THE CUTTING EDGE : An Easier Way to Open Your E-Mail

Most people watch more than one TV network, lots of folks read more than one newspaper or magazine, and an increasing number subscribe to more than one on-line information or electronic mail service.

Trouble is, for each service you join, you get an additional electronic mail address and, often, the pleasure of installing and learning a new piece of software.

It can be a hassle. Each day, to be certain that I get all my e-mail, I have to log on to America Online, MCI Mail, CompuServe, Prodigy, Netcom (an Internet provider) and a couple of private e-mail services. Sometimes I log on several times a day.

There is a partial solution. E-Mail Connection, a $49.95 Windows program from ConnectSoft ((800) 234-9497), automatically sends and receives mail from MCI Mail, CompuServe and Prodigy, as well as several local network-based mail systems, including Microsoft Mail, cc:Mail, Lotus Notes and Novell Netware MHS.

The software sequentially dials into each service, letting you check and send all your mail with a single click of the mouse. You can log on manually or have the software automatically log on at specified intervals, and it runs in the background so you can use your PC for other tasks while it’s working. When it’s done, all your e-mail is presented in a single in-box. The return address of everyone who writes to you is automatically entered into the program’s address book.

Sending mail is also easy. You write the message in a word-processor-like text editor. Or you can use your regular Windows word processing program, which, in many cases, can be linked directly to E-Mail Connection so you can send the message directly from your word processor.

Before you can send a message, you have to be sure the person is in your address book. Because all major e-mail services are connected via the Internet, your respondents don’t have to subscribe to the same service as you. The software figures out the best route and writes in the routing codes for you. LAN-based mail is automatically sent over the network.

In addition to text messages, E-Mail Connection lets you send and receive any type of file, including spreadsheets, documents, graphics and even programs. Be warned: Some files are quite large and can be costly to send. Sending commercial software via e-mail, in most cases, may be construed as pirating. Sending non-text files over the Internet requires special software--Uuencode and Uudecode--which you can download, for free, over the Internet.

E-Mail Connection also makes it possible to receive messages via one service and respond via another. MCI Mail, for example, doesn’t charge for incoming messages but, in its basic plan, charges a minimum of 50 cents for an outgoing message. CompuServe, which lets you exchange mail with MCI Mail users, charges only 15 cents for an outgoing message, so when I get incoming mail via MCI Mail, I use E-Mail Connection’s routing feature to have the response sent via CompuServe.

E-Mail Connection has some other neat features, even if you use only one on-line service. The software stores all incoming and outgoing messages on your hard disk and allows you to sort the messages into various folders, much like the neat Pine program for e-mail on the Internet.

You can even establish rules to have it automatically route messages from your in-box to special folders.

I’ve created a list of high-priority respondents that go into a special folder. I have other folders for special projects or groups of people I correspond with. Press releases relevant to articles I’m working on go into yet other folders. It takes only a second to move my junk e-mail into the trash folder.

The software also has a search feature that lets you quickly find mail that contains a specific text string or the name or e-mail address of any person.

Prodigy subscribers will need the service’s Windows software to use E-Mail connection. CompuServe and MCI Mail users don’t need any other software, but E-Mail Connection can be used only for mail. It won’t provide news, forums or other services.

Unfortunately, E-Mail Connection doesn’t let you connect with any of the low-cost Internet e-mail providers, which, like Netcom, offer unlimited e-mail for as little as $17.50 a month. That, however, is likely to change by the end of the year.