It sounds more complicated than it is. Pine is easy to use, with prompts at the bottom of the screen indicating the commands available. Problem is, fewer ISPs today offer shell accounts. As long as you know how to use a Web browser, using these ad-supported services couldn't be easier. Direct Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer to the service's Web site, type in your user name and password, and click messages in your in-box to open them.
Sophisticated features are available.
But subscribers to typical ISPs will have no problems. When you go out of town, you direct the Web service to retrieve regular e-mail. When you return, direct it to stop. You should also consider security when e-mailing through the Web. When you read or write a message, the Web browser saves a copy of the screen.