If you didn’t know any better, you might think Microsoft Corp. was trying to confuse you into using the wrong email program — or wanted to scare you away from email altogether. Throughout roughly the past year, the company has introduced two would-be successors to its well-liked Outlook Express email program. One attempt, now discontinued, featured annoying advertisements that couldn’t be hidden; the other comes loaded on PCs with the new Windows Vista operating system but amazingly doesn’t work with Microsoft’s own Hotmail.

Now, Microsoft is hoping to clear up the confusion and simplify lives with a third release to replace Outlook Express: Windows Live Mail. And judging by an early version of the program, the third time could be the charm.

Microsoft’s Windows Live Mail, a free download, enables photo embedding, resizing and touch-ups in the email.

Outlook Express, or OE as it’s called, garnered popularity as a slimmed down, consumer-friendly version of its big brother Outlook, which many people are already familiar with thanks to its widespread use in the workplace. Outlook Express was a straightforward program that let users set up email accounts in a few short steps without help from an IT department.

But in 2004, seven years after its debut, Microsoft stopped investing in OE, causing it to lag behind new email programs with more advanced features. Even so, its simplicity was so attractive that three years ago when Microsoft started charging $20 monthly for new users to check Hotmail emails using OE, people paid.

Now comes Windows Live Mail. The program can be downloaded free at http://get.live.com/betas, and while it’s still in its testing phase and has kinks, it’s already rather good. It includes new bells and whistles like photo-embedding tools, syndicated feeds and integration with instant messaging. But if none of these extras interest you, you’ll be glad to find that Windows Live Mail still offers the same familiarity as OE in all its uncomplicated glory.

It has a few glaring bugs. Its email sound indicator doesn’t notify you of newly received emails. It lost its connection a few too many times when attempting to retrieve email — especially when I first installed it. And when I tried to email a Word attachment using Windows Live Mail, it failed, but this only happened when I used Windows Vista. Unless Microsoft fixes these bugs, which could take until the fall, all of its good intentions might be for naught. But the pluses of Windows Live Mail make me think it could be a worthy successor to OE.

On a separate but confusing note, Microsoft’s Web version of Hotmail was just overhauled, giving it more Web 2.0 functionality such as the ability to drag and drop messages from one folder to another without changing screens. It now incorporates a reading pane for each email like that found in Outlook or Windows Live Mail. Windows Live Hotmail, as it’s now called, is separate from Windows Live Mail.

Windows Live Mail offers new features like integration with instant messaging, but still resembles its predecessor, Outlook Express.

Windows Live Mail works on computers running Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista. I tried both, and noted a few slight differences, most of which are aesthetic.

Before Windows Live Mail, I was up a creek when I wanted to set up my long-standing Hotmail account on Vista. My Vista laptop came with a separate but similarly named program called Windows Mail, which didn’t work with Hotmail. I had to set up the Hotmail account on my laptop’s full version of Outlook, which was more exasperating and far too slow. Outlook is designed primarily for Microsoft Exchange email — corporate email set up by companies — and can be slow and clumsy with Web-based or other consumer email accounts.

When I downloaded and installed Windows Live Mail on my Vista and XP machines, setting up email accounts (including Hotmail) took just about 10 seconds each. There’s no limit on the number of email addresses that you can add to Windows Live Mail, as was also the case with Outlook Express. But it took a bit longer for my various Hotmail folders to get set up. Windows Live Mail supports full two-way synchronization, a plus that guarantees any changes made on one computer will be reflected on others through your account.

A feature within Windows Live Mail called Active Search automatically reads emails that are visible in your preview pane and extracts keywords from those messages for advertisements that appear in a column on the far right side. But Active Search can be closed with one click, never to be seen again.

I was excited to use the new photo-embedding tools in this program, though this isn’t a new idea; Apple Mail, Apple Inc.’s equivalent to Outlook Express, already offers photo sizing and slide shows within emails. While composing an email using Windows Live Mail I selected “Add Photos,” choosing pics of a friend’s wedding from various folders on my PC. These shots appeared in my email with designated space below each for titles. Without leaving the email body, you can choose one of three frames to place around each shot, or you can change the picture itself by automatically enhancing it or by changing a color shot to black and white.

Windows Live Mail lets you choose photo sizes within the email to avoid unknowingly sending gigantic emails. Two categories help, labeled “Size in Email” (small, medium or large thumbnails) and “File Size” (small, medium and large; large offers up to five megabytes per photo). If you’re sending these embedded pics with a Microsoft Live ID, a link to a slide show of the photos is sent with your shots and recipients can copy hi-res versions of each image for up to 30 days.

I missed hearing a sound notification whenever new emails arrived. Microsoft says it will fix this and other bugs by the fall, at the latest, which is a long time to wait.

Another thing that bothered me was that each contact name has an icon beside it showing a generic photo, which you’d assume could be replaced with an actual photo of the person. But instead, that icon will only show an image if that person is on your Live Messenger buddy list (Microsoft’s integrated instant-messaging program) and if he or she chooses to show a photo. This seems like a real waste of space for the majority of your contacts who won’t be Live Messenger users.

Junk-mail settings can be adjusted to “Low,” “High” or “Safe List Only,” meaning that only those emails on a list that you create can be received.

As I kept my Windows Live Mail account open, it didn’t seem to be checking email as rapidly as my old Outlook Express program did; this was the case on my XP desktop and on my Vista laptop. The program seemed to have trouble establishing an Internet connection through Windows Live Mail on both PCs more than a few times, though I was simultaneously using a Web browser. This occurred less the more I used Windows Live Mail, but it was irksome at first.

Other interesting features of this new email client include RSS feeds that are specifically organized in your account like emails; I set up five to start and kept a steady stream of news coming in. You can also be notified when of one of your contacts signs on to Live Messenger, letting you link directly into an instant-messaging conversation rather than an email for faster communication. Also, content from emails can be uploaded to your Microsoft Spaces site in a single click.

As usual, contacts from other programs like Outlook and certain file types can be imported into your Windows Live Mail contact list; compatibility will be expanded when the final version of Windows Live Mail is released later this year.

For now, though this email program is still in beta and has its wrinkles, you’ll find it to be a helpful and straightforward program to use, just like its predecessor, Outlook Express.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

• Email me at MossbergSolution@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications:

Microsoft Corp. charges $20 annually for new users to check Hotmail emails using Outlook Express. Due to inaccurate information from Microsoft, this article states that this was a monthly charge.

This week, I tested three such replacement options: two keyboard sets that operate wirelessly using Bluetooth — the replacement for wires running short distances — and a stand-alone wired ergonomic keyboard made for touch typists who value comfort during long hours in front of a computer screen.

Top left: $150 Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5000 Laser. Top right: $65 Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. $150 Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000.

The two wireless sets I used are Microsoft Corp.’s Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000, which came out just a few months ago, and Logitech Inc.’s comparable but older Cordless Desktop MX 5000 Laser, which has been available for about a year and a half. Each costs $150. These keyboards have built-in shortcuts that make them handy to use on or off the desk when browsing through digital media like photos, videos and music.

I also tried Microsoft’s wired $65 Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. It incorporates some shortcut buttons of its own, but stands out more because of its appearance: its keys are split into two groupings for right and left hands and each side slants upward in the center around an arch, forcing your hands to rest more naturally as if positioned to shake. The keyboard comes with a detachable wrist rest that raises your wrists a third of an inch above the rest of the keyboard.

Each product brought something slightly different to the table: The ergo offers comfort and functionality; the wireless Logitech has a multifunctional mouse and a keyboard with a built-in LCD; the wireless Microsoft shows off a sleek look and 17 touch-sensitive buttons. As a touch typist, I preferred Microsoft’s Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 for its hand-relaxing setup and 13 shortcut buttons. I’m using it now to type this column, and my fingers have less distance to go before reaching a key than on a regular keyboard.

The basic functions of these keyboards/keyboard sets work out of the box on Mac and Windows operating systems, but their extra features work only after installing included or downloaded software, and neither the wireless Microsoft set nor the Logitech set will work on a Mac, period. Both companies claim that these products will work with Windows Vista, Microsoft’s newest operating system, but the ergonomic keyboard’s extra bells and whistles didn’t work properly on my Vista laptop.

I easily got the wireless Logitech and Microsoft keyboard sets communicating with their corresponding Bluetooth receivers on PCs and laptops. I pressed a Connect button on the base of each set’s mouse and keyboard before pressing the same button on the USB Bluetooth receiver and a few seconds later, I was in business.

The Microsoft and Logitech wireless desktops use USB plug-in Bluetooth receivers to connect the computer with the mouse and keyboard. Both mice operated on rechargeable batteries and must be docked occasionally for recharging, which is annoying — especially if you’re forgetful. But each will fully recharge in two hours, giving two and three weeks for the Logitech and Microsoft mice, respectively. Both mice get enough juice for a full day of usage after charging for 10 minutes.

Both keyboards use regular keys and a series of touch-sensitive buttons that work when you hover your finger over the intended button and touch it very slightly. Logitech’s touch-sensitive media buttons are relegated to the far left of its keyboard, including zoom and volume buttons that adjust with a finger flick up or down. Microsoft’s touch-sensitive keys line the entire top edge of its keypad.

Logitech’s wireless keyboard is about two inches wider than Microsoft’s, and for good reason: the Microsoft keyboard lacks a numeric keypad on its far right side, a feature that I missed. In place of the keypad are a set of directional buttons that mimic the basic functionality of a mouse. These let you push back from your desktop to browse digital photos while leaving your mouse on the desk yet still taking advantage of some of its functions.

The Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5000 Laser keyboard uses a built-in LCD at the center top of its keyboard. This screen reflected the keyboard’s synching with my computer: it displayed my name, the date and the time. When I played music, the artist and song title scrolled across the screen. This could come in handy if you planned to constantly use the keyboard away from the PC. But in most cases, the content on the LCD wasn’t that helpful, and seemed repetitive of what was on the computer screen.

The Logitech mouse is sculpted to fit a hand and it offered more buttons for scrolling and navigation than the Microsoft set’s mouse. To recharge, this mouse fits upright in a stand. Microsoft’s wireless mouse recharges by lying flat on a recharging strip.

I used Microsoft’s Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 with my desktop computers at work and in place of a small laptop’s squished keyboard. Its arched center and split keys took a little getting used to, but I was soon hooked. A special feature in the center of the keyboard called the Zoom Slider lets you zoom in or out to adjust the view of a screen. This worked for me in Microsoft Word documents, but not in Outlook Express or within Firefox’s browser.

Five large, numbered buttons at the center top of this ergo keyboard are called My Favorites, and I programmed them with ease by pressing one and entering the desired destination, including folders, browsers, or specific Web sites.

But typing on this keyboard really won me over. Its split setup won’t work for everyone, but for touch typists, it’s truly more comfortable. I typed away with ease using my right and left fingers, and keys felt closer together due to their inward-tilting shape. I noticed that I made fewer mistakes typing on this keyboard than on a regular keyboard.

If you spend a lot of time at a computer each day, you may want to consider one of these keyboards or keyboard sets for better ergonomics and production. It takes a little while to get used to using keyboard shortcuts for things like music and photos, but these can be real time-savers. Whatever you choose, know that there are other options out there beyond what came with your computer, and that they’re usually worth the extra money.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

• Email me at MossbergSolution@wsj.com. Find these columns online for free at the new All Things Digital Web site: solution.allthingsd.com.

Numerous companies have tried to design computers made specifically for the kitchen, with hopes of becoming the best digital hub. The latest of these, the H-P TouchSmart PC from Hewlett-Packard Co., boasts a beautiful touch screen for quick access, but is expensive and enormous. Even worse, the TouchSmart’s calendar software program is limited and unintuitive.

This week I tested Cozi Central (www.cozi.com), a free, downloadable calendaring program from Cozi Group Inc. that works on most Windows PCs, not just expensive new computers that hog kitchen-counter space. Cozi offers a built-in family messaging system, and shopping or to-do lists that the whole family can edit. Starting today, Cozi also automatically synchronizes with Microsoft Outlook calendars, allowing work events to be considered in the family calendar and vice versa. Plus, it can be used well beyond just the family Windows PC. It has a Web-based version, so family members can use it from a browser on any computer, anywhere — even a Macintosh. And it will send schedules and shopping lists to your cellphone via text messages or through an audible text-to-speech program.

Cozi Central organizes family activities.

Cozi sounds complicated because it does so much, but it’s actually pretty simple. It was designed specifically with its audience in mind: busy moms and dads who will quickly revert to the paper calendar if a program is too complicated or time-consuming.

Cozi Central impressed me with its functionality and attractive overall look. It incorporates various ways to connect families with their calendars at home and on the go, and every screen is clean and uncluttered. It could stand to improve in three areas: adding notifications of changes made by other family members; allowing response messaging from family members to Cozi (now, messages can only be sent out from within Cozi); and improving the way an entire month’s schedule looks on-screen. But Cozi’s attributes are overwhelming enough for you to want to use it with your family.

I used Cozi in both of its formats: as a downloaded program on my Windows PC and as a Web-based program. Both coordinate and sync with one another, Web access provided. The PC-based version of Cozi Central has a few extra features, including the ability to show a month view and to automatically generate photo collages.

After downloading and registering the names of two main users and up to six additional users for the calendar, I named my calendar and created a password. This password can be shared with family members (or whomever will also use the calendar). Nothing in Cozi is private. I also installed Cozi’s new Outlook toolbar, which syncs your Outlook calendar with your Cozi calendar. The first sync took about 10 minutes, but thereafter, synching was quick, under a minute each time something changed on either calendar.

Cozi Central’s main page is appropriately called Home, and it reminded me of a bulletin board with four things tacked on a solid-color background. In the top left, a photo of your choosing is displayed. The top right shows a brief view of your family’s calendar over the next few days. The bottom right shows one of your lists (such as groceries or to-do) and another space on the Home page lets you type and send emails or text messages to family members.

In the calendar section, the names of those registered are designated with color-coded tabs across the top of the screen. To see one person’s calendar, select his or her tab. The All view shows everyone’s events on one calendar; each person is represented by a different colored dot.

All calendar entries can be typed into a designated space at the bottom of the screen in just about any format. I typed “Bridal shower tomorrow from noon-three,” and “Bridal shower” was added to the next day on my calendar from 12-3 p.m.; specifics such as reoccurrences and locations can be added by selecting the event. This lean toward the casual allows for fast, easy entries by all family members — not just the person who uses Cozi most often.

The Cozi program that was installed on my Windows PC showed a variety of calendar views. I prefer to see an overall month view of my calendar at all times, but couldn’t see all weeks of the month simultaneously in Cozi. The more events you have per day, the less you’ll see of your month. The Web-based version of Cozi only offers a vertical view of the next few days.

For users who integrate Microsoft Outlook Calendars with Cozi, special settings can be adjusted so that hundreds of business appointments don’t start cluttering up the family calendar.

The Shopping List section on the Home bulletin board opens current lists. By default, lists called Groceries, Wholesale and Other are already set up, but new lists can easily be added. Items are simply typed in, and the PC version of Cozi uses a list of popular items to automatically finish words as you type. Items can be crossed off by selecting a check mark.

The Cozi calendar coordinates schedules.

The message section of Cozi’s Home page sent text messages and emails to others almost instantly after I entered text and selected Send. I never had to open a separate email program or type an email address or phone number. But the recipient of these messages can’t respond; Cozi only sends outgoing messages and can’t receive replies. The company hopes to add this feature in the future.

The phone and email options that work with Cozi could be useful in a bind. If you’re away from home and need to know a schedule or grocery list, you can dial in from a Cozi-registered phone number to hear these things read aloud or sent to you via text message. You can also send text messages to Cozi to request information. Or whoever is at the computer can send this data out directly from within the Cozi program itself.

If a family member changes or adds something to Cozi, there’s no way of knowing. Cozi needs to implement some kind of notification system that gives you the option to be told of any changes.

Photo collages are started from the Cozi Home page. These immediately fill your screen with about five to seven related photos at a time, without any work on your part. Each collage lasts for about 10 seconds, by default, and typing “S” will let you send the currently displayed collage to anyone.

As of now, Cozi is free of advertisements. This summer, a series of interactive advertisements will appear alongside your calendars or lists. These ads incorporate content into your Cozi, but only if you ask for it. For example, if you create a shopping list for a certain store and an item in that store is advertised on your screen, you can click the ad to put that item in your shopping list.

Cozi just works. It looks clean, organized and uncluttered, regardless of hectic schedules. It’s also easy enough for anyone to use, and Cozi Group Inc. is constantly working to improve the program, which is a good sign. But even its smaller faults can be overlooked for usability. Cozi makes kitchen computers, or family computers anywhere in the house, more useful.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

• Email: MossbergSolution@wsj.com

But voice mail lags behind in key ways. A voice mail still doesn’t tell you the caller’s name or reason for calling unless you listen to at least part of it. You usually can’t reply to a voice mail with a message of your own, as with email; instead, you must call the person back. And you can’t easily jump from the most recent voice mail to the 10th without listening to every message in between.

Pinger, a free voice mail messaging service, works on mobile devices, email and its Web site, www.pinger.com.

Still, voice mail has its place. A phone call is much more personal than an email, and lets you use vocal inflection to express your point, whereas email expressions can sometimes be misinterpreted. And it’s often easier and faster to speak your message than to type it out.

This week, I tested Pinger, a free messaging service that tries to make voice mail more usable by emphasizing its strengths and making it a little more like email, or like a cellphone text message. This new service comes from Pinger Inc, a Silicon Valley-based company started by former Palm Inc. employees.

Pinger works by sending messages using a quick back-and-forth voice-mail system. You dial a special number, say the recipient’s name, leave a message and hang up. The recipient is notified of this message and its sender via Short Message Service (SMS), and/or email and then must dial in or go to a Web page to hear the voice mail. He or she can reply to the voice mail by pressing “1,” leaving a message for the sender and hanging up.

You can also log into your Pinger account via the www.pinger.com Web site. Here, your Pinger voice mails are listed like emails, including the sender’s name, time sent, length and notes that you can add about each message. A green arrow beside messages indicates that you replied, and messages can be sorted by category.

Pinger is one of several new services that are trying to bring voice into the Internet age. One, called Jott, at jott.com, lets you dial a number and dictate messages to yourself, like notes or reminders, or messages that can be broadcast to others. It even tries to transcribe what you say. Another, called Evoca, at evoca.com, records and stores dictation for archiving, sharing and podcasting. It offers both transcription and translation.

Overall, Pinger’s messaging service was most convenient when I was the sender rather than the receiver. When I didn’t have time to type a message on my BlackBerry or didn’t want to bother with writing a text message on my phone’s numeric keypad, Pinger proved to be a fast, hassle-free process that took only a few tries to get down pat. And it was helpful in situations when I wanted to leave a message rather than talk to another person.

But the process of receiving a Pinger message on a mobile device isn’t as straightforward as it should be. In the time needed to receive and read the Pinger text message notification about a voice mail, some users could have already received and read a text message or BlackBerry email.

I got started with Pinger by setting up an account with my first and last name, email address and a four-digit PIN. I entered my cellphone number, as well as the make and model of my cellphone.

Then, I went to the Web site Pinger.com to set up a list of contacts by entering names and email addresses of friends. I manually entered a few contacts, and then followed steps to import a more complete list of my contacts from Microsoft’s Outlook Express. Contacts can also be imported from Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, Entourage and Outlook.

You can send and receive messages directly on the Pinger site, without a phone, but you need a computer with a microphone to record messages.

But Pinger is at its best when used as an on-the-go solution with your cellphone or mobile device; I quickly left messages for friends in just a few steps. After calling a special number, a recorded voice asked, “Who do you wanna message?” I spoke the name of one of my contacts, the system repeated it back to me and a tone sounded after which I left my voice mail. Hanging up automatically sends the message.

To respond to a Pinger message on your cellphone, you press your phone’s “1″ button after listening to the original message and speak after the tone. Just like with email, you can forward a voice mail or reply to all recipients of the message.

But until I became familiar with Pinger, I wasn’t sure which numeric commands did what. Pinger gives as few vocal prompts as possible to simplify things. For example, if five messages are sent back and forth between two people, the entire thread of messages will play back on the voice mail before any vocal prompts are heard. This can be a little confusing, unless you remember that the “0″ key always opens a help menu.

Pinger may have trouble finding an audience. The idea of using voice mail might be considered too old-fashioned for younger users, while the thought of receiving a text message to get a voice mail might be too complicated for older users. And, though Pinger is currently free, it may charge in the future.

For people who are already familiar with mobile messaging, the extra step of calling in or logging on to a Web site to get a message may seem redundant. Pinger hopes its service will appeal to those who don’t currently use text messaging or email on a mobile device, but still want a fast way to send messages.

If you prefer the personal touch of voice mail over email and text messaging, or you don’t always have time to call someone else for fear of starting an entire conversation, Pinger works well. It takes a little practice to get comfortable with how you’ll use it in your everyday life, but it offers a new way to look at messaging.

Email address: MossbergSolution@wsj.com

How many times have you wanted to email a large attachment — like a bunch of digital photos, an album of songs, or a hefty video — but didn’t do so because it exceeded your email provider’s, or the recipient’s, limits on attachment size, or because it might max out the recipient’s mailbox?

This frustration is growing increasingly common as better digital cameras produce bigger photos and large video clips, and digital music becomes more widespread. Computer hard disks have grown nicely to accommodate these files, but limits on the size of email messages haven’t. And, even if you could send such large attachments, it can take forever to send them via email, partly because broadband upload speeds lag far behind download speeds.

Instead of suffering the frustration of a bounced email, many folks have resorted to Web-based services like Shutterfly or Kodak EasyShare Gallery or YouTube.com or Google Video for sharing digital photos and videos. They upload the files to these sites, then send links to their friends and family. But this method has major drawbacks. The recipients don’t get the full-size files on their own computers, and sometimes must register with the sites to view your material.

This week, we tested a new, free, application called Pando that aims to solve this problem without requiring you to use an intermediary Web site. Pando lets you email huge attachments — up to one gigabyte each — to anyone, without breaching email size limits, or clogging anyone’s inbox. It comes in versions for both Windows and Macintosh computers, available for downloading at www.pando.com.

It sounded fishy to us, too, but Pando, from Pando Networks Inc., performed really well in our tests — even in its current “beta,” or trial, stage. It’s simple, fast, and effective, and it solves the large-attachment problem.

Pando works by merging the mechanism of email with its own small program and a modified version of BitTorrent, a back-end file-transfer system best known until now for speeding up the downloading of large, unauthorized files, like pirated movies.

Here’s how you use Pando. First, you download and install the small Pando program. Then, you select the files you want to send. These can be any type of files you want, or even whole folders of files. Then, still using the Pando software, you type in the addresses of the recipients, the subject, and a message. The software then does three things: it creates a Pando Package, a small special file that instructs the recipient’s computer on how to fetch the files; it sends an email containing that package file, plus any text you want; and it uploads the files to a Pando server.

On the recipient’s end, an email is received in his or her normal email program containing the Pando Package as a tiny attachment (one huge 94 megabyte attachment we sent required only a 22-kilobyte attachment). The recipient just opens the Pando Package attachment, and it in turn launches the Pando software, which then downloads the files or folders you sent. The first time the recipient receives a Pando email, he or she will have to download and install the Pando software. There’s a link in the email to the download site.

Once downloaded onto the receiver’s computer, all Pando files can be found in a special folder that Pando automatically creates. In Windows, it’s called My Pando Packages and is in My Documents. On the Mac, it’s called Pando Packages and is in the home folder. The files are also listed in the handy Received list in the Pando software.

As a bonus, Pando can sometimes transmit these large files faster than your email program or Web browser could. That’s because it uses a modified version of the speedy BitTorrent technology.

We downloaded and installed Pando in just a few minutes. Opening the small Pando email attachment from Microsoft Outlook on Windows or Apple Mail on the Mac prompted a little Pando window to pop up, in which all sent and received files were organized. This window is simple, showing a thumbnail image and text description of each file. A list of received files shows who sent the file and when; the sent list shows to whom you sent files and when.

We started out big, sharing a 95-megabyte, high-resolution video. You must create a username and password to send using Pando, which we did, entering our email and first and last names. A simple “Send New” icon opens the email-like form, where we dragged and dropped this big video file.

No Pando Package can total more than one gigabyte, and an automatic tally shows you how large the Package is becoming as you drag and drop more files into it.

The Pando software program allows users to send large email attachments without running afoul of normal size limitations.

Another way to send files using Pando is by right-clicking on any file or folder in your computer and selecting a “Send With Pando” option that appears after the software application is downloaded. Selecting this also opens the familiar sending window. But this works only in Windows.

The 95-megabyte video took eight minutes to upload, and nine minutes to download — impressively fast times. Another Pando Package filled with 44 high-resolution digital photos totaling 65 megabytes took six minutes to upload, and six minutes to receive.

But Pando can’t entirely overcome slow Internet connections, so your speeds may vary considerably. This is especially true on the uploading side, as even broadband cable and DSL connections typically offer upload speeds that are a fraction of their download speeds. In our tests, at our office and homes, our download and upload speeds ranged from 30 kilobits per second to 250, depending on where we were and when we were testing.

Even if you didn’t see any speed improvement with Pando, you’d still benefit from the sheer ability to send huge attachments. That’s a big deal.

On July 25, Pando Networks will introduce a special plug-in for Outlook, making it even easier for users to send huge files without worrying about inbox congestion. And the company also has plans to introduce plug-ins for Web-based email programs like Google’s Gmail and Microsoft’s Hotmail.

If you’re tired of bounced emails, and of using Web sites to share your personal videos or photos, Pando is a straightforward solution that anyone can understand in a matter of minutes. It’s a great solution to a vexing problem.

• Email: MossbergSolution@wsj.com.