Webmail/2 provides a solution to this problem if you have an OS/2 web server. Webmail/2 is an email client that allows you to access POP3/SMTP servers from any web browser, just like Hotmail and other web-based email services, but you don't get the problems of having a hotmail.com email address, and when you get home, you can still download the email to your regular email client.
One thing I did need to do extra was to modify the WEBMAIL2.CMD file to let it know where it could find the .WM files that are used to build the Webmail/2 user interface. Instructions to do this are included in the online documentation. You have the option to set an environment variable instead, but I didn't feel like taking the server down to do the upgrade.
Once the files are in place, you need to run SETUP.EXE to configure WebManager. There are a number of pages of options with different features available depending on which mail server you're using, they're all described in the online documentation.
One little glitch I ran into is that when you start Setup, for some reason it doesn't appear until you select it from the task list.
Setup and WebManager used to be one program. Now WebManager is just a little window that appears onscreen showing the status of the Webmail/2 system, how many users are on, failed access attempts, CGI errors and the total number of connections.
Webmail/2 has a nice option if all your mail comes from one server, you can just enter the name of the account you want to access, rather than the entire email address. If you like, you can use Setup to set Webmanager to allow reading mail from more than one domain, in which case you will have to enter the entire email address each time.
Once you log in, you are presented with a list of emails in your inbox.
To read an email, click on the subject line link, or on the little checkbox icon.
Once you have a note up, you can delete it permanently from the server by clicking on the little X icon, or move to the next or previous notes by hitting the arrows. When you're ready to compose a new note, click on Compose, or you can click on the little circled arrows to reply to the message you are currently reading.
One thing you might want to make sure you do is to add your own email address to the bcc: field so that you will get a copy of the notes you send. It would be nice if there was an option to have each composed email automatically bcc'ed to the sending account.
If you need to send an attachment with your note, there is a button at the bottom of the page that allows you to do this.
While you are using Webmail/2 there is online help for the program's major features.
I have been running Webmail/2 Version 5 for several months and overall I really like it so I was quite interested in trying the new version 10. Things have definitely improved since version 5, I noticed a number of rough edges that have been knocked off. In daily use, there isn't much to criticize about this program.
Webmail/2 is a great product for a small business (or even an individual) running their own mail and web servers.
Having the flexibility to access your mail from any computer is a huge advantage for people
who are on the move. Being able to have mail coming from your own server rather
than a free email account like Hotmail makes you look much more professional.
Robert Basler (mailto:editor@aurora-systems.com) is the president of
Aurora Systems, Inc. (http://www.aurora-systems.com)
and has been a dedicated OS/2 user since he tired of rebooting Windows 3.1 twenty times a day.
He spends what free time he can manage travelling the world. Photo was taken at Franz Josef
glacier, New Zealand.
This article is courtesy of www.os2ezine.com. You can view it online at http://www.os2ezine.com/20020216/page_4.html.