Difference Between Wireless Networks And Electronic Mail
The proliferation of wireless networking has grown beyond the desktop and laptop computer realms and is now permeating the PDA (personal digital assistant), MP3, automobile, and toy markets. Wirelessly networked devices for the home are now available, including home-theater equipment, add-on light switches, and security and home-automation monitoring devices. Some of these devices work off an “ad-hoc”-based networking scheme in which they “talk” directly to each other and relay messages from a device on one end of the house to one on the other end of the house by communicating through the ones in between. But most still use the basic star configuration network topology that allows communication through one central hub/switch. Today, there may be one or more of these networks for a device to choose from.
Electronic Mail
Electronic mail, called e-mail, is a popular commercial service made possible by networks and the Internet. With e-mail, written messages, documents, and graphics are sent from one computer to another.
Messages are sent to a recipient’s “mailbox.” This is a file on the system’s server. To get any messages that may be waiting, the recipient checks his or her mailbox. The person reads the messages on-screen and usually downloads them onto a PC for later reference. Most e-mail software allows users to create mailboxes on their own computers for filing important mail. E-mail is paperless, and is delivered quickly and at a lower cost than conventional express delivery of letters. A related type of service, called instant messaging (or IM), allows a text, voice, or video message to be delivered immediately onto a person’s computer “desktop” for easy access.