Keeping in touch with family and friends while Cruising
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May 23, 2006
By Herman Kuipers, Kingston SquadronWith family and
friends scattered across the globe we prefer e-mail to keep in touch.
We use e-mail extensively and carry a laptop computer most of the time. We use various methods to connect to the Internet and access our
e-mail
accounts. In the winter of 2001,
while cruising the Florida Keys, after losing our Cell Phone overboard, we were
able to contact our Real Estate Agent and accept an offer to purchase our home
in Montreal. That contact was via
WINLINK, a worldwide amateur radio system that connects to the Internet via HF
Radio. We have also used
conventional dial-up connections via iPass
, a worldwide amalgamation of
independent ISP’s (internet service providers) pooling their facilities.
IPass is available on a pay-as-you-go basis from IGS
(Information Gateway Services) in Canada. Both, dial-up and HF radio connections are rather slow by today’s
standards. Technology has evolved and provides many new and interesting options. Use of WiFi (Wireless Fidelity)More
and more Marinas, Motels, Restaurants and Libraries have free WiFi service,
providing a high-speed wireless connection to the Internet, ideal for cruisers
and travelers. You need a ‘WiFi
Adaptor’ for your laptop to use this service, but they can be purchased for
less than $50.00. When you use WiFi,
you make use of the marina’s ISP, as it is through them that you are connected
to the Internet. While this allows
access to the web, it does not automatically give you access to your e-mail
accounts, unless you have made the necessary arrangements beforehand. Some of you will have an arrangement with your home base ISP, providing
you limited web access to your e-mail. That
is of course assuming that you have not suspended your Internet service at home,
while you are away. If you are a frugal
sailor like me you will have turned down the heat, turned off the
water, suspended your telephone service, cancelled your cable/satellite TV and
your home Internet service. If you
suspended your home ISP you will likely have lost your e-mail accounts and any
messages addressed to you will bounce. What
is the answer to this dilemma? Do
you keep paying for home ISP that you are not using? Not me - no way!
That would
be totally against my philosophy. The answer to this question is: Don’t use
the Email accounts provided by your home ISP. Use an independent Mail Server
Mail ServersBefore continuing
this discussion I need to deal with a few technical matters concerning the
sending and receiving of e-mail. The computers that handle e-mail traffic on the
Internet are known as ‘Mail Servers'. The most common types are: POP3
(Post Office Protocol version 3) servers are used to
handle incoming mail. Your incoming
mail is stored in a POP3 mailbox (your personal corner of the server) until you
access it, at which point all your messages, including attachments, are
downloaded onto your own computer. POP3
mailboxes are always password protected so only you can access your mail. IMAP
(Internet Messaging Access Protocol) servers use a
more sophisticated method of handling incoming mail in which the mail remains on
the server and is not stored on your computer. However, to read your email you still have to wait for the information to
download and, if you want to re-read it a few hours later, you have to go on
line again. This is no problem for
a land-based customer with an always-on broadband connection, but it is of
little use when cruising. Like POP3
mailboxes, IMAP mailboxes are always password protected. SMTP
(Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) servers handle
outgoing mail by routing it to its intended destination(s). Unlike POP3 and IMAP servers, most SMTP servers are not password
protected. Instead, they will only
forward your outgoing mail after validation of your account. If you want to be
able to send e-mail, irrespective of how you get onto the Internet, you need to
make sure that your SMTP server allows it, which is essential when cruising. To
communicate with a Mail Server you need a special program know as an ‘Email
Client’ By far the most
common is Microsoft’s Outlook Express as it is bundled free-of-charge with
Windows. Web MailMany
people use a separate web mail account such as ‘Hotmail’ when they travel
and leave their computer at home. Web
mail accounts are accessed in Internet Cafés and Libraries using a web browser
such as Internet Explorer so you do not need to know anything about e-mail
clients or mail protocols. I do not
personally like this arrangement because you have no access to your e-mail
offline and you are required to compose and respond to messages on-line Some
ISPs provide ‘Web Access’ to their POP3 and IMAP mailboxes. This allows you to go to an Internet Café and both read and send
e-mail
from the account you use at home. Once
read, you can choose to delete incoming e-mail that you have dealt with or leave
it on the server until you return home and download it. You cannot, however, keep a copy of outgoing
e-mail unless you send a copy
to yourself. Choice of Mail ServersInternet
Service Providers normally include one or more e-mail addresses and their
associated mailboxes. The choice of
ISP’s is huge but the special needs of those of us cruising in a north south
direction cuts this down to a much smaller number. I change ISP’s frequently but over the years I have chosen
not to use their e-mail accounts and always maintained the services of an
independent mail server. The mail
server I used for many years was great until recently, when they did an upgrade and everything
went downhill. Messages from
legitimate group mail accounts were bounced for no reason and features such as 'filtering' and
'forwarding' stopped working. Complaints were simply ignored or sloughed off.
After many months, I have decided to phase out my old account and take my
business elsewhere. I have opened two accounts with independent mail server
'G-mail', you guessed it, provided by Google. Their services are free and
made to order for travelers like me. They
provide you with an incoming POP3 and an outgoing SMTP address. You can access the accounts with your
'mail client' or from the web. You only see their text advertising when you use the web access, very
similar to their 'Search Engine'. I
have used G-mail for several weeks and it works like a charm. Feel free to give me shout if you need clarification or help.
My new G-mail address is below. BonusWith WiFi you get a bonus. The transmission speed is fast enough to allow you to use VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). VoIP allows you to talk to family and friends around the globe as if they were right next door. You need a headset for your computer and the service and software is available free from http://ui.skype.com . Keep in mind that you can only talk using WiFi when you are in a 'hot spot' (in wireless range) and your contact also has SKYPE installed and operating. Herman Kuipers Personal E-mail: HermanVA3QX@gmail.com Family E-mail: Kuipers.M.H@gmail.com Skype Name: petronella214 |
