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Next generation email [Public Record, The (Riverside, CA)](Public Record, The (Riverside, CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Electronic mail (Email) was one of the first "killer applications" offered by personal computers. Wikipedia claims email became a mainstream form of communication around 1993 (21 years ago), but electronic messaging service was a staple feature of early dial-up providers like CompuServe, founded in 1969. The first email system was setup at MIT in 1965. Despite its omnipresence as high productivity business communications tool, email applications have changed very little since their first introduction. The user experience is primitive when compared to other contemporary business software like electronic spreadsheets. The setups are overly complicated and it's difficult to send large file attachments. Email's stodgy image has led to a 59 percent drop in use by young people 12 to 17, according to ComScore's 2010 Digital Year in Review. Generation Y prefers instant messaging and communicating through social media. In November 2010, Gartner research predicted that 20 percent of business communication would be by social networks by 2014. But that has not come to pass. Social media is more akin to broadcasting while email tends to be more private and one-on-one. Would CEOs really Twitter their confidential business strategies or post sales forecasts on Facebook for their competitors to see? It is true that about 60 percent of Fortune 500 firms now use Twitter, but it's strictly for marketing pitches. Facebook launched its "next generation email" service back in November 2010 only to quietly shut it down earlier this year due to lack of consumer interest. It attempted to consolidate communications in one place, but never really improved on the familiar model. Users may also have had concerns about their privacy. Some free email services, like Google's Gmail, scan the contents of messages to deliver targeted advertising. Google's privacy policy discloses, "Our automated systems analyze your content (including emails) to provide you personally relevant product features, such as customized search results, tailored advertising, and Spam and malware detection. This analysis occurs as the content is sent, received and when it is stored." The two mainstream email protocols are known as "POP" and "IMAP." POP, or Post Office Protocol, is the older and more common format. IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) offers the advantage of being able to synchronize your inbox and outbox across multiple devices, so when you send or delete an email all of your devices are updated. If you use a POP account, you will have to delete the same emails from each device. Unfortunately, email-hosting services usually charge a premium price for IMAP, typically around $20 per month. Google recently released a suite of development tools that promise software engineers better ways to design their email applications. Unfortunately, these enhancements will only work for Gmail subscribers. In July, a San Francisco-based startup called Inbox announced a similar suite of tools that will work across all email platforms. "Email is the database of your life. It's the digital home for your conversations, memories and identity," said cofounder and CEO, Michael Grinich. "But for developers, working with email is incredibly difficult, and requires learning archaic protocols and formats ... it's our belief that to effectively create a new standard, you need to provide the fundamental infrastructure as an open source package." Company principals are alums from MIT and online file sharing service provider Dropbox. For Apple Macintosh users, Apple's newest operating system upgrade, called Yosemite, promises email enhancements that will allow users to send larger files, fill out forms within the email message, the ability to annotate documents and faster performance. But, presumably, many of these enhancements will only work on Apple's proprietary email service, icloud.com. Corporate computer managers usually limit the size of files users can send through their email servers. Microsoft has not officially announced new features slated for Windows 9, but a beta version is expected to be released in February 2015. Apple's next smartphone and tablet operating system update, iOS 8, will enhance the mail application with new swipe gestures that let you flag, delete or mark as unread. Calendar events can also be added directly from within the mail message. Content from one email can be dragged to another. Google's upcoming Android L release for mobile devices promises more than 5,000 new developer tools. The native email application "has a limited feature set," according to one reviewer, so many users opt for a third party application such as K-9 mail, Profimail and MailDroid. Google's mobile device platform is expected to be released this fall, about the same time as Apple's iOS8, and the company hopes manufacturers will adopt its "material design specification," which would unify the user experience. Today, manufactures customize the operating system to give their products a distinctive look and unique features, but this leads to user confusion. Some email hosts do provide automated email setup for mobile devices. For example, in GoDaddy's email setup the user can enter his phone number and the configuration will be sent to his smartphone by text message. The user just types in his log in to confirm the setup and the process is complete. For tablets, the user can enter unique address in his web browser and the automated process is completed. For PCs, manual configuration is still the only way. Each computer platform has dozens of third party email applications and plug-ins that can enhance the user experience, but most people continue to use the manufacturer's native application in order to maintain cross-application compatibility and shorten the learning curve. So any profound enhancements to email are going to have to be embraced by major computer operating system companies: Apple, Google and Microsoft. (c) 2014 Desert Publication, Inc. and Sharon Apfelbaum |