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View Full Version : [SOLVED] E-Mail Options, Evolution or No?



Ingenue
July 30th, 2008, 03:14 AM
I was just randomly reading threads and came across a lot of criticism of Evolution. I have not had a problem yet, but if there is something out there better.....

I'm just looking for some input from others with more experience.

If it matters I'm running a Compaq LP with Intel Celeron M (YUCK) at 1.8 GHZ, 80 Gb Sata HDD with 55 Gbs devoted to Hardy and 2 Gbs DDR2.

Thanks for your help!

LMP900
July 30th, 2008, 03:58 AM
Do you use Evolution simply for email? I use Evolution myself, but I am considering switching to Mozilla Thunderbird sometime in the future. I feel that it is a much better application for mail. Perhaps I will switch when the next version of Thunderbird is released or after upgrading to Ubuntu 8.10.

The reason I am sticking with Evolution for now is because of the straightforward backup/restore for my mail, calendars, and preferences. I like to distro-hop, and having that feature makes the transition much easier.

transgress
July 30th, 2008, 05:29 AM
Evolution is a good business app. It is heavy handed when it comes to features. If you only use it for email it's less than necessary. And as it goes, most linux people are nuts about making sure their app is lightweight. I think they miss the point of evolution being the default... which is making ease of transition from something like outlook more painless and to make sure those who transition have the features they need.

I personally prefer something more lightweight and I prefer separate programs such as calendar and email, but I haven't had to urge to change what is already available (hey... that's how IE became king right?)

knightcoder
July 30th, 2008, 05:31 AM
I use Thunderbird, and its great. I've had POP and IMAP accounts and never had any problems.

Ingenue
July 30th, 2008, 01:09 PM
Thanks guys, that gives me more information. Don't know what I'm gonna do yet, but...options are good.8)

sujoy
July 30th, 2008, 03:15 PM
try claws-mail, mutt and alpine too. :)

timzak
July 30th, 2008, 04:01 PM
I've used Evolution and Thunderbird both extensively. Here are the pros and cons from my perspective:

Evolution
Pros: integrates well into Gnome desktop (click on panel clock and it gives access to Evo calendar; it also uses your system icons for uniformity of look to your desktop); full-featured MS Outlook compatibility. Neat birthday feature that integrates the address book and calendar (it pulls birthdays from within your contacts list and places them in your calendar automatically).
Cons: seems pretty buggy in that whenever there is an update applied via Update Manager, seems something weird changes that is not clearly documented. Case in point--recently Evo started asking for default keyring password when you first tried to launch it after a reboot. This happened after an update and a workaround was eventually found. Also, the calendar reminders are too subtle, and I find myself missing appointments because I didn't notice the tiny reminder icon in the tray. Interface seems a little counter-intuitive with settings and options buried in hard to find places. Exporting your emails is very difficult, so if you change your mind and want to switch to another client, it will be difficult, if not impossible to export to the new client.

Thunderbird with Lightning calendar extension
Pros: Seems more stable. Updates are less frequent and don't seem to break things as much as in Evo. Familiar, intuitive interface. Calendar reminders are easy to set up and give you an impossible-to-miss pop-up window. Easy to import and export your emails, addresses, and settings between clients.
Cons: If you need an MS Outlook replacement, it might not do everything you want it to (Exchange server). I hear there are extensions that will allow this, but have not tried. Does not integrate as well into the Gnome desktop (it uses proprietary icons and can't take advantage of panel clock like Evo can).

I'm currently using Evolution and am not planning on switching back to Thunderbird partly because of how difficult Evo makes it to export your info to other clients. I really like the Gnome integration, but really do not like the calendar reminder system it uses. I'm frustrated but cannot find a better solution.

50words
July 30th, 2008, 04:04 PM
For mail only, Thunderbird is pretty awesome. Claws is pretty good, as well, but I prefer the more full-featured Thunderbird.

Evolution is similar to Outlook. It is an information manager, not just an email client. It is pretty good, though. I love that it will sync up Google Calendar appointments and Remember the Milk tasks.

Miguel
July 30th, 2008, 05:01 PM
I was getting angrier and angrier towards thunderbird (lack of love, too heavy for just handling e-mail, huge mbox folder,...) and I considered switching to evolution, but I finally decided against it. I mean, it's probably heavier than thunderbird and the main reason to use Outlook is compatibility with Exchange.

I've used Pine in the past (available from the repos if you know how to use apt-get to build packages), and I know at least two people who love it. It's extremely configurable and, when run from gnome-terminal, allows you to easily open attachments. Very lightweight, as it runs from the command line (excellent over SSH). However... it's not mantained anymore and you may have license issues. Both problems are solved by Alpine, a rewrite of Pine by the very same University of Washington under the Apache license. Another CLI option you have is Mutt, although I have no experience with this one.

Anyway, I finally settled with Claws Mail. It has some small quirks, but it has *a ton* of features, and has a few useful plugins. One of the cons of Claws is that it hasn't any integrated html renderer, so you either resort to Dillo (too rough IMHO) or you will have to rely on a browser to see all those RSS feeds (available via plugin). But its waaay lighter than Thunderbird and not using mbox means I can finally forget of compacting folders.

Ingenue
July 30th, 2008, 06:57 PM
Wow, I really appreciate all of the thought everyone has put into this. Many many thanks. :)