OT: Software Question

[Symon]

Just got some new toys for the office. Op system is Windows 7. Doesn’t come with email anymore (wtfo??), so either have to sign up for Windows Essentials (that will be a cold day) or get an after-market client. Any Windows 7 people out there that can point me to a good email client for this beast? Thanks. JWE

[Numdydar]

I use Outlook [:)] but then I bought the office suite to do it [:(]

Other than webmail, that is all I use. Sorry.

[lazydawg]

I use Thunderbird (by the Mozilla guys). It doesn't have all the bells & whistles that Outlook has; however, it also is not a giant resource hog like Outlook.

http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/

[crsutton]

Windows live mail works fine. Easy to find and download, and you don't have to use the other items that come with it. Pretty good for those who have used the old Outlook system as it is easy to pick up and learn. Or, just make the jump to the cloud and go with Gmail. There are a lot of benefits to that if you use multiple devices such as a pad or smartphone.

[Chris21wen]

ORIGINAL: Symon

Just got some new toys for the office. Op system is Windows 7. Doesn’t come with email anymore (wtfo??), so either have to sign up for Windows Essentials (that will be a cold day) or get an after-market client. Any Windows 7 people out there that can point me to a good email client for this beast? Thanks. JWE

When I retired I lost my copy of Outlook (came with the job). Panicked a bit then installed Windows live mail with no problems at all. Very similiar to Outlook.

[Bullwinkle58]

I still use Outlook 2003. 16 bit maybe? Works fine with 64 bit OS.

I am a dinosaur as well as a moose, yes.

[witpqs]

I use Thunderbird as a client, but I also log into the web interface on my email accounts (one is Gmail, the other is a pay service). I typically am reading and writing email in the web interface of Gmail (or writing in Thunderbird for the other service). Thunderbird runs with POP access, collecting email from the accounts whether I have read it or not in the web interface.

I believe Mozilla renewed its interest in Thunderbird a few months ago after all the NSA crap started coming out. Put GPG4Win (open source Windows implementation of GPG aka GnuPG) on your PC and load the Enigmail add-on. Thunderbird also has a calendar add-on called Lightning, the tasks functions on that are kinda weak so I don't use it much.

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

I still use Outlook 2003. 16 bit maybe? Works fine with 64 bit OS.

I am a dinosaur as well as a moose, yes.

I'm going to send you a papyrus day-book and a (real) lead pencil! [:D]

[Lecivius]

Every client I saw in my Ethical Hackers class has something that allows some sort of nastiness. You're far more versed than I in software, so I apologize if this comes off wrong. But I don't use any. I use public email servers. And even then I am careful.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

I still use Outlook 2003. 16 bit maybe? Works fine with 64 bit OS.

I am a dinosaur as well as a moose, yes.

I'm going to send you a papyrus day-book and a (real) lead pencil! [:D]

Real men get wet (clay) with cuneiform! [;)]

[Symon]

@ncdawg. Beaudy the Wonder Dog went ballistic. "Hey, Dad, anybody who's got a Spaniel as an Avatar has got to be righteous, yeah?" Thunderbird is on my short list. Thanks.

@crsutton. Yes it does work. It's the present work-around. I just don't trust Microsoft and will not trust my communications (business or otherwise) to Bill Gates, the cloud, or the internet. I have a private VPN server. All I want is a simple, ordinary, everyday email client that works with Windows 7.

@Numdydar. Yeah, we got Outlook with our Office suite, too. Tried to fire it up under W-7 but no joy.

Need more responses like ncdawg's, please.

[ed] BTW, I'm a serious dinosaur, myself, Moose.

[witpqs]

If you want options beyond Thunderbird, another is called Evolution. It's basically an open source implementation like Outlook. It's for Linux, but there is a Windows distribution. I haven't used Evolution myself (just looked into it a while back when doing what you are doing now), so I can't give it a personal recommendation. It is highly regarded so far as I can tell.

[CaptDave]

Another vote here for Thunderbird; been using it for over 10 years. Can be a little daunting to set up the first time because documentation is well-hidden (it does exist!), but easy to use thereafter. Powerful features available, but can also be simple.

[Lokasenna]

I've used Evolution. I liked it OK, but I was using it in Linux and having issues making it sync with a Microsoft Exchange server. So I stopped. I did like the feel of the interface.

I've heard good things about Thunderbird.

[Symon]

Yeah, gosh, like always, we're gonna shift to Linux soon as we get out $hit together. Evolution sounds good witpqs. Will keep it in mind. In the meantime, T-bird is on top of our short list for W-7. Seems like people like it, so ...

Hey. Thank you all. JWE

[catwhoorg]

I still use Eudora.

I ought to upgrade to Thunderbird, but as I mainly used web based interfaces, there has never been a pressing need.

[sanch]

+1 for Thunderbird.

Been using it ever since MS took the contacts list out of Outlook Express and put it onto their servers. Works fine; functionally identical.

[Reg]

I just installed Thunderbird on my Wife's new PC yesterday. It complains loudly if you attempt to connect to your mail server on an unencrypted connection (which my Outlook express doesn't even offer as an option).

Once I set that up the Virus checker then started complaining that it couldn't eavesdrop and scan incoming e-mails (don't worry the T-bird docs tell you how to get around that!!).

All in all Thunderbird seems to be a good option for the security conscious.

[wdolson]

I started using Thunderbird's ancient ancestor in 1995, Netscape Mail 1.0 Beta. I've been using it ever since. My current mail setup is descended from that first e-mail database, created when I first installed all those many years ago. I just found a joke sent 11/10/95 (just about everything else that old was deleted long ago).

The hardware has changed many times, so has the OS. I don't know how many times I've cloned it to a new hard drive. But it keeps going. 18 years now.

If there are some features you want with Thunderbird that aren't in the basic package, there is a huge base of add-ons out there you can tap. Mozilla maintains a database of ones that have been tested and shown to work well with others.

So I'd strongly recommend Thunderbird.

Bill

[Chris21wen]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

I still use Outlook 2003. 16 bit maybe? Works fine with 64 bit OS.

I am a dinosaur as well as a moose, yes.

...... (real) lead pencil! [:D]

You mean the very latest in data recording equipment.