Email’s reputation as an efficient tool for home and business communication is being questioned these days, mainly because the spam that is flowing into our inboxes is devouring our day. You can judge the state of email by scanning such article titles as “Can E-mail Survive?” (PC Magazine, Feb. 17, 2004, p. 65)
Why the wailing and gnashing of teeth? The spam blockers we’re employing are not just blocking spam, but also blocking legitimate emails. For those of us hooked on email, the value proposition may start to wane when we have to follow up important emails with a phone call to make sure that our recipient actually received it.
But for every problem there's somebody out there trying to solve it. "Can Email Survive" reviews a variety of such efforts including email clients, web mail, utilities, antispam filters and more. Editors' Choice includes Microsoft Outlook 2003, Mailblocks Extended Service, Norton AntiSpam 2004, and Qurb 2.0.
New spam fighters have come on the market since this article was published, for example, Zoemail, announced just last week, promises a better life online by providing a spam-free existence for a dollar a month. If they can deliver on that promise the world really would be a better place.
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