G,H,Y; webmail reviewed

Hotmail (or MSN Hotmail) is my first e-mail provider which gave me a free e-mail account with storage size of 2MB (this was in year 1998, if I remember… I was in primary school). That was reasonably enough to keep between 10 to 30 e-mails before I receive a notification whenever my mailbox is full. The size of storage was further increased to 250MB and today is 5GB. Its name is now Windows Live Hotmail. Frankly speaking, the new interface is rather ugly compared to older version (disappointing).

Here comes the secondly registered free e-mail account, provided by Yahoo!, the Yahoo! Mail. As for the reason, my father suggested that it is wise to have at least two e-mail accounts in case one of them is inaccessible. So, I have been using since year 2005 and am using the Beta version now. The Beta version looks better and easier to navigate. Initially the storage size is 250MB, later increased to 1GB and today is unlimited bytes! A thumbs up to Yahoo! Mail for its improved features. Yahoo! Mail is intended for me to use daily.

Last and the third registered account is Google Mail (Gmail). In year 2005, Gmail was still limited to those whom invited-for-Beta-testers. Apparently, my friend had one and he owned an account. I took this chance and had started with 2GB. Even before the Yahoo! Mail Beta, Gmail had a dynamic interface (using AJAX) for its e-mail account. The searching and tagging features are just Google-like. POP3 and IMAP are supported too. For me, Gmail is intended to be used for personal and backup; in favor of all three providers.

Notebook PC green concept

Propagating the green concept in electronics manufacturing and design, computers and gadgets are becoming more friendly to the environment. Unfortunately, these electronics products are not friendly enough. Just because the plastic casings are made of plant, does that only makes those products “green”? It does in some way and the claim is justifiable. But not quite also. Plant-based plastics are not likely biodegradable. It is another kind of the same plastic we know.

Fujitsu press release had publicized two main products that has been exhibited at “Japan Design 2008 - Innovation -” Exposition in Milan: The WoodShell concept design (stylish purpose only) and the FMV-BIBLO NX95Y/D notebook computer (made of bio-based plastics). Similarly, ASUSTeK Computer Inc. came up with an EcoBook-world’s first to use bamboo panelling-according to the ASUS press release. Mind you, these products are merely environmentally friendly.

“Green” concept of Notebook PC is only a theme. There might be no such thing as “environment-friendly computer”. We realized that much of natural resources had been used and wasted, yet we use the source of food (plants) to make up for damages we had done to the Earth (i.e. using non-renewable material). Henceforth, lesser amount of food being produced; food price rockets; global food crisis today. The idea is as ironic as corn-based fuel, I would say. The friendliness might have been explained but the problems?