hi all --
newby question. i`ve just started a new publishing firm, and i`m trying to figure out what email app to use for my site and business. we`re currently using free email (yahoo) but a lot of friends have suggested that we move on up to microsoft. i`m more of a mac man, myself - and recently another friend showed me this great video --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqzhHHSEZ2k

i`m a total sucker for motorcycles, but all joking aside, is lotus something to be taken seriously?

please respond or add to the poll. i`d love to hear what you all think!
--kenneth
deersmith publishing

I don`t understand the question.  You register your domain and find a hosting site, usually at the same place), or you get a T1 line and set up your own server, but if you have that kind of money then you would hire an IP person who would know the answer that you seek.

So, if you register the domain: deersmithy.com, you can buy a bunch of mailboxes on the host (they should be pretty cheap, I think I pay $10/year for 100 mailboxes at GoDaddy).

Once you have the domain and the host and some mailboxes, you can manage them any way you want.  Ant it will look a *lot* more professional than trying to do business with a Yahoo or AOL mail address.

I`ll take other.  Hosting mail downloaed to outlook.  Keep in  Mind outlook is a Microsoft Mail Client.  Microsoft makes a Mail Server called Exchange.  As other people have said, you`re not going to get many takers nor will people take you seriously if you have a free mail domain attached to your e-mail address.

For example, (and this is just hypothetical) if I were to contact the FBI about someone who hacked my computer/web server (I used to do the equivelant of CSI for the computer world not too long ago.  I`m really good at it and offer it to clients as an `off the menu` feature. ) they`re not going to take me seriously if I have a personal e-mail address of pwnedj00n00b@hotmail.com.  I need to have a business face to talk to them or any business for that matter.

I didn`t mean to confuse everybody here. Clearly, I didn`t state my question very well!

SimpleSubjects hit the nail on the head. I`m not talking about my domain name. I`m looking for a good email client/server to handle my companies email. Given our size at the present, I wouldn`t expect to need a full-scale server at this point -- but what is the best client?

I have to say, I do like the idea of using gmail. How exactly, did you set that up, SimpleSubjects? And what about Lotus? Is it something to consider or is more sort of enterprise-class for my needs?

Thanks for all of the response!

--kenneth
deersmith publishing

As I and Craig said before, using consumer type mail addresses for your business is the mark of an amateur.  No one will take you seriously and at worst your emails may be tagged as spam.

If you have a domain then the email addresses will only cost you, at most, a few dollars a month.  I am correcting my earlier post, I pay GoDaddy $30 per year for 100 Mailboxes on my domain name.

And, what`s Lotus got to do with it?  You can use any e-mail client such as Microsoft Outlook, or Mozilla Thunderbird.  You probably have Outlook express already, and Thunderbird is free.

Does your web hosting company not offer mail server services?

As for Clients, if you want something simple that you can just send/receive mail from take a look at Thunderbird.  If you want something more professional you can get Outlook.

Google Apps work perfectly for me and clients` web sites. Basically it`s Gmail interface and Google web servers -- but on your own domain. It`s free and needs minimal set up (pretty much changing MX and CNAME settings for your domain and setting up user accounts). It`s free, reliable, and doesn`t require an IT person.