PUT MORE COLOUR AND FUN INTO YOUR COMPUTING
Published in PC World Nigeria, October 2001
I love brilliant colours. Most of us living in the tropics do. The lush green of the countryside and the beautiful flora and fauna of the Nigerian farms and villages, for example, are most captivating. Visit a market and behold the rainbow-like dresses worn by people! But what has colour got to do with computing? Quite a lot! The lack of colours in our computing is of great concern to many, particularly users who place great premium on aesthetics. The PC with the dull beige colour that had stuck to it like leeches for the last twenty years, is the least aesthetic machine you’ll find anywhere. Similarly, most software programs are designed with black, white and grey interfaces. I can go on and on to illustrate the lack of sufficient colours and fun in our computing but, thanks goodness, the scenario is changing.
Colourful PCs and peripherals are coming on the market and programs are increasingly taking on beautiful aesthetic colours. This is a significant trend and like many others, Microsoft is following the trend in her new Microsoft Network Explorer (MSNE). The MSNE with its brilliant colours and other attributes will tempt many surfers to put away their old Internet Explorers. Furthermore, email clients are taking on some brilliant colours of their own too. If you like colours combined with efficient performance in computing, come with us to explore the new MSNE and the fantastic INCREDIMAIL email client that allows you to personalize your email with colours, animation and voice. Yes, with your voice!
Colour and Music Influence Work Efficiency
Back in the 50s, management experts in the industrial nations undertook studies to show how colour and music in the work places could affect productivity. From the results of such studies, music-while-you-work became the vogue in the 50s and 60s. Also, the hitherto dull and drab factory work places and offices were brightened with more lights, ventilations and colour. The results were astonishing. More productivity ensued because human beings react favourably to pleasant environment and give off their best when working in such environment.
The PC is a tool for increasing productivity. Productivity declines when, for example, secretaries and all those who use the PC, face drab machines and software everyday in the work places and home offices. In my recent tour of Europe, I noticed that some secretaries in offices beautify their beige PCs with coloured mufflers, pretty screensavers and pictures. Furthermore, to capitalize on the lack of colours in PCs, some businesses have opened shop in the UK for that purpose. You can send your PC and peripherals to such shops for custom colourization. All these point to the fact that we can do with more colours in our computing tasks and environment.
What Is MSN Explorer?
The new MSN Explorer is not only about colours. It is an all-in-one software from Microsoft that works with your existing Internet connection to help you surf the web effectively, send email and instant messages to friends, play music and video, listen to web radio stations on its integrated media player and do many other things like looking after your money, shopping and so forth. Currently, there are nine English versions tailored for Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom and the USA. New country versions are continually been added. While waiting for the Nigerian version to debut, I was quite happy recently to download the UK version that works effectively for me here. What I like most in MSNE is that it is people oriented. This is demonstrated by its colourful icons and interfaces, not to speak of the new features like easy access to your music, your online buddies, stock and shares, sports, chatting, news and so on. You just can’t feel bored working with it as you do with IE.
How to Acquire and Install MSNE
Some friends said that they found it difficult to download and install any of the English versions of MSNE because the installation procedures are country and location specific. Here is a way round it. First, establish a free email account in MSN Hotmail, which you’ll find in your Windows 98 and Windows ME. Next, choose any of the English versions of MSNE, download and install it. It weighs in at 5.21 MB only. When asked for the email client you have, tick Hotmail. Using your Hotmail username and password, the installer Wizard will assume you live in your chosen country and will take you on a successful installation trip.
The colour and rich features in MSNE will amaze you. The screenshot in Figure 1 is the home page. It contains icons for the explorer’s major features, divided into eight categories. Above the icons you’ll find the Help and Settings button and the Sign Out button. The Help and Settings will take you to the Members Centre, where you can set your preferences for features like the email, MSN Messenger and more. The Sign Out button allows you to exit MSNE gracefully with a voice bidding you “goodbye”.
Figure 1: MSNE Colourful Home Page
The other features in MSNE that are not found in IE5 are, Online Buddies, People and Chat, Money, Shopping and the Music icon. One other thing that is of interest is the Address Bar. The address bar in IE always display the address of the website you are visiting. The address bar in MSNE tells you the progress of the web page loading as well. A colourful bar moving from left to right in the address bar indicates how much of the web page has loaded. To the right of the address bar you’ll find Go, Stop, Refresh, Print and More Choices such as New Window and Find. This arrangement gave the MSNE interface an open uncluttered look.
MSNE Email Clients
MSNE allows nine people to set up different email accounts and surfing preferences on one PC. It is therefore ideally suitable for the home and small business office. Each user could set up a personal username and password to protect privacy. Also, Hotmail allows you to import all of your email addresses from your old email clients and so save you the effort of entering the addresses again if you decide to migrate. Figure 2 is the screenshot of the MSN Hotmail.
Figure2: MSN Hotmail
The IncrediMail Email Client
Incredimail Email Client
The email is now used by millions of people, young and old, for communications. There are so many things the email can do that it just might go down in history as a more significant invention than the World Wide Web. Yet, email software have remained drab and uninteresting until IncrediMail came along. I may be wrong, but I have tried more than a dozen email clients before I found this one. IncrediMail is an advanced email client that will give you a unique interactive experience in your email activities. With it, you can personalize your email, as you like. You can choose from an assortment of email backgrounds, animations, sounds, 3D effects, E-cards and make them all become part of your email. In other words, it enlivens email messages with arts, animation, sound and other objects of interest and fun. The software is easy to download, set up and use. Above all, it’s free.
Go to http://www.incredimail.com to download one. Figure 3 is the interface of this incredible email client. 
Figure 3: IncrediMail Email
During installation, IncrediMail will offer to import all of your previous emails and addresses from which ever email client you have been using. So, you need not worry that your addresses and stored email messages will be left behind when you migrate. IncrediMail is adware but the ad-banner is discreetly placed on the top right corner of the message window. It is a full-fledged email handler with a spelling checker, Spam blocker, address book and more. If you wish, you can upgrade to a paid Premium version without ad-banners.
IncrediMail Voice Mail
I mentioned earlier that you could embed your voice in this email client. Sending your voice messages in your email helps to bring loved ones, families and friends closer. Some of my friends, who have migrated to IncrediMail, told me that they did because of the great savings made on International phone calls. Most of the social calls we make to friends and loved ones in far-flung places are mainly to hear their voices. With this email client you can send voice messages along with other detailed written messages in your email. This is how it is done.
I assume you’ve downloaded and installed IncrediMail. If so, you’ll find its icon in the tray near the time indicator of your computer. Double click the icon to launch the program. Click New Mail to open the compose message window. Click Recorder and speak clearly into your system microphone. After the recording, click Attach and your recorded voice message will be attached to your email as a wave-sound. Compose the rest of your message and click Send. That is all there is to it, but do play back your recorded voice messages always before sending them to ensure that you have said the right things! Figure 4 is the Voice Message Recorder in a recording mode. 
Figure 4: Voice Message Recorder
With the debut of MSNE and its associated Hotmail, Microsoft has made surfing the Web and sending your emails colourful, fast and fun. Incredimail, on the other hand, has taken the email to a more delightful sphere full of fun, graphics, animation and sound. With the ability to embed your voice endearments to your loved ones in your emails, you’ll definitely be able to reduce your long distance phone calls, thereby saving on telephone bills. You’ll definitely love both programs.
Sanya Oloruntoba
