I have been using Yahoo mail since 1999. And it just keeps getting better. But the New Yahoo Mail is the best webmail tool I’ve seen.

When I started using Yahoo Mail in 1999, I wanted a webmail tool that I could access from ANY computer and that allowed me to import my Netscape mail address book. Yahoo mail did all that…and it was FREE! Even though I loved all of the nice features of Netscape, Mozilla, and Thunderbird mail, I was willing to sacrafice those nice, interactive features for a mail tool that allowed me to access my email from any computer.

But all webmail tools at the time were pretty cumbersome. They worked like web applications and were missing all the nice features of a dedicated, local mail client like Thunderbird or Outlook. For example, webmail tools don’t allow you to drag and drop messages into folders, and many webmail tools, like Gmail, don’t even have folders.

Most webmail tools don’t let you use keyboard commands to interact with the mail tool for common functions like new email, check email, delete email, and save email. Instead, you have to click a checkbox or a button. This is a very cumbersome way to deal with these repetitive tasks.

The new Yahoo mail is different. It acts more like a dedicated mail client. For example, to start a new email, just click the letter “n” on your keyboard and a new mail tab appears. To delete an email, select it and click your Delete key. To check mail, click the letter “m” on your keyboard. To check all email accounts, click Shift + m.

If you want to move a bunch of emails to a folder, you have several choices: Control click multiple emails and drag them to a folder, or click the select box on each mail and then select a folder from the Move menu. That’s all there is to it.

What’s more, you can have several tabs open at the same time; for example, you can have an inbox tab, multiple new email tabs, and a search results tab.

And finally, for around $20 a year, you can get Yahoo Mail Plus. With Yahoo Mail Plus, you don’t see ANY ads. That alone is worth $20. But you get more. You can add all your other email accounts. No big deal, you say; you can do that with other webmail tools. Maybe so, but other tools don’t let you send email from those accounts; when you send an email, the from address is from your webmail account, not the extra account. The nice thing about Yahoo Plus Mail is that I can use one mail tool to manage several email accounts and I can send mail as if it came from any of those other accounts. Try doing that in YOUR webmail tool.

Give Yahoo’s new mail tool a test drive. It’s free and I’m sure you’ll be impressed.

Skype is a free computer program that allows you to make voice calls to other Skype users, anywhere in the world, for free. If that doesn’t sound great, there’s even more. Skype also allows you to make conference calls. You can call up to four other Skype users.

Still not convinced that you need Skype? Maybe you don’t, but it just might be a viable replacement for your old land-line phone. My wife and I have been moving around for the last couple years. As a result, we both got cell phones and canceled our land line with the phone company. The best thing about this move, in addition to saving a lot of money, is that now, when my phone rings, it’s for me, and I rarely get a telemarketing call. Unfortunately, there are several problems with cell phones compared to land lines. First, the voice quality is never as good as a land line and the reception is often poor. Second, if you talk a lot on the phone, cell phones can be very expensive, especially if you go over your plan minutes.

This is where Skype comes in. The Free Skpye is great, but you can only call other Skype users. You can’t call phones and phones can’t call you. For about $75 a year, you can get a Skype plan with unlimited long distance anywhere in the US. In addition, you get a Skype phone number so phone users can call you on Skype. What’s more, you can configure you Skype phone number so it forwards to your cell or land phone after a specified number of rings. That way, you never miss you Skype calls.

I have been using Skype for over a year now and love it. I can make free conference calls to up to four phones and talk as long as I want. Plus, the voice quality is VERY good and the connnections are reliable.