Now here’s an interesting question, from WM: Hey Woody, Had to finally give up XP and jumped to W10. Now, what’s the best alternative for Outlook Expr
[See the full post at: What’s next after Outlook Express?]
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What’s next after Outlook Express?
Home » Forums » Newsletter and Homepage topics » What’s next after Outlook Express?
- This topic has 27 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 11 months ago by
Fivos.
Tags: Windows 10 email
AuthorTopicViewing 26 reply threadsAuthorReplies-
ch100
AskWoody_MVP -
Yan
GuestMay 8, 2016 at 8:29 pm #43169Sylpheed, http://sylpheed.sraoss.jp/en/ , or Pegasus Mail, http://www.pmail.com/ .
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MikeFromMarkham
AskWoody Lounger -
John W
GuestMay 8, 2016 at 8:49 pm #43171I agree that having an email program on the hard drive is best, even if you use web mail as well. I had to give up Outlook Express with Win XP.
I have been using the free Thunderbird on Windows 7 for a couple of years without issue, so I can vouch for it! I also like the calendar plugin called Lightning, but there are calendar options outside of a mail program as well.
Here are the Thunderbird system requirements (They do list Win 10 now):
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/45.0/system-requirements/For a few other options, I ran across this article: http://email.about.com/od/windowsemailclients/tp/free_email_prog.htm
Note: option #3 in the last link – Windows Live Mail – will apparently only work for non-Microsoft based email servers. They are making changes on their end that will break compatibility. For everyone else, it’s still a go.
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Paul
Guest -
John R
GuestMay 9, 2016 at 1:22 am #43173As I may have mentioned before Windows Live Mail works well on Windows 10 and is very like Outlook Express to set up if that is of any value to you. It has the advantage of being free of course.
If you can’t download it from Microsoft any more there are some offline installers around if you look for them.
See earlier postings regarding using WLM to access outlook, hotmail, etc addresses. -
lizzytish
AskWoody LoungerMay 9, 2016 at 2:26 am #43174Well there are a few alternatives…. Actually one can use OE (which has been modified/fixed) with Win7 and 8 and
I believe Win10.
https://sites.google.com/site/simpledotnet/outlook-express-6
I have it on my machine but don’t use it too much. This is free to use…. and quite simple to make it work.Interestingly enough all my old settings for OE came up….. this being a new machine with Win7 on it over 4years plus
ago………. so all the OE settings and mail must have come over when I changed over previously and had been
sitting there all these years!
there is another site that offers it for a donation which I didn’t take up.
My feelings are why not call it a fee – rather than a donation. don’t like that!
(when Josh of GWX control panel, talks of a donation – he still lets you use it even if you don’t donate)Alternatives to OE:
WINDOWS MAIL (from Vista) can be used with added dlls and v. popular as it’s similar to OE.. (specially for those working with Stationary)
DREAMMAIL v.v. similar to OE. I use it and have been since I’ve been on this Win7 machine (about 5 yrs)
It must be pointed out that these 3 alternatives are not supported by their authors and therefore in some people’s view are not secure. That being said I’ve not had any problems with DM,WM or OE all these years… I do have Security Programmes watching my back… not sure if that helps but it reassures me.
With Windows Mail every time there is an update more often than not you have to repair it,
which just means replacing with a good copy. (although WM is shipped with the OS…… it’s neutered….. and when updating happens Windows considers it obsolete and disables it)
And of course Windows Live Mail which is still current.Should you be interested in following up WM or DM I can probably dig up some links to help you.
There are of course other options which are not in the MS Stable, but I’m sure there are others who will tell you
about them, including Woody of course, who has already spoken about webmail.
Hope this helps! LT -
JJ
GuestMay 9, 2016 at 3:06 am #43175That’s just terrible news about MS Live Mail being dropped. My folks (pensioners) used to use the old Outlook Express, then MS forced them to use Live Mail which they still using to this day even after upgrading to Windows 10. I’ve been trying out the Windows 10 Mail app and it terrible. It feels like you going back 10 years. It doesn’t flow nicely and does not allow you to change layout or preferences.
What would you suggest we use? -
woody
Manager -
woody
ManagerMay 9, 2016 at 5:17 am #43177I just installed WLM on Win10, and discovered that one of my @msn.com accounts doesn’t work. When I try to use it, I get a message that says, in effect, WLM doesn’t support HTTPS. Microsoft no longer allows you to take HTTPS support off an msn.com account. So I’m stuck until I can figure out how to get WLM to speak HTTPS (I want to use the DeltaSync protocol), or I can get HTTPS turned off on msn.com.
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mer
GuestMay 9, 2016 at 5:47 am #43178Another vote for thunderbird. I’ve used it on different platforms (FreeBSD, Linux and Windows) for a while, it’s gotten better each release. I’m mostly “meh” about cloud mail, it works great until you lose your network connection. I’ve always preferred to read my email at one location, so I’ll pop3s instead of imap, I’d rather have them physically reside on my machine.
For work stuff, Gmail is fine. -
wdburt1
Guest -
Jim
GuestMay 9, 2016 at 7:43 am #43180I’ve been using Thunderbird for several years now. But upon getting a new computer and having to reinstall Thunderbird, I have decided to stick with Webmail for now. Reason: I never could get one of my email accounts to do a secure password transmit. If I could figure that one out, I would go with Thunderbird.
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PkCano
GuestMay 9, 2016 at 7:51 am #43181I use Thunderbird, but only half way. Let me explain why.
If you go to a website and click on a link like “contact us,” the system goes looking for a mail client to make the reply. It cannot log into your online email (GMail, ISP’s service, etc) because it doesn’t have the ID and pwd. It has to look for a locally installed mail client (Outlook Express in XP, WLM, Outlook, Thunderbird, etc) to be able to send a reply. If none is installed, it fails.
I use Thunderbird as that installed mail client so I can SEND from my computers. Why Thunderbird? It’s free. I have both Macs and Windows of several flavors. Thunderbird is compatible with both, and Linux as well. If I do a new install, I can copy my contacts and sent mail from one computer to the next b/c it is the same program.
Now the half way. I do not RECEIVE (download) the mail from the email provider (as in POP3 or IMAP). I have IDs on my ISP, ATT, Yahoo, and GMail). My incoming mail stays on the web (no more GBs of clutter on the PC). If I want one login only, I can forward three of them to the fourth. However, I use one of them for Junk mail – when I sign up for something knowing they will bombard me with useless info, so I MAY check it once in a while to delete and it doesn’t get forwarded.
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rc primak
GuestMay 9, 2016 at 8:22 am #43182Thunderbird for Windows and for those using multiple OSes. For Ubuntu Linux, I can use KMail or Claws Mail.
Thunderbird is one of the few clients which can export mail as UNIX Mailboxes. This is critical if using Linux or MacOS in addition to Windows.
With Android Apps coming to Chrome Browser, there may be other alternatives coming soon for all major OSes.
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John W
GuestMay 9, 2016 at 11:08 am #43183Another point to consider, especially when choosing a free solution, is how big is the support community? How active are they?
Recommend taking a look at their forums, before making any decisions.
With free software, you are usually on your own to solve any problems that may arise.
Beyond tutorials on installing and configuring your accounts, or FAQ’s, what if your email suddenly stops working one morning … especially after a version upgrade?
That’s why it’s great to have an active forum to post your questions in, where you will hopefully get quick answers from folks familiar with the product and possibly know the answer to the problem, or are at least able to provide some troubleshooting advice.
I have found that the Mozillazine forum has helped me with Thunderbird on the few occasions that I had questions. http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewforum.php?f=39
I was curious and looked at a couple of other Windows email solutions, such as Opera and Pegasus.
For instance, there does not seem to be a dedicated forum for Opera Mail. You have to search in the Opera for Windows forum, and the mail threads are mixed with the browser issues.
On the other hand Pegasus has been around forever(since 1990) and seems to have an active forum http://community.pmail.com/forums/default.aspx
Look before you leap!
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ch100
AskWoody_MVP -
Michael
Guest -
John R
Guest -
John R
GuestMay 9, 2016 at 9:36 pm #43187Well I’ve just repeated my tests and I can send and receive perfectly well from my hotmail email address using WLM 2009 on Windows 10 Tech Preview Build 14332.rs1.
Settings are incoming mail POP3 Port 995 pop3.live.com using SSL connection and outgoing mail port 587 smtp.live.com using SSL connection and outgoing server requires authentication. Log on uses clear text authentication.
Perhaps you were trying to use IMAP? Perhaps your antivirus was blocking you – I just use Windows Defender on Win 10. Perhaps your ISP is making things difficult somehow? It will be interesting to find out. -
Jim in Yakima
GuestMay 9, 2016 at 10:38 pm #43188Thunderbird 45.0 just released. Auto update was seamless (as usual) and required just a restart of the program. There are a few new features related to dictionaries, text control, and plain/HTML sending.
After many years on OE and then Outlook, I had to switch because my new ISP is IMAP only. Outlook (at least through 2010, and I suspect 2013 and 2016) is not IMAP-friendly, at all.
Thunderbird, however, is. Like Firefox, Thunderbird has its add-ons and customizations (although to a lesser extent).
The big change for me was central vs local storage (IMAP vs POP3). It sure is nice not to have to backup/copy huge PST files. The only slowdown was transferring the contacts (address book). That was a CSV export from Outlook, editing in Excel to get the somewhat scrambled data into the correct fields, and then importing in Thunderbird.
Unlike Outlook, which maintains user data in a single PST file (more if you want) stored locally, Thunderbird stores only your addresses locally (maybe the data from the now-integrated calendar, as well … haven’t checked that). Thunderbird does a good job of capturing email addresses of senders not present in your address book(s).
Although Thunderbird storage (inbox and sent) is not local, local folders are present for archiving … one pane to the next. Drag ‘n drop simple. Seems to be a very light (quick-starting) program, too.
Changing email clients is not fun. Thunderbird is an option to at least consider for those facing change. As John W stated before, Mozilla looks to be in full support of this no-cost option.
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zz
GuestMay 10, 2016 at 10:11 am #43189If you want the functionality that OE, Windows Mail or WLM have had, the most likely logical replacement is Thunderbird. Pegasus is also an option — it’s been around for a lot of years, although for some, there is concern that Pegasus is a single-developer project, and a few years back, there was a little concern that he may have gotten tired, and could drop the work (especially without much funding).
Claws may be an option, although it’s not widely used. So to, The Bat!, but it’s not free.
Outlook is an entirely different beast. It does email, but it’s really designed to be an Exchange client — it’s so-so on POP, a little better on IMAP, and the functions of calendar, to-do lists, contact management, etc. are much stronger. And Microsoft really expects Outlook to be a tool to be a connector among various Microsoft components, especially Office. Outlook may be the thing to use if you’re in an Enterprise environment, but if all you want/need is a stand-alone email client, other clients work better.
There is an article that asks if Webmail is killing Thunderbird: http://www.datamation.com/open-source/is-web-mail-killing-thunderbird.html. If all you need is a single mailbox, and not a lot of tools for handling, the answer may be “yes”.
In the discussion above, suggesting “gmail” (by itself) misses the point. Gmail is a service, and the most common point of interface is via the web, and if you want more than just basic interface, gmail is lacking, even if the service itself is good. Something that a lot of people miss is that even if you use gmail, you don’t have to limit yourself to using the web client — it’s possible to set up both POP and IMAP accounts with an external client, where you have the UI and mail-handling that the client provides, working with the underlying service.
For what it’s worth, that’s also possible to do with Yahoo. And relative to the original point of this discussion, I believe it’s possible to use other clients with Microsoft’s mail offerings, and it’s still possible to use Windows Live Mail with non-Microsoft services. Even though Microsoft (or for that matter, Google or Apple) implies otherwise, you don’t have to use a Microsoft client to use a Microsoft service, and you can use Microsoft clients with other service providers. It comes down to support of core Internet standards: POP, IMAP and SMTP, and if you have a client that supports those, then you can use that client with any service that supports those.
With Thunderbird (or derivative works, such as FossaMail, or the mail client in the Seamonkey suite), the biggest thing that you get is the same kind of flexibility that you get with the Firefox browser. Lots of ability to fine-tune the tool to how you do things, including a lot of support for extensions. Personally, I find a stand-alone client to make it a lot faster and easier to monitor multiple mailboxes, and the tools for sorting, filing and searching are far better in a stand-alone client than what you can do with a web client.
And for a few, there is also the question of what you can do by working off-line. Although the days of dial-up modems are mostly in the past (but not entirely gone), there are times when it’s useful to be able to work in batches (e.g., download content, work off-line, and then upload new work, when completed), and webmail can’t touch that.
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woody
Manager -
John W
GuestMay 10, 2016 at 2:02 pm #43191@Jim in Yakima & @zz:
Great points made by both of you. I would just like to add to what Jim said about message storage in Thunderbird.
For example, I am using IMAP with Gmail, with folder retention policies on my Inbox set to “never delete” (via my account settings), and with folder synchronization policy “Select this folder for offline use”.
I have the archive folders as well, but have never used them.
My Gmail IMAP Inbox is always available in Thunderbird whether connected to the net or not. When online, Thunderbird checks for new messages, gets the new messages from my Inbox at the Gmail server and updates a local copy of my Inbox. Attachments and all
So I never have to do anything to copy my messages or archive for offline use. It just happens automagically.
A side benefit over using this method over Web Mail, is that I can avoid staying signed into a Web Mail provider to have current access to my email. Too many web trackers in use these days!
Thunderbird just gets in, sends and receives, and then gets out. It has no idea what you are doing on the web, or tracking cookies, or whatever else may be spying on you. Oh, it supports the latest secure SSL/TLS protocols if your server supports them, too
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John W
GuestMay 10, 2016 at 2:23 pm #43192Forgot to mention one advantage that IMAP has over POP, even though it is not specific to Thunderbird.
The folder sync works across the board with all of your devices. Your folders for Inbox, Sent, Drafts, etc., are one virtual service. It even works with your mobile mail app (at least with Gmail for Android, in my experience).
It used to drive me crazy when I accessed my ISP’s POP email from several different PC’s and/or Web Mail, when each device would have a unique “Sent” mailbox. So If I was trying to review an old mail I had sent, first I had to remember which device I had sent it from in order to find it. Arrgghh!
IMAP keeps all of your sent messages in one virtual place, and you can see them from any device, anywhere, any time. This works really well for me as I get older
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ch100
AskWoody_MVPMay 10, 2016 at 2:56 pm #43193Thanks zz, I think this is what was requested by the original poster in very much detail. Also good point about Outlook being more than an email client and worse at email even than Outlook Express. The 2 were not related in any other way than the name and the software company which owns to a certain extent the branding.
There was a proposal here to use a modified version of Outlook Express which may be OK functionally, but raises legal questions not being endorsed by Microsoft and based on a existing commercial product.
Another vote for Thunderbird supported by arguments and a partial vote for the very old Pegasus, partial only due to practicality of adopting it, otherwise being a good product. -
Fivos
GuestJune 6, 2016 at 1:56 pm #43194Try EverDesk. If you use Gmail – try EverDesk with Google addon – it s really great! And there is no single database file with emails like in Thunderbird or Outlook (once the file is lost or corrupted you lose everything) – it handles each email as a separate eml file, so it is also great for backups. And best of all – it saves your emails and other documents together in regular Windows folders, so you do not have to switch between email client and Windows Explorer to work on the same subject.
Viewing 26 reply threads - This topic has 27 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 11 months ago by
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