Email has become one of the most used ways to communicate. Email clients (programs) are the second most used programs with browsers like Internet Explorer being the most used.
Email clients
There are a lot of email programs available, some are free and some are shareware. For the un-initiated, shareware programs are available for download, but are usually time limited. If you want to keep using the program, you have to buy it. This is a good way to try a program before shelling out your hard earned dollars. If you don’t like it, you don’t pay for it. Just uninstall it & try another program.
Probably the most used program is Outlook Express which came free with Windows until Vista. Windows Mail was an updated version of Outlook Express and was installed with Vista. Windows 7 does not come with an email program. You can download Windows Live Mail from Microsoft, but it is not the same as Outlook Express and in my opinion, no where nearly as good. I would use Mozilla's Thunderbird instead of Windows Live Mail.
OE (Outlook Express) has a lot going for it. It can be configured to get any web-based email that uses POP & SMTP protocols. You can set message rules to move email into specific folders, setup profiles for different users and customize the way you view email. Unfortunately, most viruses also target OE users
Eudora is another great email program. Since Qualcomm, the maker of Eudora decided to no longer support Eudora, it became open source in 2007 and is no longer available for the paid version. If you are currently running an older version of Eudora in the Sponsored Mode, you should update to the latest version ASAP. Download Eudora 7.1. You can still get the sponsored mode and now it will have no ads.
Use Outlook with AOL e-mail, Microsoft tells you how!
Many users just use email on the web. Most ISPs have an email interface on the web and there are a number of free email services with web interfaces like Gmail and Yahoo.