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Good email replacement for Outlook Express

H

Hardball

Member
Going to upgrade an older computer user from Windows XP to Windows 7. They have been using Outlook Express for a long time. What would be a good email client (no webmail) to transition them to? Something similar to Outlook Express with basic interface that is reliable and secure for basic email use.
 
Outlook Express never died. It was renamed to Windows Mail and now to Windows Live Mail.

I personally like WLM 2009 (version 14 or the "XP" version) the best and that's what I upgraded to when I finally transitioned from XP to Windows 7. It also works great in Windows 8.1, which is what I currently use. It's a lot like OE, and having been a long-time OE user, the transition was painless.

The newer versions of WLM ripped out the old editing component and replaced it with one made using .NET (the same as the one used in Writer), but in the process, it made an unforgivable regression: losing the insertion of ">" in plain-text quotes. The newer versions also have a ribbon interface (which may either be a pro or con depending on your preferences).

Oh, and if you do decide to go with WLM 2009 instead of a newer version, and don't care about the other Windows Live stuff, you can do a standalone install of Mail using its MSI file, which is a much lighter, cleaner install (this isn't possible with the newer versions because there are a lot more interdependencies). And also a much smaller download.

MSI installers for WLM 2009 (for standalone installation of just Mail with no other Windows Live bits):
Mail: http://wl.dlservice.microsoft.com/d...35-4250-9598-AEE5D854A7EA/en/Mail-ship-en.cab (13MB)
Address Book: http://wl.dlservice.microsoft.com/d...598-AEE5D854A7EA/en/Contacts-ship-neutral.cab (0.9MB)
These are direct download links from Microsoft's server. You need both MSIs, which can be installed in any order.
 
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another vote for Thunderbird. For home i switched to it years ago and i've migrated it between several computers and for calendar there is a simple addon to install.
 
I want to like Thunderbird, I really do (I love Firefox and have contributed code to their source trees). I've tried it many times, but there are just a lot of little quirks--not things that are necessarily good or bad--that keep preventing me from adopting it. With a browser, the browser's UI mostly stays out of the way, and you're dealing with just the content and the UI that the content presents. With an e-mail client, the UI is much more important, and having been an OE user since 1998, I just couldn't get into it.

So I'll also toss in a Thunderbird vote out of principle, but my preference still lies with WLM2009 because of a decade and a half of ingrained familiarity with the specifics of that UI.
 
code65536 said:
I want to like Thunderbird, I really do.
Click to expand...

Yaa, so do I... but I just can't get there.

I loved OE... but had to give it up when I went to W7. I'm using Outlook'03, which I will have to abandon soon due to EOS issues. The whole WindowsLive thing bothers me, but I'll have to take a look at it as I pursue a replacement for O'03... so I'm right there with you, OP. 🙁
 
I use Postbox. Love it. It's the same great underlying code that drives Thunderbird, but with an interface that I like a lot better. Free trial; give it a shot! It also plays nice with Gmail, if you're using that.
 
Can Windows Live Mail be installed on XP in order to preview the program? Can it be installed despite Outlook Express already being on XP?
 
Thumbs up for Thunderbird as an email client. I am sure there are others that work equally well but what I like about Thunderbird is support and updates are ongoing for issues like security etc.
 
WLM really sucks. Poor customisability, Attempted lock-in to Microsoft services, UI space wasted... just, yuck.

Another vote for Thunderbird. I customise it a fair bit so I have all the toolbar buttons at the top, a minimal separator between message list and preview pane, and the 'noglass' theme with coloured icons.
 
Hardball said:
Going to upgrade an older computer user from Windows XP to Windows 7. They have been using Outlook Express for a long time. What would be a good email client (no webmail) to transition them to? Something similar to Outlook Express with basic interface that is reliable and secure for basic email use.
Click to expand...

how about the full MS Outlook? I actually like it.
 
sao123 said:
how about the full MS Outlook? I actually like it.
Click to expand...

Have you tried a recent version? On the default settings and a not-massive screen it's like reading mails in postage-stamp view. They took the art of UI clutter from WLM and brought it to a whole new level 🙂
 
Changed from Outlook Express to Thunderbird many years ago. Still using Thunderbird 14 because it does everything I need and I don't like the recent UI changes.
 
Thunderbird isn't a replacement for Outlook any more than a car is a replacement for getting shot in the face.

Thunderbird or nothing, I say.
 
For some, Thunderbird needs to be exercised a little. Monkeying around in the prefs.js file often brings the client into line with the comfort feeling of OE. It handles many more [real] mailboxes than OE ever could, and it can be configured to use a common Inbox. Sent, Trash and Drafts folder while retaining the ability for custom local folders and message rules. And the multi-profile support may be desirable.
 
Morbus said:
Thunderbird isn't a replacement for Outlook any more than a car is a replacement for getting shot in the face.
Click to expand...
Interesting comparison. I've had trouble with my knees for over a year, often it is so annoying walking to get groceries that I just want to shoot myself in the face and end it all (instead of walking around like crippled dying penguin everywhere for the rest of my life).

Maybe getting a car would be a better idea. :hmm: :awe:
 
Morbus said:
Thunderbird isn't a replacement for Outlook any more than a car is a replacement for getting shot in the face.

Thunderbird or nothing, I say.
Click to expand...

Dumb comparison... it's software, not choosing a firearm for a life or death struggle.
 
I'm not sure you guys can even hear the sound of my argument flying way over year heads, so high it flies...
 
mikeymikec said:
Have you tried a recent version? On the default settings and a not-massive screen it's like reading mails in postage-stamp view. They took the art of UI clutter from WLM and brought it to a whole new level 🙂
Click to expand...

I consider outlook 2013 to be a recent version... 😛

who said anything about the DEFAULT setting?
There is a lot of customization to the view settings.
 
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