写信需要笔、纸、信封和邮票,还需要有信筒或直接送到邮局,这都是必不可少的条件,使用电子邮件也需要一些必要的“工具”。首先必须有计算机,没有计算机就不必谈“电子”问题;计算机还要联接到Internet网上,无论是采用电话线还是局域网,不上网,你只能给你的朋友寄磁盘了;第三个条件就是需要有发送电子邮件的软件。从最古老的UNIX系统的Mail命令,DOS系统中的Procomm,到现在浏览器中内部集成的电子邮件功能,有很多种。现在我们常用的电子邮件有两大类,一类是专门的电子邮件软件,最著名有EudoraLight(有多年的历史,现在所有的电子邮件软件都是根据这个软件演化来的)、 Pegsus Mail(欧洲用得很普遍,台湾人也常用,称为“飞马邮件”)、Office 97集成的Outlook(电子邮件只是其中的一部分功能,但却非常有特色)、Lotus Notes中的电子邮件功能(带有电子邮件过滤器,可以过滤自己不需要的电子邮件)等。另外一类就是在浏览器中集成的电子邮件功 Writing letters, pens, paper, envelopes and stamps, but also having a letter box or sending them directly to the post office is an indispensable condition. Using e-mail also requires some necessary “tools.” First of all, you must have a computer. Without a computer, you do not have to talk about the “electronic” problem. The computer is also connected to the Internet. Whether using a telephone line or a local area network, you can only send disks to your friends. The third condition Need to send e-mail software. There are many kinds of email functions from the oldest UNIX system’s Mail command, Procomm from DOS systems, to the current integrated browser inside. There are two major categories of emails we use nowadays. One is specialized email software, most notably EudoraLight (which has many years of history and now all email software is based on this software), Pegsus Mail (Europe Used widely by Taiwanese people and referred to as “Pegasus Mail”), Office 97 integrated Outlook (email is only a part of it, but very unique), email features in Lotus Notes (with E-mail filter, you can filter their own unwanted e-mail) and so on. The other is the e-mail function integrated in the browser