# Windows 8 is aggravating **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 10, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441 "2014-01-10T14:28:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/21 "2014-01-10T22:31:54Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Tiny hijack but there is something I don’t understand here–what leads you to want to avoid using a website to check your email? My dad asks me this all the time, too, but a real mail client is just so much more efficient than a web page: plus it’s a real app, none of this “type a 3 page mail message, hit “send”, get some sort of a server error, oops, your content is gone” crap. I can sort, move, find messages hundreds or thousands at a time, not just what fits on a screen. I can filter on complex rules and automate other apps with it. Web mail’s fine for when I’m on vacation, or for folks like my dad who get 15 emails a month at the outside, but it’s a very poor substitute for even the simplest of the real mail apps. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/22 "2014-01-10T22:45:13Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Tiny hijack but there is something I don’t understand here–what leads you to want to avoid using a website to check your email? Browser-based email is in a word, lame. Nobody who needs to truly manage their emails should be using it. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/23 "2014-01-10T23:31:26Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Browser-based email is in a word, lame. > > Nobody who needs to truly manage their emails should be using it. Why not? For reference, my main email account is at [outlook.com](http://outlook.com). ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/24 "2014-01-10T23:33:08Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > My dad asks me this all the time, too, but a real mail client is just so much more efficient than a web page: plus it’s a real app, none of this “type a 3 page mail message, hit “send”, get some sort of a server error, oops, your content is gone” crap. I can sort, move, find messages hundreds or thousands at a time, not just what fits on a screen. I can filter on complex rules and automate other apps with it. > > Web mail’s fine for when I’m on vacation, or for folks like my dad who get 15 emails a month at the outside, but it’s a very poor substitute for even the simplest of the real mail apps. I can do all of those things\* in my email accounts. I’ve never lost an email due to a server error though I can imagine it happening–but all my accounts save a draft seemingly every ten seconds so it wouldn’t be that big a deal. \*except, possibly, automate other apps with it–I do not know what that means. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/25 "2014-01-10T23:34:13Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > No, everything I read says W8.1 and TB don’t mix… Weird. I’ve been using it since day 1 on my win8 (now 8.1) machine, without so much as a hiccup - I use it to manage half a dozen different mailboxes each on two different accounts - thousands of messages in various folders. No problems at all. > [@](#): > > I talked to someone in Microsoft (Microsoft Answer Desk) and was told that Thunderbird isn’t supported by 8.1. Well, that doesn’t really surprise me. It’s a competing product. Mozilla’s [official stance](https://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/thunderbird-and-windows-8?s=windows+8&as=s#w_is-thunderbird-compatible-with-windows-8) on Win8 is: > [@](#): > > Is Thunderbird compatible with Windows 8? > > Yes. Thunderbird works under Windows 8, just as it works under Windows 7. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/26 "2014-01-10T23:36:40Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > Now I look like a bum who can’t afford anything but free email! 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/27 "2014-01-11T05:47:10Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > Now I look like a bum who can’t afford anything but free email! Half a billion people use gMail everyday. This includes governments in 45 states, over 5 million business and a bunch of universities using Gmail pro services. (There was a massive sigh of relief when my uni switched to Gmail from their previous proprietary CMS.) Some percentage of the country also use Yahoo and Hotmail. No one is looking at you. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/28 "2014-01-11T06:04:11Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Are you saying Thunderbird doesn’t do POP email on Win8? I don’t think that is correct. I don’t think it is either. I’ve had absolutely no problems using Thunderbird with POP email on Windows 8.1 (or, for the month I had it, plain old Windows 8). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/29 "2014-01-11T12:53:31Z")
While, early on, moving to webmail did seem like a step down, it really doesn’t feel that way now. The only reason it may seem that way is that you are unfamiliar with the interface and all you can do with it. I assume the same sort of thing is why, when I use a dedicated app, it always feels like step down. And, yes, Thunderbird works on Windows 8. There have been so few under the hood changes that it’s unlikely for a regular application that works in Vista to not work on subsequent versions. Only apps that directly target features that are not in Windows 8.1 or that require the use of special drivers seem to fail. And even a lot of those work fine. In general, if it’s a regular program, and you get it for free, I’d suggest installing it and checking before searching online. I never would have even thought to search for Win8 compatibility with something like a currently developed and constantly update email client like Thunderbird. If Win8 compatibility broke, they would drop nearly everything to fix it before the official release of both the program and the OS. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/30 "2014-01-11T17:44:17Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > I don’t think it is either. I’ve had absolutely no problems using Thunderbird with POP email on Windows 8.1 (or, for the month I had it, plain old Windows 8). When I initially installed it, it almost worked. I had my wife and son send me test messages, and I got them, but I got nothing else. My old laptop sitting nearby would continue to ding and notify me of another incoming email, but the 8.1 machine wouldn’t get them. For a day or two, it went like this, old machine getting mails, new one wasn’t. Comcast was zero help. I’ve searched for Comcast settings, finding a page here and there that suggest a different port or something, but Tbird just won’t get random emails. 'tis confusing, and I’m usually pretty good at these things.:mad: ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/31 "2014-01-11T17:57:59Z")
[Outlook.com](http://Outlook.com) or gmail is much easier, and completely portable. Are you tired of hearing it yet? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/32 "2014-01-11T20:10:05Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > When I initially installed it, it almost worked. I had my wife and son send me test messages, and I got them, but I got nothing else. My old laptop sitting nearby would continue to ding and notify me of another incoming email, but the 8.1 machine wouldn’t get them. > > For a day or two, it went like this, old machine getting mails, new one wasn’t. Comcast was zero help. I’ve searched for Comcast settings, finding a page here and there that suggest a different port or something, but Tbird just won’t get random emails. > > 'tis confusing, and I’m usually pretty good at these things.:mad: Are you talking about two machines trying to receive the same test email? Is it possible that the old laptop was downloading the email and deleting the server copy (this was pretty much the standard for POP3 accounts, back in the day) before the Win8 machine got to see it? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/33 "2014-01-11T20:43:40Z")
Haha wow I had no idea it ever worked that way! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/34 "2014-01-11T20:46:52Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Are you talking about two machines trying to receive the same test email? > > Is it possible that the old laptop was downloading the email and deleting the server copy (this was pretty much the standard for POP3 accounts, back in the day) before the Win8 machine got to see it? If I pop mail at work, it isn’t on another PC here at the house. A new install, however, will down load every damn thing I haven’t deleted from the gmail site. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/35 "2014-01-11T21:33:21Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Are you talking about two machines trying to receive the same test email? > > Is it possible that the old laptop was downloading the email and deleting the server copy (this was pretty much the standard for POP3 accounts, back in the day) before the Win8 machine got to see it? Yes, lol, this is exactly what the problem is. \*\*ducati -\*\*Go into the TB settings on your old machine (or both machines, if you’re still planning to use the old one) and tell it to leave a copy of the email on the server. Or just delete TB on your old machine, or have it stop accessing the account, or however you want to set it up. Or, you know, switch to using [Outlook.com](http://Outlook.com) or gMail, which doesn’t have this problem. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/36 "2014-01-12T05:00:00Z")
Ducati - here is a link from Comcast for a beta on using Comcast mail with the Windows 8 mail app. [https://xcbetasignup.comcast.net/win8/win8.html](https://xcbetasignup.comcast.net/win8/win8.html) BTW, sounds like you have a new PC. I highly suggest that 1. make sure it is running Windows 8.1 instead of Win8. Upgrade to Win8.1 if it’s not already installed. 2. Go to the PC brand (ex Dell) and update all the drivers for your new PC. 3. Use Microsoft updates and make sure your PC is fully updated. Keep in mind that the PC’s shipped for Christmas were probably put on a boat in August or September. Win8.1 was just released. There are a ton of fixes, tweaks, new functions, bug fixes. It can make a night and day difference in your PC performance. I got the Dell Venue Pro tablet in mid Dec, which I like a lot. The before and after performance difference was noticeable. One thing was the battery life almost doubled. So, in addition to checking out the Comcast mail beta, I would definitely spend a football game updating both from Microsoft and from the PC brand. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/37 "2014-01-12T05:44:32Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > One thing was the battery life almost doubled. That is very interesting. I wonder how they did that. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/38 "2014-01-12T19:33:16Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > Yes, lol, this is exactly what the problem is. > > \*\*ducati -\*\*Go into the TB settings on your old machine (or both machines, if you’re still planning to use the old one) and tell it to leave a copy of the email on the server. Or just delete TB on your old machine, or have it stop accessing the account, or however you want to set it up. > > Or, you know, switch to using [Outlook.com](http://Outlook.com) or gMail, which doesn’t have this problem. Sorry, Uncle D ain’t \*\*\*that \*\*\*thick! All machines are set to leave messages on the server. Which is hoot, since checking online at Comcast there are zero messages whatsoever! This is an HP 8.1 machine, ordered direct from them, but updating all drivers is a good idea I suspect. Maybe I’ll use Gmail… ---
**Author:** ![runningdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@runningdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runningdude)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/39 "2014-01-12T19:33:19Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > … > I did a google search for “Microsoft Outlook” and the first result took me to the official product page that says “Buy with Office” and “Try 1 month FREE” right at the top. Unsure how you’re getting redirected to their free Windows Live Mail - which honestly is the same thing as the old Outlook Express and will probably do what you want it to just fine without having to pay for full-blown Outlook. Windows “Live” Mail is every kind of horrible. I cannot in good conscience recommend using such a terrible product… ---
**Author:** ![FatherGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@FatherGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatherGeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441/40 "2014-07-05T18:35:24Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > So, I got a [new computer with Windows 8.1](http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Desktops/HP-Pavilion/E7N90AV?HP-Pavilion-23-f450z-TouchSmart-All-in-One-CTO-Desktop-PC-ENERGY-STAR-). How bad could it be, I thought. > > I’m moving from XP, but I’m not entirely unfamiliar with 7. We use them at work. > > So many things don’t work, most importantly email. > > I put Mozilla Thunderbird on my son’s 7 laptop and it worked fine. 8, not so much. It doesn’t play with POP3 accounts. > > Comcast doesn’t support it, and suggested I just check my mail on their website. > Nice. > > 8 does support Google accounts, so I created a gmail account, and have my Comcast email forwarded to that, and now I can hit the cute little Mail tile on the Look-At-All-These Tiles page and get mail. Trouble is, there’s not many options in that mail app. > > In Mozilla Firefox, I had to install an add-on to be able to send page links by email. It worked fine with my Comcast email through Outlook, but now, when sending through the mail app and gmail, it presents the link as just a line of text instead of an actual, clickable link. Yes, I know it can be copied and pasted, but some of my friends are too lazy or too dumb to do that. Well, all of them really. > > So, my question(s) for you Windows 8 or 8.1 victims is - do you know of a work-around I’m missing to get Comcast working through the 8 Mail app, or an add-on or fix to make sure my links from Firefox are posted as an actual link in an outgoing email in the 8 mail app? > > Windows 95, FTW! Ducati - Your complaint about e-mails is old–about 10 years!!–but I have that problem today. How did you solve it? Thanks, fathergeorge [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-8-is-aggravating/678441.md?page=3)