Outlook Express or Thunderbird?

[Under_His_Shadow]

After using AOL for about 4 yrs. we switched to DSL so are trying to get used to OE as our e-mail program now, but notice a few problems. When I switch back & forth from one of our 3 screen names (OE calls them "identities") to another, it occasionally won't do it, and at the bottom it says, "done, with errors". Then I have to log out & back in to read my emails and/or switch "identities again? Is this a problem with O.E. or my Win.XP Home (or my computer, which is only 6 months old)?

Also, I heard Tech-show radio host, Leo Laporte recommend Mozilla's "Thunderbird" for an e-mail program. Has anyone had any experience with it that knows it's pros & cons? Thanks!

 

[MiccyNarc]

I use Mozilla Thunderbird, and I like it. It's very fast, easy to use, and has very effective junk mail controls. Best of all it's free.
Cons? Ummm..it's not as fancy as the others? I don't know, I don't notice any real issues with it.

 

[Stormboy]

I use Mozilla Thunderbird, and I like it. It's very fast, easy to use, and has very effective junk mail controls. Best of all it's free.
Cons? Ummm..it's not as fancy as the others? I don't know, I don't notice any real issues with it.

Thunderbird & Firefox all the way !!
And I like the junk mail control.

 

[phantasma]

I'd go for Mozilla Thunderbird, and you should also get Mozilla Firefox as well.

mozilla.org/projects/thunderbird/
mozilla.org/projects/firefox/

 

[jono1]

if you can be bothered to or afford it, get MS office 2003 - it has outlook 2003 which works much better than OE and has a calendar, a comprehensive contacts organising thingy, great spam blockage and heaps of other security features and stuff. i love it.

 

[Morrog]

...Or if you want to save your money and get an even better product get Thunderbird like everyone says. And yes, get firefox for your browser as well.

If you want a full package of things (browser, email client, irc client, etc...) you can get Mozilla, but Mozilla is a bit slower than just firefox and thunderbird alone.

 

[mannmann]

Thunderbird rocks! - and many fewer vulnerabilities!!

ManN

 

[godscreation8888]

Thunderbird, a lot harder for people to hack. OE is way too easy to hack and come on, Microsoft or Mozilla, Mozilla of course.

 

[Under_His_Shadow]

Thank you all for your replies and advice. I had thought it was obvious, but realize now that I should have specifically mentioned that I'm not very computer-literate, and after just spending some time reading at Mozilla's site and message forum, etc, Whew! it seems to me that Thunderbird (and especially that firefox browser), are geared primarily for very computer-savvy people. Am I correct? I didn't understand 1/2 of the material I read there.

For instance, I wanted to see if I could have multiple screen-names/"identities" with T.B. and found this statement:"We have not developed UI in Thunderbird to configure multiple identities yet. You must be comfortable modifying user prefs.js in order to take advantage of this feature. Before beginning, make sure you are familiar with how to edit config files." Huh? :o And when reading about "extentions", I was completely lost! So I'll probably have to wait until they get it more average-user-friendly.

I'm just looking for something that works smoothly, and is also easy for a technically-mediocre person to understand and use.

I'm still hoping though, that someone can tell me why, when changing back and forth between several identities in O.E., it sometimes won't let me, until I log out and back on again? Has anyone else experienced this?
Thanks again!
UHS

†

 

[NerdySurfer/rick]

oh man, i just started using firebird and thunderbird. they definatly rock. i definatly recomend em!

 

[MiccyNarc]

For instance, I wanted to see if I could have multiple screen-names/"identities" with T.B. and found this statement:"We have not developed UI in Thunderbird to configure multiple identities yet. You must be comfortable modifying user prefs.js in order to take advantage of this feature. Before beginning, make sure you are familiar with how to edit config files." Huh? :o And when reading about "extentions", I was completely lost! So I'll probably have to wait until they get it more average-user-friendly.

You don't need to mess with extensions, I have only gotten one, and that was to show me how many popups have been stopped by the built in blocker.

As for multiple screennames, I've never messed with it. I can use multiple e-mail inboxes ("Add account")...but if you are worried about people reading each other's e-mails, create multiple Windows XP User Accounts.

Both are extremely user friendly, and much better than IE.

 

[Grunt]

I would use anything other than Outlook/OE.

Personally I use Opera's M2 mail client for my main email, and just use OE to get to my old hotmail (junk) accounts. Only thing about M2 is that it doesn't support HTTP mail accounts, only POP and IMAP.

 

[godscreation8888]

Both software are in a way for computer-savvy people, but of course, those people all started from software. Search around the site, from what I remember, there should be stuff to teach u how to edit ur files. Of course, back up first if u are going try. The multiple XP accounts is also a good idea.

 

[Stryper]

Thunderbird, a lot harder for people to hack. OE is way too easy to hack...

you sounded like a complete n00b right there. haha

 

[VWPETE]

I use Mozilla Tunderbird and it rocks.

 

[PuppyforChrist]

While we are on the subject, I thought Mozilla Thunderbird was just a preview release. Is that true? Or is it the whole thing?

Also, what is the difference between Mozilla and FireFox? Are the two browsers different in some way? If so, how? I ask this because I tried Mozilla before, and then when I came to CF, the glow effects and shadow effects on all usernames were gone. I had a lot of problems with Mozilla.

Any suggestions or answers?

 

[pgp_protector]

Mozilla makes firefox, and it's the whole thing.
Now not all of the javascrips work right with firefox (Some of the pong / move commands do funny things) but that's because there coded for I.E. and ar'nt 100% complient :0

 

[Tarheel25]

Thunderbird & Firefox all the way !!
And I like the junk mail control.

Amen best browser and email clients hands down!

 

[Stryper]

thunderbird has very bad junk mail catching.

outlook 2003 has the best junk mail filter.

 

[Under_His_Shadow]

thunderbird has very bad junk mail catching.

outlook 2003 has the best junk mail filter.

Quote:
[ Originally Posted by: Stormboy

Thunderbird & Firefox all the way !!
And I like the junk mail control.

Amen best browser and email clients hands down!] (end quote)

We switched from AOL dial-up, to dslextreme 3-4 weeks ago, and have been using OE for our e-mail. Since switching, we have not received even one piece of junk/spam, whereas with AOL we got several (on each screen name) every day, and had to constantly keep "reporting" them to AOL every day. Dslextreme also gives us this free "Panicware" pop-up stopper, which works good but requires us to sometimes press control before clicking on something, in order to see it.

If this isn't getting too far off the orig. topic, my question is, is it dslextreme that gets credit for our no-spam condition, or OE, or the combination of the two?
Thanks!