Term of the Moment

Gigabit Ethernet


Look Up Another Term


Definition: You've Got Mail


The audio announcement heard millions of times per day in the late 1990s when AOL was the dominant Internet provider. The words were recorded by Elwood "El" Edwards in 1989 at the suggestion of his wife Karen, who worked in customer service for Quantum Computer Services before Quantum became AOL.

Elwood recorded "Welcome!," "File's Done," "Goodbye" and "You've Got Mail," the latter made famous by the 1998 Warner Bros. romantic comedy film of that name with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. An announcer with a long career in broadcasting and radio, when Edwards talked to strangers, many swore they knew him. See AOL.