Microsoft to halt Hotmail access via Outlook Express

Sadly, Windows Live Mail doesn't work on W2000, so W2000 users can't access Hotmail locally with a Microsoft mail client.

 

I don't access web based email through a third party mail program. I don't need to save anything from the web based email accounts so I access them directly.

 

GMail is an excellent alternative for Outlook Express and other less recent email applications.

 

I want to keep a desktop email client. Since it appears that I will eventually have to move from OE, I was hoping I could get some input on the two clients I am considering. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Windows Live Mail and Thunderbird?

My hesitation with TB is that I did try it briefly once upon a time but abandoned it after I couldn't set up a seperate login for each inbox. All the incoming email for each email account showed up on one screen. I wanted to have it more like OE where I have to move back and forth between email addresses. It kept my family members' email from getting mixed in with mine, etc. Either TB couldn't do what I wanted at the time or I just didn't figure out how to do it. Also, all the imported contacts from OE from each seperate email account showed up in one list instead of a seperate contacts list for each of our email addresses.

My hesitation with WLM is that it is a MS product that requires IE to operate. Plus I have zero idea as to how good or bad it may be.

I will try to test both in the next few days, if I can do so without a reboot (Returnil) but I was hoping to get some informed opinions here too.

@ronjor - Sorry about starting the other thread. I did do a search prior to doing so but somehow missed this thread.

 

I had a few minutes so I did very briefly install and try Windows Live Mail and Thunderbird.

WLM makes you install Windows Live Installer and Windows Live Mail. It also wants to change IE's homepage during installation. It did not import all my email accounts from OE. It missed two completely. It dumped all the contacts from each of the accounts it did import into one big pile.

TB did not import all the seperate identities (account information) from OE. For some reason it picked one account (not even my main identity for my POP3 server) and used it. I assume it was the last account I had opened in OE? I would have to manually add the other accounts. I didn't have time to enter all the other accounts but it appears you can have it open a seperate inbox for each account. The account it imported on its own had its mail placed in a generic "Local Folder". I added one other account and that inbox showed up in the list of accounts. I couldn't make the account TB imported show up in the inbox lists in the same way as the others.

These are the things I noted in a few minutes of use and part of what went wrong in each program is no doubt from my own ingnorance and inexperience in operating each one.

edit:

OK, I figured out how to make each of my mail accounts show up as they should in TB. TB does seem to dump all the contacts from each account into one address book, as WLM did, but maybe they can be separated if I take the time to do so.

 

The one thing that I appreciate about Windows Live Mail Desktop is that it stores the contacts online with your Live account. Which would mean synchronization of contacts between computers.

The search feature of WLM is quite similar to Thunderbird.

 

In Thunderbird if you uncheck the "use global inbox" it will set each mail account up with it's own inbox, trash, saved or what ever folders you want. TB is very easy to set up the way you want it.