©1998 Imagina, Inc.
©1994-1998 NotifyMail Software
Documentation Contents:
- What is NotifyMail?
- System Requirements
- Installation
- Purchasing and distribution Information
- Contact Information
- Copyright and Warranty Information
- Version History
NotifyMail is a new mail notifier; it works in cooperation with your server to notify you immediately when new mail comes in. It is not an active checker like your email client (Eudora, Emailer, Pegasus, Outlook Express, etc.), but a passive listener, listening for a cue from the server when new mail has arrived.
To understand the difference, imagine your house with no doorbell and no knocker. How would you know when guests had arrived or friends stopped by? One solution, though unrealistic and inefficient, would be to peep out your door periodically to see if anyone were at your doorstep waiting patiently. Most guests wouldn't stand for it; most email, however, does, for that is how mail checkers work. They poll every five, ten, thirty minutes looking for the presence of new email.
Why would I want NotifyMail?
NotifyMail has three main advantages over having your email client check periodically for mail:
- You know immediately when new mail arrives. If you have been using a LAN based email system, this is quite common, but with POP3/IMAP based mail systems, this does not happen.
- You save CPU cycles. NotifyMail listens passively on a socket, so when it is not busy being notified, it is taking up virtually no CPU cycles.
- You relieve server load. For the server, the cost of notifying the client when new mail arrives (via a finger connection) is cheaper than handling frequent periodic mail checks from the client. A connection is only made when necessary.