Which Email Client?

[zokudu]

So I have a Microsoft Professional Academic License through my school and I cannot decide which email client to use. I have been using Outlook successfully for about a year since I got Office 2010.

Recently my family setup a google calendar to keep everything organized. Thunderbird both syncs to and from the google calendar perfectly and displays shared calendars from my family members properly. Outlook only syncs my personal calendar both ways and I cannot view my families changes from within Outlook.

Should I just swap to Thunderbird and be done with it? Or keep searching for a way to stay in outlook.

 

[Venom20]

Should I just swap to Thunderbird and be done with it?

Short answer: yes
Long(er) answer: would you miss any Outlook features?

 

[lxskllr]

I use open source email exclusively. I don't like being tethered to company, and dependent on them to read my mail. If MS abandons Outlook, or drastically changes the format, you could be compelled to pay for something you don't want, with little other recourse. Libre software doesn't have a monetary interest in forcing you to upgrade, so they're more likely to retain backward compatibility. If for some reason they don't, you're free to modify the code to make it work for you, or pay someone else to do it.

If I wasn't clear, my choice is Thunderbird ;^)

 

[Gooberlx2]

Yeah, I'd use thunderbird/sunbird in your situation OP...or just the web interface.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

another vote for thunderbird. i switched from outlook and haven't had any problems.

 

[Emulex]

nothing but outlook has the integration to microsoft apps - something you'll be tied to for the rest of your life (unless you work at ibm , then domino). Outlook will never go - it's a core structure in their world and is available by cloud or traditional

 

[alkemyst]

Question should be Thunderbird or other client...thunderbird is great if you have use of it's features.

I like Outlook for office interconnectivity and use Pegasus mail for personal.

 

[abekl]

I think a mail client is unnecessary altogether. Web based email works just fine.

 

[Nothinman]

nothing but outlook has the integration to microsoft apps - something you'll be tied to for the rest of your life (unless you work at ibm , then domino). Outlook will never go - it's a core structure in their world and is available by cloud or traditional

He didn't mention Exchange or any kind of work use so how is that relevant at all?

I think a mail client is unnecessary altogether. Web based email works just fine.

I can't stand web clients, I would much rather use a real client any day. Although my phone is my primary email client (K9 on Android for personal email) these days, I still have mutt configured at home.

 

[corkyg]

T-Bird is a good client. Webmail is a decent substitute, but not easy for mail file management and synching. I find my good old Eudora Pro 7.1 - works perfectly in Win 7, and it has the best mail/file management ever. Very easy to synch email files between different computers.

 

[bunker]

If you'd like to continue using Outlook, install this:
Google Calendar Sync

 

[zokudu]

If you'd like to continue using Outlook, install this:
Google Calendar Sync

Only syncs my personal calendar not my families shared ones which is the problem.

I have ~5 email accounts I check regularly so using an email client is invaluable.

Also no work environment yet I'm still in college. I really just dislike Thunderbirds interface for some reason. Oh well it syncs properly so thats what I'll have to do for now.

 

[Miramonti]

My concern is what if/when thunderbird is abandoned...I don't want to keep importing archived emails into other programs. So I've stayed with outlook and kept the emails in their original state. I use an email client only as an archival/search tool so it really doesn't make a difference for me day to day.

 

[Nothinman]

My concern is what if/when thunderbird is abandoned...I don't want to keep importing archived emails into other programs. So I've stayed with outlook and kept the emails in their original state. I use an email client only as an archival/search tool so it really doesn't make a difference for me day to day.

You have more of a chance of Outlook and it's PST format being abandoned. Thunderbird is open source and the format it stores your messages in is mbox, while not the most efficient it's an easy to understand and open standard format.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

Check out the conversations addon, it has improved the interface for me:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/gmail-conversation-view/

Only syncs my personal calendar not my families shared ones which is the problem.

I have ~5 email accounts I check regularly so using an email client is invaluable.

Also no work environment yet I'm still in college. I really just dislike Thunderbirds interface for some reason. Oh well it syncs properly so thats what I'll have to do for now.

 

[gmaster456]

The windows live mail 2011 client is fantastic. I set it up for my mom. Its great. It also has the ribbon UI so its easy to navigate in most cases. I tried thunderbird out and didn't like it as much.

 

[Samantha21]

I personally prefer TrulyMail over Thunderbird. It's free, can import and export so I don't have to worry about getting my messages out of it and it works great on Windows 7.