Comments on: 3 Best Free Alternatives To Microsoft Outlook http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/ Cool Websites, Software and Internet Tips Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:14:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Kerwin http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/#comment-438112 Kerwin Sat, 13 Feb 2010 02:18:02 +0000 http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=28059#comment-438112 Those are all bloatware. Loving Opera Mail here. Clawsmail or sylpheed are also great alternatives. Those are all bloatware.
Loving Opera Mail here.
Clawsmail or sylpheed are also great alternatives.

]]> By: Colin http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/#comment-436701 Colin Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:51:07 +0000 http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=28059#comment-436701 Sadly, my company still uses clunky Outlook 2003. At home I had Outloook as part of the Office 2007 suite, so I tried to export the work calendar to home and import it to the 2007 version. I spent ages changing the dreadful 2003 categories into something more useful to me in 2007. A month later I repeated the process and the 2003 version totally messed-up the 2007 categories! So give me Thunderbird and tags any day over Outlook and ridiculous colour coding. Sadly, my company still uses clunky Outlook 2003. At home I had Outloook as part of the Office 2007 suite, so I tried to export the work calendar to home and import it to the 2007 version.
I spent ages changing the dreadful 2003 categories into something more useful to me in 2007. A month later I repeated the process and the 2003 version totally messed-up the 2007 categories!
So give me Thunderbird and tags any day over Outlook and ridiculous colour coding.

]]> By: Stel http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/#comment-436513 Stel Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:29:17 +0000 http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=28059#comment-436513 Hi all First time I join in this excellent platform of MakeUseOf. Are there any additional comments regarding size of files that Outlook alternatives can handle? What about tools for file management? I have been burdened with the issue of using chkpst tool that Windows offers, yet I find Outlook very fragile to handling large files. Thanks. Hi all
First time I join in this excellent platform of MakeUseOf. Are there any additional comments regarding size of files that Outlook alternatives can handle? What about tools for file management? I have been burdened with the issue of using chkpst tool that Windows offers, yet I find Outlook very fragile to handling large files.
Thanks.

]]> By: outro http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/#comment-436493 outro Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:12:35 +0000 http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=28059#comment-436493 I'm really shocked you put Gmail in there! In my opinion it sucks. I don't know about functionality but nothing can make me use such an ugly and user unfriendly web mail client. Zimbra is best of the three. It's sweet and has all the features I need. Gosh, even Yahoo! Mail is better than Gmail... I’m really shocked you put Gmail in there! In my opinion it sucks. I don’t know about functionality but nothing can make me use such an ugly and user unfriendly web mail client. Zimbra is best of the three. It’s sweet and has all the features I need. Gosh, even Yahoo! Mail is better than Gmail…

]]> By: Mike http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/#comment-433258 Mike Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:59:17 +0000 http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=28059#comment-433258 The exact way of using your email address with an alternative email reader will differ for each app, so just check out the documentation that comes with each one and go from there. All of them will provide a configuration or setup option where you enter your email address, the mail server that handles incoming email and the server that handles outgoing email. That info is available from your email provider, or you can check the settings you are using in your current software and copy the same info to the new app. Some email service providers use the same server for both sending and receiving, in which case you simply enter the same server info in both places. Note that you don't have to stop using one email reader to install and use another one, so you could try one out without uninstalling the one you are using now. However, if you do that you will likely end up with some email in one app's inbox and some in the other. The exact way of using your email address with an alternative email reader will differ for each app, so just check out the documentation that comes with each one and go from there. All of them will provide a configuration or setup option where you enter your email address, the mail server that handles incoming email and the server that handles outgoing email. That info is available from your email provider, or you can check the settings you are using in your current software and copy the same info to the new app. Some email service providers use the same server for both sending and receiving, in which case you simply enter the same server info in both places.

Note that you don’t have to stop using one email reader to install and use another one, so you could try one out without uninstalling the one you are using now. However, if you do that you will likely end up with some email in one app’s inbox and some in the other.

]]> By: Neal R http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/#comment-433191 Neal R Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:18:19 +0000 http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=28059#comment-433191 How can I use any of the above with my own mail address @greatservicematters.co rather than say @gmail.com? As you may have noticed, I am not a techie. How can I use any of the above with my own mail address @greatservicematters.co rather than say @gmail.com? As you may have noticed, I am not a techie.

]]> By: Mike http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/#comment-432773 Mike Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:04:42 +0000 http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=28059#comment-432773 Again, though Thunderbird may be a great app in its own right, the point here is that it is not a viable alternative to Outlook as the author of this article claimed. Thunderbird may be a great alternative to Outlook Express (almost any alternative is better than Outlook Express), but it is not a viable alternative to Outlook. Having said that, I must say that the new Lightning Add-on for Thunderbird 3 might be promising. It is only in its infant form, having only just been released, so it is only minimal and still lacks the rich feature set that makes Outlook so valuable for calendaring and task tracking and contact management and journals and memos and office chatter and so on. A lot of Lightning's user interface details are irritating to use because a lot of the keyboard and a few of the mouse features don't behave as expected. A lot of people don't care about such things but for me that's a deal-breaker because it keeps tripping me up and cuts into productivity. But at least they are on the right track and worth keeping an eye on. If the Lightning team were to continue expanding the feature set and if they will refine the user interface so it follows standards under Windows then it could become a great alternative to Outlook someday. I hope that happens. Again, though Thunderbird may be a great app in its own right, the point here is that it is not a viable alternative to Outlook as the author of this article claimed. Thunderbird may be a great alternative to Outlook Express (almost any alternative is better than Outlook Express), but it is not a viable alternative to Outlook.

Having said that, I must say that the new Lightning Add-on for Thunderbird 3 might be promising. It is only in its infant form, having only just been released, so it is only minimal and still lacks the rich feature set that makes Outlook so valuable for calendaring and task tracking and contact management and journals and memos and office chatter and so on. A lot of Lightning’s user interface details are irritating to use because a lot of the keyboard and a few of the mouse features don’t behave as expected. A lot of people don’t care about such things but for me that’s a deal-breaker because it keeps tripping me up and cuts into productivity. But at least they are on the right track and worth keeping an eye on. If the Lightning team were to continue expanding the feature set and if they will refine the user interface so it follows standards under Windows then it could become a great alternative to Outlook someday. I hope that happens.

]]> By: doingsoso http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/#comment-432470 doingsoso Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:19:55 +0000 http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=28059#comment-432470 I dunno what the problem is that people have with Thunderbird. It's a great email client. And it does have a calendar. You just have to download it as an add on. Mine works great. I used Outlook express until my vision got really bad and the glare of the white background made it impossible for me to read amail. Thunderbird is fully customizable, and I can change the background to black with any color and size font that I need, and enlarging the font is just a matter of hitting the control and + keys. I am more satisfied with Thunderbird due to my ability to customize it to my needs rather than having a one size fits all format thrust down my throat by the almighty all knowing MS conglomerate. I've also enjoyed Incredimail:) I hate windows mail with a passion. You'd think with the price you pay for their OS that MS would have updated Outlook Express. But they really want to force people to use their "Live" junk. And it's about as "Live" as a 1000 year old mummy. That's why I figure they diodn't upgrade Outlook Express and added a crappy email client to Vista. Yuck! And from what I understand they didn't upgrade Outlook Express in Windows 7 either. I've got XP on my box, and I'm going to hang onto it as long as I can. I dunno what the problem is that people have with Thunderbird. It’s a great email client. And it does have a calendar. You just have to download it as an add on. Mine works great.

I used Outlook express until my vision got really bad and the glare of the white background made it impossible for me to read amail.

Thunderbird is fully customizable, and I can change the background to black with any color and size font that I need, and enlarging the font is just a matter of hitting the control and + keys.

I am more satisfied with Thunderbird due to my ability to customize it to my needs rather than having a one size fits all format thrust down my throat by the almighty all knowing MS conglomerate.

I’ve also enjoyed Incredimail:)

I hate windows mail with a passion.

You’d think with the price you pay for their OS that MS would have updated Outlook Express. But they really want to force people to use their “Live” junk. And it’s about as “Live” as a 1000 year old mummy. That’s why I figure they diodn’t upgrade Outlook Express and added a crappy email client to Vista. Yuck! And from what I understand they didn’t upgrade Outlook Express in Windows 7 either.

I’ve got XP on my box, and I’m going to hang onto it as long as I can.

]]> By: Sari http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/#comment-418023 Sari Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:16:03 +0000 http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=28059#comment-418023 I use Outlook (at Work) and Thunderbird (for Personal). For me, the biggest selling point for Outlook is the Task Management; I have yet seen other application that lets you assign and track Tasks, using online/offline synchronization method, that integrates with other productivity tools (email, calendar, contacts). I use Outlook (at Work) and Thunderbird (for Personal). For me, the biggest selling point for Outlook is the Task Management; I have yet seen other application that lets you assign and track Tasks, using online/offline synchronization method, that integrates with other productivity tools (email, calendar, contacts).

]]> By: Mike http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/#comment-416708 Mike Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:20:07 +0000 http://www.makeuseof.com/?p=28059#comment-416708 So far I see no comments addressing what in my opinion is the most compelling reason to use Outlook in the first place, namely its integrated calendar, task, reminder and organizer features. A lot of my professional acquaintences over the years use Outlook for those features more than for email. If you want to compare apples to apples, compare Outlook Express (not Outlook) with other email readers. If you want to compare Outlook with alternatives you need to include a caomparison of the features that distinguish Outlook from a mere email reader and which make it a great productivity tool. I would love to find an open source alternative to Outlook that truly provides a replacement for its best features, but so far I know of absolutely none. The above-mentioned so-called alternatives are actually only alternatives to Outlook Express, they are not viable alternatives to Outlook. So far I see no comments addressing what in my opinion is the most compelling reason to use Outlook in the first place, namely its integrated calendar, task, reminder and organizer features. A lot of my professional acquaintences over the years use Outlook for those features more than for email.

If you want to compare apples to apples, compare Outlook Express (not Outlook) with other email readers. If you want to compare Outlook with alternatives you need to include a caomparison of the features that distinguish Outlook from a mere email reader and which make it a great productivity tool.

I would love to find an open source alternative to Outlook that truly provides a replacement for its best features, but so far I know of absolutely none. The above-mentioned so-called alternatives are actually only alternatives to Outlook Express, they are not viable alternatives to Outlook.

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