail as if it were stored in a POP3 or IMAP account. They are susceptible, though, to changes in the user interface of the web service since there is no standard interface.Some providers offer web access to other's e-mail servers. This allows web access to mailboxes where the mail server does not offer a web interface, or where an alternative interface is desired.
[edit] Rendering and compatibility
There are important differences in rendering capabilities for many popular webmail services such as Yahoo Mail, Gmail, and Windows Live Hotmail. Due to the various treatment of HTML tags, such ashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail
06/02/10
