I’m switching to a new computer at work, and this may be a good opportunity to ditch Outlook if possible. So…
[ol]
[li]What’s a good Windows e-mail client these days? One that’s reliable and simple, but with enough features that I don’t have trouble reading non-standard messages (HTML, etc). And one that’s widely supported, so I won’t end up with a year’s worth of mail that I can’t export to another software.[/li][li]Our office uses a Microsoft Exchange server. I’d prefer to keep newer messages (say, past 3 weeks) on the server so I can access them from home using the web-based client. Is there a way to set up any e-mail client to just download messages N days or older?[/li][/ol]
if the server is configured to allow you access via the POP3 protocol you should be able to use just about any program you want - in which case i would recommend Thunderbird.
Thunderbird can leave messages on the server for X days. I’ve never found an email client that I acually like, but so far, Thunderbird is the one I hate the least.
Now if Google would just make a standalone client…
I started my girlfriend on Eudora when she could no longer tolerate AOL. However, she did not take to it and has switched to Thunderbird.
The Windows version of Eudora does seem a little bit wonkier than the Mac version, I have no idea why. Even so, Eudora is more flexible and powerful. She has far fewer options in Thunderbird.
I use Eudora in sponsored mode. I have the 6.0.0.14 beta that included the Junk mailbox which now isn’t (I think) available in sponsored mode.
Now that I forward all of my mail through gmail’s filters (which are pretty darned good), I don’t know that I really need the Junk mailbox, but you won’t get it from me until they pry it from my cold, dead hands, copper! pant
I use Thunderbird, and for the most part i’m very happy with it. I like the fact that it stores emails in standard mbox format, rather than in the proprietary .pst file used by MS Outlook.
One thing i don’t like is that sometimes, if i receive (or send) and email with an attachment, i want to keep the email but get rid of the attachment. Outlook would allow me to strip out the attachment by simply selecting and deleting it, but Thunderbird doesn’t allow this.
I’ve been using Eudora since it was required at my college in 1997. I had been using hacked 5.x versions for a long while but I’ve recently followed the high road and got the legit “sponsored mode” one.
Why I use Eudora:
On my computer we have 3 users. I can install it 3 different times, each to a different directory and each user has his own install.
It uses mbx and toc files for mailboxes and table of contents. When it’s time to clean the machine and reinstall, or when I need to set up Eudora on another machine, I just burn the mbx and toc files (also attachments folder, sig file and address book) to a CD, reinstall, and copy the files back on to the machine. I have email archived from 1998!
It doesn’t send HTML mail (or rich text) by default like Outlook does nor does it send with gawky headers.
It reads HTML mail just fine
It’s not as bulky or over-featured like Outlook. I have had no learning curve with it, neither have my other 2 users (Mom and brother - not the most savvy users).
I hear tales of Outlook being targeted for viruses and trojans. I’ve never experienced this since we don’t use Outlook.
It doesn’t block XLS or MDB files by default like Outlook does. That’s not a huge flaw in Outlook (it confused some people for a long time) because it’s a security concern. But in my business I need to send and receie those types of files often, so it’s handy not to have to set it up as such.
It does SMTP authentication by default - something you have to explicity set (and then explain to users) in Outlook.
The sponsored mode version is free and the ads are not a concern at all. I did have some wonky-ness at the beginning with messages being mangled but I am pretty sure that was due to AVG Free’s email scanner. Since I nixed that, I haven’t had any problems.
Eudora is awesome and somday I might even pay for it! I did consider Thunderbird for a short while but I asked here and was told that if I am so happy with Eudora, I should stick with it. I never did use it.