So Long to Clunky Web E-Mail

So Long to Clunky Web E-Mail: "The new Earthlink Web mail program, available to subscribers in June, takes a more dramatic step up. For example, the limitations of traditional Web programs often cause them to spawn multiple windows on your screen. With Earthlink mail, however, that doesn't happen.
The application, which bears a strong resemblance to Microsoft Outlook Express, lets you handle most tasks within a single, multipane window. All your mail appears in one easy-to-scroll-through list, rather than pages of 25 or so messages each. You can read the text of a selected message below the in-box list. You can also move messages by dragging them to folders, and resize the panes and columns by simply moving the dividers between them.
It will take a while for these richer Web apps to spread widely, especially in business. Enterprises have invested heavily in older Web-based programs and, with technology budgets tight, they will tend to leave alone things that work, even when they leave room for improvement.
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Fortunately, companies such as Laszlo Systems (which designed the Earthlink mail program) and JackBe provide tools for the rapid conversion of traditional Web programs to rich Internet applications. "