E-mail is the transmission of messages over communication networks.
To use e-mail, you must have access to a computer that is linked to the outside world via a modem, phone line, or fiber optic cable.
E-mail messages are sent over the Internet and are stored in electronic mailbox servers for the recipient to retrieve them.

Hotmail is a web-based e-mail provider.
With Hotmail, you can send and receive messages from any computer connected to the Internet including workstations at the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library.