Q: If I send an e-mail, is there a way to know if the recipient got it? I'm interested because some people to whom I've sent an e-mail say they never got it (not even in their spam folders.)
Alexander: Finding out if your e-mail was received is harder than it sounds
The nice way is to ask for a response. The less nice way is to use a tracking pixel.
For the Minnesota Star Tribune
February 27, 2022 at 8:00PM
JOHN WEZOWICZ, Suffield, Conn.
A: There are ways to track whether an e-mail has been received, but none of them are very reliable and one is widely considered to be an invasion of privacy.
The "nice" ways to see if your e-mail has been received are to ask for a "read receipt" or a "delivery receipt" when you send the message. Mail programs that can do that include Microsoft's Outlook.com online mail service, the PC based Microsoft Outlook mail program and, to a lesser extent, the Gmail systems that are used by schools and businesses.
A read receipt is just a message that asks the recipient to respond if he or she reads the e-mail. But responding is voluntary. If the recipient fails to reply, you won't know if your e-mail was received. To make matters more complicated, some recipient e-mail systems may not allow the use of read receipts. As a result, read receipts might or might not work.
A delivery receipt is a little more sophisticated. It tells your e-mail server to ask the recipient's e-mail server to confirm that the e-mail was received. But not all recipient e-mail servers will respond to these requests. So, delivery receipts also might or might not work. (To learn more about e-mail read receipts and delivery receipts, see tinyurl.com/yc77ns3p).
The "less nice" way to see if an e-mail has been received is to put a "tracking pixel" in the e-mail. Tracking pixels are small, barely noticeable images that are downloaded to your e-mail message each time a recipient opens it. Tracking pixel software tells you who opened the e-mail. (For more details, see tinyurl.com/am2nzs84 and tinyurl.com/2p9849xr and tinyurl.com/dnwvawar).
However, there are two problems with using tracking pixel software:
- Because the technology is widely used by spammers and e-mail marketers, many people consider its use to be an invasion of their privacy.
- Some e-mail systems can block tracking pixels (see tinyurl.com/yck4yemv). They do that by not allowing an incoming e-mail to display any images. As a result, a tracking pixel can't reveal if an e-mail was opened. (However, if the e-mail recipient asks to see the images, the tracking pixel can do its work.)
Q: What's the best way to convert my family videos on VHS tape to digital computer files? I'd like to do the work myself, but I'd consider paying a company to do it.
DAVE URBAN, Dassel, Minn.
A: It's practical for you to do the conversion work yourself. Whether it's cheaper than paying someone to do it will depend on how many VHS tapes you need to convert.
You'll need a VHS-to-digital conversion device (new for $25-$175, see tinyurl.com/4fh7f6xr) and a VCR (used for $130 and up on eBay or Amazon.) Cables may cost extra. For simple directions, see this article from Forbes (tinyurl.com/3tx2u95y). This Tom's Guide article (tinyurl.com/2hwtm4z6) is a bit more technical, but also lists services that will do the conversion for you for about $20 per tape.
E-mail tech questions to steve.j.alexander@gmail.com or write to Tech Q&A, 650 3rd Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488. Include name, city and telephone number.
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