The main difference between Gmail and Yahoo mail resides in the POP3 and SMTP facility, which Gmail offers for free. What is POP3? POP3 is an acronym for Post Office Protocol version 3, and it is an Internet standard protocol, to retrieve email from a remote email server. It usually comes in a bundle with SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), which is a standard for transmitting mails across the Internet.

These two protocols allow you to send and receive emails from your PC, without accessing any web pages. All you need is an email program. I would recommend Mozilla Thunderbird, because it is free, stable, safe, easy to use and has a powerful filter function. You can get Mozilla Thunderbird here: http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/

To enable POP3 for your Gmail account you have to login at www.gmail.com with your username and password. In the upper right corner you will see a “Settings” link. Click on it and then go to “Forwarding and POP” and select any of the two “Enable POP” buttons. Now press the “Save Changes” button and you’re set.

Now on the Gmail page, go to "Help" -> "POP Access" -> "Configuring your email client: Thunderbird 0.x" (or click on this link: http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=13285&topic=1555 )

Now follow the step-by-step instructions to configure Mozilla Thunderbird. After you do this, all you have to do is press the Get Mail button in the program, and all the emails will start coming to you!

Related Links:

http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/
http://www.gmail.com