Movie Style E-Mails. Review on Incredimail

It has been said that there is no such thing as a free lunch but I think that I have found it or at least as close as anyone is ever likely to get. It’s called IncrediMail and it is free, free, free and so are the hundreds of extras. The only other free lunch that I have ever had in the computer world is the e-mail client YAM2 (Yet Another Mailer) on the Amiga platform produced by Marcel Beck a university student in Switzerland and that too knocked spots off the others that cost money, although it was nothing like this.

IncrediMail is a par excellence e-mail client that is a dead ringer for Outlook Express with the corners rounded off and a 3D look about it, with whistles and bells.

After seeing Tom Cruise use a futuristic and visually appealing e-mail programme in the film Mission Impossible, unable to trace such a programme, a group of creative enthusiasts launched IncrediMail Ltd in Israel with the aid of private funds. The aim was to re-produce the movie version and that they have done with aplomb. For a mere $30 the IncrediMail Premium is available which judging by the freebie has got to be something extra special and you get free upgrades for the following twelve months.

The freebie can be downloaded from their web site at:

https://incredimail.com/english/splash.html as can all the extras. If you want to know what you are letting yourself in for before committing some of your on-line time, you can view a demo, which in itself is an experience. The download is just over 5 Mb so it is time to get the kettle on whilst your computer does what it does best without your interference. Installation is as simple as a mouse click and your experience can begin.

I do have one gripe about the e-mail client and that is that it wants to take over right from the start and whether you like it or not it wants to be top dog on your machine. It is polite enough to ask you if you want IncrediMail as the default programme but even if you answer no it sneaks in to sit in the background just waiting for some mail to come in. Its little orange icon tucked into the “task bar” shows that it is running in the background from boot-up and if you don’t launch your own e-mail client it will grab all the glory when the time is ripe and once it is in front the only way to boot it back into its place is to re-boot. Even when you launch your own e-mail client and use it to send and receive e-mails, once that is done IncrediMail will not let it get a look in afterwards because any mail that comes in whilst you are on-line will be intercepted and grabbed.

With such an attitude I was going to title this opinion as “Little Hitler” but in deference to the Israeli connection I changed my mind. I mean you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

But you can tame this whippersnapper’s takeover ambitions and regain control of your computer simply by launching the programme and selecting Tools from the menu and then Options and un-tick the “Launch IncrediMail on startup box. But beware when you close it down, it still lurks around ready to grab your incoming mail even if you launch your regular mailer so to get rid of it right click the tiny orange icon an select Exit.

So what do you get for your Shekels? I don’t know, but I do know what you get for nothing. When you launch IncrediMail a sexy female voice greets you with “Welcome”. You can customise your e-mails with pretty backgrounds. You can add fun animations and sounds and you can turn your e-mail into a greeting card not too dissimilar to Yahoo Greetings. But the real “piece de resistance” is what happens on your screen when an e-mail is received. A “Notifier” appears to announce the arrival of an e-mail, which is better than a simple ting from Express. The choices of “Notifier” are amazing, from a Jeeves like butler walking on screen and announcing in a serious ‘butler type’ voice, “You have mail Sir.” (I found myself actually saying, “Thank you!”) to a robot or submarine. If you are really adept at controlling the mouse you can actually sign your e-mails in your own handwriting.

IncrediMail will work on any system that supports Express but I understand that e-mail clients on AOL cannot handle IncrediMail. It is aptly named and it is fun and bright and jolly and an ordinary e-mail client can receive and show what you send and you don’t get any advertising on your e-mails, but is it necessary? If it wasn’t for the fact that it was so pushy I would say yes because it does brighten up a dull Express and the butler is a hoot but e-mails with whistles and bells have to be larger than plain Janes so it takes longer to receive and send. It’ll be fun while it lasts and shall miss the butler when he announces for the last time “You have mail Sir” but time is precious and it is my machine. Yet I’m tempted to keep it and him in place.