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Use POP and IMAP

POP and IMAP may sound like long-lost relatives of the Teletubbies, but they are, in fact, two different ways of receiving and sending e-mail messages. POP (post office protocol) is what you are using if you store your e-mails on your desktop computer and use programs such as Entourage, Outlook, or Eudora. IMAP (Internet message access protocol) is what you are using if you access and store your messages on a server that you access via the Web. Common IMAP programs are Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail.

If you are considering setting up a new e-mail system, or are wondering about the advantages of one protocol over another, here is a cheat sheet that weighs up the pros and cons of each.