Memail -a Heterogeneous Multimedia Electronic Mail System Memail -a Heterogeneous Multimedia Electronic Mail System

Recent multimedia research efforts have resulted in the slow emergence of multimedia mail systems as a viable enhancement and replacement of the traditional ASCII-text only mail systems. Existing multimedia systems, which are mainly homogeneous systems, are generally more concerned with providing the necessary tools to allow multimedia mail to be composed and electronic communication to take place among users. Provision of basic functionality alone is insufficient to assure long term success and large scale users' acceptance. There is a distinctive need to address both aspects of efficiency and effectiveness in multimedia electronic mail systems so that it can be a viable alternative to traditional text mail. This paper proposes a number of key success factors pertaining to the system and user level in the delivery of the next generation of multimedia electronic mail systems. It demonstrates how these factors have been considered in the design and implementation of a prototype multimedia system, MEmail, to function over the heterogeneous academic environment of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.