OT: Outlook 2003 vs Thunderbird?

P

(PeteCresswell)

Has anybody got an opinion on the usability of Outlook 2003 vs
Thunderbird for a POP3, non-technical user?

I'm trying to move somebody from a Juno client to one of those
two.

Juno's email (sent, received....) can be ported to Thunderbird
via a Eudora export format using something called "juno5bdb)...
and that's a plus for T-Bird. Haven't tried to go there with
Outlook yet.

OTOH, half the world seems to use Outlook and maybe the user
would have an easier time getting help if they were using
Outlook.

OTOOH, Outlook is so feature-rich that maybe it could become
confusing compared to Thunderbird....


Has anybody got an opinion on which app would be better for the
non-technical user who just want's to do POP3 mail?
 
M

Mayayana

This is not enough to base a decision on, but an
interesting point:

I recently helped someone reinstall and the new
Outlook didn't recognize the email file that I'd
backed up! Yet T-Bird had no trouble importing
it. So they now have T-Bird. (I gave them the
latest 3.6x version to avoid any wacky surprises
that might be in the newer builds.)

In general I think T-Bird is very good, and once
I set it up it seems most people find it intuitive to
use, but there are two things I'd note:

* The settings are confusing. POP and SMTP settings
are in different places, confusing to find and configure.
The folder view on the left side is a bit overproduced.

* I don't trust where Mozilla is going. They seem to me
to be in the pocket of Google these days, and their new,
manic update schedule is just plain nuts. I doubt I'll
ever "upgrade" Firefox past v. 3. I *really* don't like
what they have in the pipeline. So I don't know what
to think about T-Bird's future. I wish that someone with
some common sense and good intentions would fork the
whole thing and go back to making a lean, simple, honest
product.

| Has anybody got an opinion on the usability of Outlook 2003 vs
| Thunderbird for a POP3, non-technical user?
|
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

Has anybody got an opinion on the usability of Outlook 2003 vs
Thunderbird for a POP3, non-technical user?

I'm trying to move somebody from a Juno client to one of those
two.

Juno's email (sent, received....) can be ported to Thunderbird
via a Eudora export format using something called "juno5bdb)...
and that's a plus for T-Bird. Haven't tried to go there with
Outlook yet.

OTOH, half the world seems to use Outlook and maybe the user
would have an easier time getting help if they were using
Outlook.

OTOOH, Outlook is so feature-rich that maybe it could become
confusing compared to Thunderbird....


Has anybody got an opinion on which app would be better for the
non-technical user who just want's to do POP3 mail?


Yes, Outlook does many other things besides e-mail, but if he doesn't
want to use them, having them there shouldn't be a problem.

I think either should be fine. He might want to try both and decide
which he likes better himself.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
 
N

Nil

Has anybody got an opinion on the usability of Outlook 2003 vs
Thunderbird for a POP3, non-technical user?

I think Outlook is overkill for that target audience. It's mainly
intended for corporate users and Exchange mail, and has many, many,
many features that the average home user would never touch or want.
Plus, it costs a lot money.

Thunderbird is simpler, more straightforward, and free.
OTOH, half the world seems to use Outlook and maybe the user
would have an easier time getting help if they were using
Outlook.

I don't believe that. Since Outlook is only available as part of an
expensive MS Office package, not that many people have it.
 
N

Nil

Unfortunately Pegasus has stopped.

What does that mean? I use Pegasus Mail daily, and it certainly hasn't
stopped working - it works as well as it ever did. It certainly hasn't
stopped being developed - the latest version was released in January,
and a new major version is expected later this year.
 
C

Chris S.

Bill in Co said:
Well that kinda sucks. Wonder why they did that.

I guess in Vista they had replaced OE with something called Windows Mail,
but I guess even that isn't OE (no newsreader, for one thing), so this
"transition" away from OE all began back then.

It's all too bad, as I really like OE (and OE-QuoteFix), and have no need
for anything more sophisticated, like Outlook. But I guess TB is
another way out (if and when that day ever comes, lol)

The Vista Win Mail does indeed have a newsreader. Some of us brought it over
to Win 7. Works just fine.
It's OE with a bit more. I'm posting with it now. Been using it for over a
year.

Chris
 
B

Bruce Hagen

Chris S. said:
The Vista Win Mail does indeed have a newsreader. Some of us brought it
over to Win 7. Works just fine.
It's OE with a bit more. I'm posting with it now. Been using it for over
a year.

Chris


Ditto. I'm using WinMail for news and T-Bird for mail. They both do mail
and news, but I prefer different apps for each.

For anyone with Pro, Enterprise or Ultimate, OE works in XP Mode.

How to use Outlook Express in Windows 7
http://www.oehelp.com/OEnWin7.aspx
 
P

(PeteCresswell)

Per (PeteCresswell):
Has anybody got an opinion on which app would be better for the
non-technical user who just want's to do POP3 mail?

FWIW, I settled on Thunderbird.

I was drawn to Outlook bc that's what I use at work - but Nil's
observation rang true to me and I found that there are several
Thunderbird support fora.
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

I think Outlook is overkill for that target audience. It's mainly
intended for corporate users and Exchange mail, and has many, many,
many features that the average home user would never touch or want.



I'm an Outlook user and I like it very much. I'm a home user (OK, not
an average home user), not a corporate user, and I don't use exchange.
I like most of its many features very much.

Plus, it costs a lot money.


Depends. If you already have a copy of Microsoft Office that contains
it, it doesn't cost anything.

I'm not trying to talk anyone into using Outlook; I think everyone
should use whatever he likes best, regardless of what I use. But I
*do* want to talk Pete Cresswell's friend into at least trying it.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

I'd agree - but I'm wondering if PC meant Outlook Express?


He said Outlook 2003, so clearly he didn't mean Outlook Express.


If so, I'd
say there's little in it (as long as you add Outlook-Quotefix) for the
type of user described. However, OE isn't 7-compatible (without jumping
through more hoops than I'd like to put that sort of user through),



Hoops or not, you can't run Outlook Express in Windows 7.
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

I guess in Vista they had replaced OE with something called Windows Mail,


Yes, that's what they say, but despite the new mail, essentially
Windows Mail is simply a later version of Outlook Express.

but I guess even that isn't OE (no newsreader, for one thing),


Nope, not correct. Windows Mail does news.
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

So can Windows Mail be used on the newer OS platforms like Win7 and 8?


Yes, on Windows 7. Windows 8 isn't out yet, and whether Windows will
be able to be used when it's released, I don't know.

And
can it import the older OE dbx stored mail files (or maybe one has to first
export it out of OE first before it can be imported into Windows Mail or its
successors).


I don't know the details of how you get your old data to Window s7,
but yes, it's possible.


Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

True, I hadn't spotted that.


OK, no problem.

(But people _do_ confuse the two.)


That's for sure.

I thought I'd seen (I take the '7 'group too) claims that some people
had managed it; even if not, presumably it could be done with a virtual
machine. (OK, arguably that's not "in Windows 7".) But either way, I
wouldn't inflict that on the sort of user we're discussing.


Yes, but as you say, a virtual machine isn't "in Windows 7."
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
 
P

(PeteCresswell)

Per (PeteCresswell):
FWIW, I settled on Thunderbird.

I was drawn to Outlook bc that's what I use at work - but Nil's
observation rang true to me and I found that there are several
Thunderbird support fora.

And.... a recent post in the Windows NG just put the cap on it
for me: turns out that Outlook stores some of it's data (user
account info) in the registry.
 
D

dadiOH

Bill said:
And can it import the older OE dbx stored mail files (or maybe
one has to first export it out of OE first before it can be imported
into Windows Mail or its successors).

One could always save the emails as individual files - not sequential DBX
files - and haul those into the new client. No "export/import" IOW.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

And.... a recent post in the Windows NG just put the cap on it
for me: turns out that Outlook stores some of it's data (user
account info) in the registry.


If that's true, it's got to be a very minor amount and kind of data. I
have several times moved my PST file to a new machine with a new copy
(version) of Windows on it, and I've never noticed anything missing.
If there were anything from it in the registry, it would have been
lost.


Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

If that's true, it's got to be a very minor amount and kind of data. I
have several times moved my PST file to a new machine with a new copy
(version) of Windows on it, and I've never noticed anything missing.
If there were anything from it in the registry, it would have been
lost.


It just occurred to me--did you perhaps mean Outlook Express, not
Outlook?
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

It just occurred to me--did you perhaps mean Outlook Express, not
Outlook?


No you didn't. I just saw the message you're referring to and your
reply to it.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
 
C

Char Jackson

If that's true, it's got to be a very minor amount and kind of data. I
have several times moved my PST file to a new machine with a new copy
(version) of Windows on it, and I've never noticed anything missing.
If there were anything from it in the registry, it would have been
lost.

I believe VanguardLH said it was just the email account info.
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

I believe VanguardLH said it was just the email account info.


Yes, thanks. As I said, I saw his message after I wrote the above.
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
 

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