|
How is InterNEDI different from email?
|
| In some ways InterNEDI looks rather like email. In fact, most of the things you can do with email you can do with InterNEDI. If you wish to dumb-down InterNEDI and use it as a substitute for email, you can do this by sending cover notes only to a specific user.
|
| There are crucial differences:
|
| • With InterNEDI you receive only the files you want.
|
| Looking at the list of files in your File Centre is like looking at your email inbox, but unlike email, where everything is already in your inbox, InterNEDI allows you to choose which files you want to receive. One of the major complaints about email these days is that people get too much of it and feel rude if they don't answer it. However, with InterNEDI you can receive and open only the ones you want to. You can sort the listed files into groups — from you / for you / for your group / for everyone, or you can display one or more of these categories only.
|
| Usually you would receive files that have been sent to you specifically, but you don't have to get them. Files that have been sent to your group are like emails that have been CC'd to you which may be important, but often just clog up your inbox. The comment or cover note displayed with such files will let you know whether you need them or not. Files that have been sent to all users are similar. Do you really need them? By seeing who sent them, and checking whether confirmation of receipt is requested, you will be able to judge their importance and decide whether to get them or not.
|
| • Integral file transfer.
|
| InterNEDI has been designed from the ground up as a file transfer mechanism, unlike email which tacked it on later, leading to some cludgy compromises. Did you know that, irrespective of how much you compress a file before sending it by email, when it is finally encoded for sending, a system called base64 causes each file to expand by 33%, leading to longer transfer times. InterNEDI compresses files transparently before sending, and sends the file as pure binary, so that no expansion is necessary.
|
| • Meaningful history view.
|
| You can save records of transfers in a history file. Using the history viewer is like viewing both your inbox and sent items together in an email program. The difference is that you can show only sends/receives to or from a specific other person. By sorting it into date order, you have an instant history of ALL transactions with that person. Now you can see who said what, when ! Some email clients now have a similar feature that they call a 'conversation'. InterNEDI has had this feature for years.
|
• Further differences:
- No Spam ! If anyone tries, the Super User just removes their send permission !
- With InterNEDI you can charge people to receive and to send files too.
- InterNEDI can be fully automated.
|
| • The "Killer" difference, in our view, is:
|
| With InterNEDI, groups of users are referred to by nothing more than a label, and the members of that group are maintained by the Super User. With email, you need to maintain the lists of users that you send to regularly. If their addresses change, you have to update them yourself. With InterNEDI, when you send to a group you simply specify the label of the group and your file will be available to all the latest members. Even if new members join the group after you've sent the file, they will have access to it also !
|
| These are the most obvious differences between email and InterNEDI. There are many more. Please refer to List of Major Features and benefits for a comprehensive listing.
|
