Record-less e-mail.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis - Brief article

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A new web-based messaging system enables users to send and receive communications without any record of ever having done so.

Void Communications' VaporStream system works in the same way as e-mail and instant messaging. Users visit the VaporStream webpage and open an account to send or receive a message. Users' names do not appear anywhere on the system. When a message is sent, it disappears from the sender's screen and goes into the VaporStream server, where it is stored in a temporary segment of the server, according to MSNBC.com.

VaporStream messages cannot be copied into other programs, and when a message is delivered, it is erased from the VaporStream server. When the recipient responds, the sender's original message disappears from the computer, meaning both parties have to remember their virtual conversation.

At a cost of $40 a year, some businesses may consider it a logical, inexpensive solution for separating employees' business-critical messages from personal, inconsequential...