	Windows	Mac
Email	Email is by far the most important tool in an electronic activist's toolbox. Email clients have improved tremendously in the past year, and if you haven't upgraded from old versions, you're probably not harnessing the full power of email in your work.
	Eudora 5.0 . Eudora 5.0 ($39/user or $175 for 5 users) is one of the most powerful and user-friendly email programs available, and well worth the small investment. It includes very sophisticated message filtering, the ability to check multiple email accounts, and robust attachment processing capabilities. If you absolutely cannot afford Eudora 5.0, you have two choices. Eudora 5.0 supports a full-featured "sponsored" mode that is free, but displays small ads while you're using the program. Or, you can choose an ad-free, but less full-featured "freeware" mode. It's less powerful than the full version, but does include automatic message filtering, a powerful address book, and is very easy to use. If you are using an older version of Eudora, you should upgrade NOW! http://www.eudora.com/ Microsoft Outlook Express . Outlook Express (not to be confused with Outlook 2000, below), is the email client that is bundled with Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5.5 Web browser. Like Netscape Messenger, Outlook Express is a complete and user-friendly email program that should more than serve the needs of typical health care reform activist. Also, like Netscape Messenger, the whole software package requires a fairly quick machine with at least 16 MB of RAM. Folks using Microsoft Internet Mail, bundled with Internet Explorer 3.02, should strongly consider the upgrade to IE 5.5, including Outlook Express. It's a free download from the Microsoft Web site. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ Microsoft Outlook 2000 (Windows only) Microsoft Outlook 2000 is the third version of Microsoft's flagship messaging product, and incorporates a first-rate email client, as well as an excellent contact, calendar and task manger. Outlook 98 also has the ability to share mail folders, contacts and calendar information with other Outlook 2000 users over the Internet. Outlook 2000 is a part of the Office 2000 suite, and requires a fairly powerful machine--a Pentium with at least 32 MB of memory--but if you have the hardware, it's a terrific product. (Outlook 2000 is not available for Macintosh) http://www.microsoft.com/outlook
Web	Netscape Communicator 4.75 , Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 The second major tool of the online activist is the World Wide Web. The two market-leading Web browsers are Netscape Communicator 4.75 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5. These are both excellent products, and have virtually identical features. Both are completely free. Which is better? It's a toss-up. Use whichever you're most comfortable with. http://www.netscape.com/download/ http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/
FTP	Although you do not need a separate FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program simply to download (or upload) files from the Web--Netscape Navigator does this quite well--it's sometimes handy to have a dedicated program for the task, especially when you're building your own Web site.
	WS_FTP There are a number of FTP clients available for the Windows platform--most are very similar. We are very happy with WS_FTP� it's simple, fast and easy to use. (limited edition is free, $37.95 for the full version). http://www.csra.net/ junodj/ws_ftp32.htm	Fetch There's really only one name in Mac FTP clients: Fetch. Fast, rock-solid and well integrated into the Mac OS. http://www.dartmouth.edu/ pages/softdev/fetch.html
Unstuffing	In order to save precious downloading time most files on the Internet are compressed. You'll need a file decompression utility in order to unstuff these files. (Don't worry, they're very simple to use, and will often run automatically with your Web browser!)
	WinZip 8.0 This is the standard Windows "unzip" package. It's very user-friendly and includes versions for Windows 3.x and Windows 95. http://www.winzip.com/	StuffitExpander 5.5 Stuffit Expander is the standard Mac "unstuffing" tool. It's fast, flexible and very simple to use. http://www.aladdinsys.com/