My crusade against Outlook

I'm beginning to think I'm on a on-woman crusade, but I *really* hate Outlook. As a matter of fact, I don't like email clients in general. Every time I come across a customer who uses one, I do my best to persuade the to go with web mail.

Why? Well, I can't understand why someone would want to download all of their emails (and the nasty stuff that comes with them) onto their hard drive. Google, Comcast, Yahoo, etc are more than happy to store my emails and various attachments that come with them. I'm guessing they're better at backing up than I am, and that their security and virus scanning is more efficient. I can't understand why someone would want to have so much important information entrusted to the $300 Dell they have in the den.

So why am I posting? I need back up. I'm trying to find articles by people more knowledgeable, trusty-worthy and well-spoken than I so that I can back up my opinions.

Then again, the more people that use email clients, the more viruses, the more business for me! :-D

Thanks for any help
-Anne

 

Moving to the Lounge. This has no place in the technical support forums.

 

Well...I download my email because I need it on my computer as opposed to in cyberspace (not everyone is connected 24/7, and many need their email when they are working offline). I also have security programs and do not open attachments unless they have been scanned, and not at all if they're from a source I don't know.

You might as well crusade against stupid people who don't know how to protect their machines...you'll get just about as far.

 

The only thing worse than not having Internet access (and it does happen), is having important things you need in your email, thats only available online.

Talk about a big fat DOH!

Or the webmail being down, or the server crashing and losing data, or the inability to back up your email in most cases....the list goes on and on.

 

Yeah. I like having important stuff where I can have access to it even if other stuff is down. Webmail is fine for me if I don't keep anything there and those who send to me know the downsides of webmail, that is, if they don't care that I may not find it immediately. I like to delete stuff on the other servers ASAP, anyway, to keep my account clean and tidy and so I can organize it more efficiently for my specialized circumstances, rather than using a general search feature. Webmail is fine for most communication, mail clients are often faster for me (with dial-up), and I use both. Webmail can be accessed from other computers without mail clients, or without adding a new account to someone else's client. I use webmail generally, along with a mail client on my computer. If I don't want to open another application when in my browser, I just go to the webmail page.

 

I've got webmail and have set it to copy all mail to Email Express automatically. I open webmail first and after reading the inbox and deleting all the unimportant stuff, go to Email Express so that the ones I want to keep are downloaded and being kept there for future reference.

 

The best setup for email is this. Get gmail. If you have a specific domain you want to associate with your email, it can be done via gmail. Next step (and the most clever I might add) is to have a pop client (obviously not outlook) or some sort of local email download mechanism / backup utility that simply downloads and archives your mail for you. The application would also have to synchronize your actions. For example, if you deleted a piece of email, then it would be deleted locally when the client updated. Do you see the beauty of this? In other words you do everything online using webmail, you can go anywhere and check and handle your email. Then you also have a backup of your email. I would suggest you use an imap setup as well. I don't have any suggestions as far as which utility or client to use. Maybe someone else here would have something in mind.

 

The original poster seems to think that ANY email client is no good and no one should use any of them ever. rolleyes Of course, the original poster also seems to think that everyone uses a $300 Dell. LOL

 

I myself have had some horrible experiences with email clients. Therefore, I can sympathize with the poster. However, not all clients are bad. You DO have to do some homework when it comes to this type of thing. You can loose all of your important email if you don't.

 

I figure if after something like 10 years of using Outlook Express nothing bad has happened it most likely won't. Call me naive. :-D

 

rolleyes "Your honor, I rest my case."
"This man is in no condition to be using email."

 

This man is a woman. :wave

I also have umpteen security programs in place.

 

lol

If you are in an environment where others can access your PC easily, they may be able to access your email if downloaded. The mail should be in a safe place unless you don't mind others reading it. Under these circumstances, I use webmail instead, and sign out when I leave. I also don't have it remember my password. I pretty much just use clients as tools for more ways to access webmail. I could do without, but I like having options.

 

This is similar to the Web 2.0 ideal in having the office web enabled and data stored on a remote server. The benefits of Web 2.0 would also apply to web mail. You are of course at the mercy of the technology and people relating to the server (capacity, performance, etc.) and networks between your location and the server.

Some benefits include:

Access messages from anywhere.
Email access is fast and efficient even over modems.
Rich and familiar interface reduces the training costs of those who use the software.
Encryption may be applied from the server to where-ever the user is (e.g. at home, in an Internet Cafe, etc.) increasing security.
High performance anti-spam, anti-virus and archiving facilities available.

Quick search yields: http://lowendmac.com/practical/03/0617.html

 

Oh I think cloud computing is a wonderful....concept.

Problem is...the world isn't connected (reliably) enough, yet.

 

Anyone using a Dell from any price range deserves what they get. (Not a Dell Fan.)

I like E-Mail I can have offline, so I don't have to run it down on the internet. I have convetional Client Mail, and Webmail for personal use, so I do use both. Of course with Dial-Up it's not always possible to access client based email either.

 

I've never been a fan of Outlook myself, seems like another portal for nasties. Having said that I'd love to figure how to move my email off my hotmail account with and online reader that wasn't Outlook, but no joy there, so I haven't. What I really want to do is move my old mail from my hotmail account to my local hard disk for archival, I've been known to do it one email at a time but...

If anyone knows another way I'd like to hear about it.