When displaying the message list, Yahoo Mail shows whether an email has attachments by displaying a paper clip icon, which many people find useful. One good alternative for backing up important documents and files is to sign up for the free Yahoo Briefcase. They give away 10 megabytes of free storage on their Web server. You can upload any type of file and store it on their server. No more having to cart around floppies or worrying about misplacing files.
Instant messaging is a relatively new feature for most Internet users.
Think of it as something halfway between a phone conversation and email. America Online's Instant Messenger, also known as AOL IM, is the most popular and can be used to quickly enter into a conversation with anyone on the Internet. Many faculty and students use this feature to quickly interact where a phone call may be too intrusive and email may not be quick enough. In the last few years, cellular phones have become very popular for journalism students. Coverage in New York City and the J-school is very good these days, which makes it a viable as a primary phone line for your reporting duties.