Why use an email client like Thunderbird?

[denjay]

Before I installed Ubuntu I had seen Thunderbird around the corners of the internet but never really knew what it was. Having installed Ubuntu and it coming with the package, I finally had an opportunity to play around with Thunderbird to see what it did. From what I could tell, it was just an application to view email. I may be grossly misinterpreting what it can do and hopefully I am because I just don't see what it can do that the gmail.com can't.

I really want to like it just because it seems other people get a use out of it. To put it bluntly, what's so special about Thunderbird?

[BigCityCat]

Before I installed Ubuntu I had seen Thunderbird around the corners of the internet but never really knew what it was. Having installed Ubuntu and it coming with the package, I finally had an opportunity to play around with Thunderbird to see what it did. From what I could tell, it was just an application to view email. I may be grossly misinterpreting what it can do and hopefully I am because I just don't see what it can do that the gmail.com can't.

I really want to like it just because it seems other people get a use out of it. To put it bluntly, what's so special about Thunderbird?

It can manage multiple email accounts. It allows you to not have to open a web browser to access email. You don't have to type your password everytime. Those are just a few things I can think of. If I open Kmail which is pretty much the same thing I can select which account I want to send an email with without opening a browser. Much fast imho. I would assume it's more secure than email through a browser as well but I'm not a security expert either so.

[sunfromhere]

As the poster above said, it manages multiple accounts. You can receive all new messages without reloging onto multiple web-mails, and also, when you send a mail, it's easy to set a default mail, or to change the mail from which you send. You can minimize it and the notification icon goes blue if you have new mail.

Also, if you download the Lightning add-on, you can have a calendar in which you can edit tasks, events etc.

The address book allows you to write comments, so f.e. when you receive a mail from a Jane Doe, you can see the comment (f.e. a professor, regular customer etc).

Also, it has a chat function and it works with Gtalk.

These are my personal reasons I use Thuderbird. ):P

[vidwarren]

One of the biggest advantages for me having it on my laptop, is that all of my (so far downloaded) emails are available to me even if I have no Internet connection.

I find that I often need to double check an address or some detail last minute. I could get the Internet up on my phone and connect that up to my laptop but that is a much longer way round. Not to mention that it relies on both signal and battery.

Other than that, what the others said - multiple email is fantastic for me, now it's all in one place. Speed is much better too (and there are fewer steps). There are also no ads; even adblock plus doesn't seem to block all of Gmail's ads for me.

It also gives you a notification for emails without you needing to install an add-on just for that, which I find useful.

Of course, it may still not be best for you, depending on your needs. All I can say is that it's certainly been good to me.

[howefield]

As the poster above said, it manages multiple accounts. You can receive all new messages without reloging onto multiple web-mails, and also, when you send a mail, it's easy to set a default mail, or to change the mail from which you send.

Which gmail.com also does, with the benefit of the very excellent spam detection filters. Second to none imo.

Thunderbird for me though, handles multiple accounts better with each account having its' own inbox ect.


Also, if you download the Lightning add-on, you can have a calendar in which you can edit tasks, events etc.

The address book allows you to write comments, so f.e. when you receive a mail from a Jane Doe, you can see the comment (f.e. a professor, regular customer etc).

gmail.com also has equivalent features.


Also, it has a chat function and it works with Gtalk.

As does gmail.com, however thunderbird can connect to a sources other than gtalk, including irc.

I like Thunderbird for the way it handles multiple accounts, the skinning/themes that are available, the integration into Ubuntu and not needing to be online to compose an email.

But if gmail.com gives you what you need then it's all good :-)

[alphacrucis2]

I used Thunderbird on Windows for years before I had installed any Linux distro. T'bird beats MS Outhouse email client. Outhouse doesn't even render HTML properly.

[CharlesA]

I use it cuz I can access multiple email accounts from different domains. I rarely use gmail webmail unless you could accessing mail from my phone.

[uc50_ic4more]

I like having a cross-platform-accessible copy of my data stored locally, without having to use Chrome, and still maintaining sync with Google Mail. I also like the ease with which I can manage multiple accounts. Lastly - and I know a web browser can do this, too, using Google Reader and Google Calendar - I like having these things available within one interface.

I manage roughly a dozen boxen for friends, family and neighbours; and each one of them uses Thunderbird (or Evolution) simply because they're used to it. "Friends, family and neighbours" are usually technically "uninclined" and they like using what I first set them up with (hence the continued use of Evolution by a few people).

[mamamia88]

I used to have a firefox window of gmail open on a second monitor all the time. But I switched to thunderbird for gmail because A) I like firefox to open my last set of tabs i had open when i launch the browser and if i x out instead of hitting quit then that setting is irrelevant. B) no need to load up the gmail page not a big deal but still something and C)deleting email with the delete key on the keyboard.

[Peripheral Visionary]

I can read and write e-mail offline with no internet connection, then when I get home or someplace with internet access I can send all my outgoing messages in a few seconds and download all my new incoming mail. Also nice for people still on dial-up.

I still decorate when I compose e-mail, with colors and embedded images and gifs and silly stuff to share with friends. I like my outgoing messages to be pretty and suitable for printing and framing! Thunderbird has all the nice HTML features I need to do that.

[Docaltmed]

Reverse the question. Why use gmail? It's slower than a local client, requires internet connection to use, requires me to permit Google to read all of my mail, including confidential health information sent to patients, it has poorer sort and search capabilities, cannot handle multiple accounts, and has an ugly interface. I'll stick with T-bird...or maybe Geary when it grows up a little.

[denjay]

Reverse the question. Why use gmail? It's slower than a local client, requires internet connection to use, requires me to permit Google to read all of my mail, including confidential health information sent to patients, it has poorer sort and search capabilities, cannot handle multiple accounts, and has an ugly interface. I'll stick with T-bird...or maybe Geary when it grows up a little.

Does having an @gmail account linked in Thunderbird still permit google to read emails? Not that I really mind that all that much.

[lisati]

I use Thunderbird in preference to gmail because (a) I hardly ever use gmail, and (b) I know how to use Thunderbird to forward multiple messages as attachments to services such as Spamcop.

I've even been known to use Squirrelmail, Hastymail and Roundcube!

[mamamia88]

Does having an @gmail account linked in Thunderbird still permit google to read emails? Not that I really mind that all that much.

Probably since the email is still on their servers. They get so many emails though that the logistics and probability of somebody reading mine doesn't worry me much. Not that I get any important emails anyway

[ikt]

I use gmail for my gmail account and thunderbird for my personal websites email and my ISP's email and my other personal email.

I have 4 emails in total, 3 in tbird and 1 in gmail.

[aysiu]

As someone who's used Thunderbird extensively in the past and recently switched to Gmail, I'd say there are pros and cons either way, and a lot of it just has to do with preferences and digital lifestyle.

Thunderbird Thunderbird's great if you have one computer that you use all the time and carry around with you. Also great if you like to manage multiple accounts via IMAP and not POP3. You can actually manage real folders and subfolders (not just labels). The keyboard shortcuts are nicer, too. For example, to send a message: Control-Enter. (In Gmail, you have to hit Tab to get to the Send button and then hit Enter.) One button (F5) to get new messages. (In Gmail, first you have to enable keyboard shortcuts in the settings, then you have to hit G and then A to go back to all messages. If you like having your web browser closed but your email still up as a separate application, it's cool not to have to worry about keeping that one tab open for email.

Gmail Gmail's great if you're constantly on the go and checking email on different devices and computers, because it's basically just a website. If you don't mind using POP3, it can handle multiple accounts just fine... just requires a bit of setup. Conversation view can be turned off on regular web browsers but not on Android's Gmail app, unfortunately. I've actually found, despite what someone said earlier, the Gmail search to be much better and quicker than the Thunderbird search. 10 GB of storage just in email is quite substantial. I never worry about attachments being too large... and actually I never worry about downloading attachments. Gmail will let you just view everything (Word docs, PDFs, images) directly in the browser. I don't see what there is to argue about. If you prefer a dedicated desktop email client, go for it. If you prefer webmail, go for it. You can even *gasp* use both!

[prodigy_]

I use it cuz I can access multiple email accounts from different domains. I rarely use gmail webmail unless you could accessing mail from my phone.

Gmail can pull your e-mail from another domains - look in Settings/Accounts and Import. You don't get a separate Inbox for every account but you can substitute them with labels (since you can filter by label).

I don't see much reason to use a dedicated mail client these days except Outlook in a corporate environment with Exchange. And even that is largely obsolete with newer versions of OWA.

[aysiu]

I don't see much reason to use a dedicated mail client these days except Outlook in a corporate environment with Exchange. And even that is largely obsolete with newer versions of OWA. Unfortunately, a lot of companies that uses Exchange have older versions, and so with Firefox and Chrome all you get are the "light" versions of OWA.


Reverse the question. Why use gmail? It's slower than a local client, requires internet connection to use Gmail actually has an offline mode.

[denjay]

Interesting, I can see advantages to both like aysiu listed out. I might actually like using Thunderbird since I can conveniently send out emails using my personal or school/work email. I also have a fairly spam riddled email that is useful for different newsletters and such. Hm hm hm, well at least I have a choice between the two instead of one being VASTLY superior to the other.

[mips]

Before I installed Ubuntu I had seen Thunderbird around the corners of the internet but never really knew what it was. Having installed Ubuntu and it coming with the package, I finally had an opportunity to play around with Thunderbird to see what it did. From what I could tell, it was just an application to view email. I may be grossly misinterpreting what it can do and hopefully I am because I just don't see what it can do that the gmail.com can't.

I really want to like it just because it seems other people get a use out of it. To put it bluntly, what's so special about Thunderbird?

At the end of the day it's just another email client. A better email client than some out there, for example Incredimail which is the devils spawn.

I don't think they ever misrepresented their product as it's still a solid email client.

[scouser73]

it can manage multiple email accounts. It allows you to not have to open a web browser to access email. You don't have to type your password everytime. Those are just a few things i can think of. If i open kmail which is pretty much the same thing i can select which account i want to send an email with without opening a browser. Much fast imho. I would assume it's more secure than email through a browser as well but i'm not a security expert either so.

+1

[CharlesA]

Gmail can pull your e-mail from another domains - look in Settings/Accounts and Import. You don't get a separate Inbox for every account but you can substitute them with labels (since you can filter by label).

I prefer using actually folders instead of labels, but that's just a personal preference. :)

Then again, I use POP3 to access my gmail, so I keep all the emails on the server, so I can access them whenever. I tried using IMAP before, but it took whatever folders I created and made a nasty mess of labels for them.

[Dry Lips]

I think I have 6 email accounts at the moment. I definitively don't want to let gmail fetch all my emails, it kind of defies the reason why I have different email accounts in the first place.

Now, imagine that your gmail account somehow got compromised... Then all your other accounts would be compromised as well, right?

T-bird all the way! (and I'm sure that Geary soon will become the new kid on the block)

[lisati]

At the end of the day it's just another email client. A better email client than some out there, for example Incredimail which is the devils spawn.

I don't think they ever misrepresented their product as it's still a solid email client.

Ah, Incredimail! I used it for a while several years ago, until I realised that its ability to send fake bounces maybe wasn't such a good idea as it's cracked up to be. And then there was the issue of having to do some manual cleanup work to remove bits that were left behind after uninstalling.

[bouncingwilf]

I wish I had TBird on this Raspberry Pi I'm currently using to access the web (on holiday and the wi-fi's broke) Waiting for each horrible starting page of glitzy email providers to render is like watching paint dry! (lavabit is the exception - I thorougly recommend them) As for using Google-spy-on-you services - I keep that to an absolute minimum and spread my emails across multiple systems - you trust Google if you want - I don't


Bouncingwilf

[JayKay3OOO]

I've been quite impressed with Kmail to be honest as T-Bird seemed a little heavy although gmail offline looks super sweet and works great too.

I use a mail client because if I open the web browser then I end up going on facebook and youtube then wasting a bunch of time.

Mail clients are great for filtering messages into categories that gmail web mail seems rubbish at and plus I tend to get into work mode when I open the mail client.

[mips]

Ah, Incredimail! I used it for a while several years ago, until I realised that its ability to send fake bounces maybe wasn't such a good idea as it's cracked up to be. And then there was the issue of having to do some manual cleanup work to remove bits that were left behind after uninstalling.

It's actually a terrible email client to use. Backing up and restoring your mail is a absolute pain. Migrating it to something else is even worse. I've done one instance and I'm sitting with another right next to me which I dread.

[Cheesemill]

I wish I had TBird on this Raspberry Pi I'm currently using to access the web

Why not install it then?
Icedove is in the standard Raspbian repository.

[lisati]

It's actually a terrible email client to use. Backing up and restoring your mail is a absolute pain. Migrating it to something else is even worse. I've done one instance and I'm sitting with another right next to me which I dread.

Agreed. It didn't suit my needs when I was using it, so I ditched it and ended up preferring Thunderbird.

[bob-linux-user]

Thunderbird was great for me for when I changed over from using the old Windows Program Outlook Express a few years ago, it automatically imported all the old emails and settings. If you are a dual booter with Windows you can keep your Thunderbird (and Firefox) Profile on a shared NTFS partition and whether you choose to boot into Windows or Ubuntu you always have your latest emails to hand. This worked for me for some time. Not everybody likes this sharing approach so take some advice if you are going to do it however.