Posted on 08/17/2024 6:40:21 AM PDT by ro_dreaming
As of June 2024, Google does not intend to shut down Gmail. It started as a hoax in 2023 and Google finally made a statement in June 2024. You can Google it.
Yahoo for me. I tried and used a number of options over the years since Pine email, and Yahoo has worked out the best over time. I suggest using an ad blocker with it though.
SeaMonkey, from what I remember about it, resembles the old Netscape Navigator and that, for old timers like me, is also a great selling point. For anyone looking for an all in one package, it’s definitely worth looking at.
“I suggest using an ad blocker with it though.”
Unfortunately more than an ad blocker. Hate to be the bearer of bad news... But there are so many hidden tracking and fingerprinting scripts on Yahoo it is incredible. And they are a member of OATH. OATH has their own hidden tracking scripts on Yahoo. Yahoo is the very definition of global communist “democracy”.
“Defeat Trump” - support now
“Flip the House” - support now
“Reproductive Rights” - support now
“Find the most impactful Democratic, Independent, and Nonpartisan candidates to support.”
With respect... You were not able to read the very first sentence?
“So, Microsoft has been threatening me all year that they’re going to force everyone to use “Outlook” on their computers, getting rid of “Mail”.
Are you sight impaired and maybe your MS screen reader app ignored that sentence? The screen readers for Linux are impartial, might want to consider this fact. :)
Yah, TBird is best. Works for all flavors of M$. You might have to work thru local WWW supplier (e.g., AT&T, etc) to set up a secure password when TBird starts up. But, that is no big deal. Basically, you set up a password with the WWW supplier and then enter it into TBird to use without any further intervention from you.
As to Linux, TBird works there, too. But, I would not dump M$ and go to any Linux flavor just to get a better eMail application. Waaaay too much trouble. And I dual boot several PC’s with MS and Linux.
Have you read my sentences? The Microsoft App is not the same as the Microsoft OS. MS does not yet force you to use Outlook (unless you use an MS email account). MS has done this before. Remember Outlook Express? Much better than “Mail” is. Microsoft, Apple and Google all drop products that people rely on without affecting the underlying OS (Quicktime, Cyberdog, Safari for Windows, Plays for Sure, non-Chromium IE/Edge, Google Notebook, Chromecast)
Linux doesn’t do any of that proprietary stuff. If you want to use 20 year old 32 bit app versions on a 64 bit machine you can. It is supported.
Thank you for being honest. Here is the deal. First I respect and appreciate the knowledge you personally share about MS. That is priceless for those who are either afraid to change, or do not know how to change. But we are coming to a time when MS is going to require their OS to be online, with an account, and with a paid subscription to even use that new computer you just bought.
At what point is enough abuse enough abuse? Where is the line drawn? Is that “One” app really worth the MS corporate greed and abuse? Especially when there really is a way out of all of their customer abuse if one can just sacrifice that “one” app and learn an alternative even if it isn’t perfect? That accepting the unreasonable abuse for that “One app hill to die” on is absolutely ignorant and senseless.
Those who do have been socially engineered and enslaved with addiction.
There was a thread a couple of weeks ago. The poster had trouble connecting to a MS Exchange server with Thunderbird. As long as your not connecting to an Exchange server most third party app should work. I rarely use my Exchange account with Thunderbird and it quit working some time ago. It is no longer supported and the options seemed to be to use Outlook or webmail. I also tried the Windows 10 mail client and couldn’t connect either
The one they're getting people to switch their Mail accounts to - I'm using it now - is a bare-bones app that encompasses most of Mail's basic features, switches the look and feel a little (more irritating) and will automatically incorporate your Mail profile. The first email that appears in your Inbox each session is an ad. You actually do have a little control over it but it's just one more thing to manage and most people just ignore it.
Your need, if I understand it correctly, might also be met by using a single app with multiple profiles, one for each account. The freeware Thunderbird does support this. I use that on one of my older machines and it works just fine, and it works fine under Linux too. It's a little clumsy if you use features such as mass mailing from lists, but for single user work it's great. Those two, New Outlook and Thunderbird, are what I'm currently using on computers of several vintages (can't bring myself to toss a perfectly good 'puter just because it's old) and OS's, and will continue to do so until Microsoft pulls the plug on Win10 support in October '25, unless they change their current published plan. That's a different conversation, and that little time bomb is ticking. Hope this helps a little.
Those are good questions. My hope is that as more people move to Linux and others that the remaining gaps will be filled in.
Unfortunately, a lot of the free Linux apps are not well-written, or they are written by programmers without being architected by a real UI guy, and are not well-designed.
I have been trying since 1999 to find a way for Linux to work for someone like me who is not a programmer, and need my production apps to do what they do. That’s why I bought Corel Linux for WordPerfect before Microsoft engineered Corel’s removal of same from market.
Unfortunately, some of Microsoft’s apps are best of breed. The days of writing a serious spreadsheet in assembler are long gone.
Those whose employers are stuck on a Microsoft solution (including Azure) are stuck, at least for work.
Google has the inside track on forcing people to do all online. I am Google free except for my weakness for Google Streetview and YouTube. I have never had a Google account. I am barely able to avoid getting a Microsoft account. I have to unplug my network connection constantly.
The ONE app (actually two, as I contract work for someone who uses Access for final output), has 20 years of work on it. It is faster for the kind of work I do compared to MySQL etc. by a factor of about 10, at least for my SQL skill level. I like a baked in front-end in my DBs, and FileMaker’s, unlike Access’, is not a toy, and it rarely crashes even on my DBs with five million records and 1,000+ fields.
You asked what I will do when MS forces the issue? For me, Unix-based MacOS is an option, as FileMaker is a Claris product, and Excel for MacOS still exists. I can likely use LibreOffice and take the quirkiness penalty most of the time, and find workarounds for the rest. It would mean all new hardware, and limited selection and configurability, but it could be MS free. Apple is a gentler if costlier slavemaster. Even Ubuntu is trying to corral folks into Ubuntu Pro. I guess they need revenue from something besides Google.
I wish WINE actually worked.
BTW, even if Microsoft dictates those terms you describe, I would consider sticking with Windows 7 and older versions of apps that don’t work with the new stuff. You get 95% of the functionality, 2% of Microsoft’s interference (less if you block their crap at the router), and if I was so concerned about security, frequent full backups and all personal finance on the Linux boot. More work, but it would do the trick. Google is as much an enemy as Microsoft, but at least they (and Adobe and Apple) are big enough to keep MS from imposing the one proprietary file format on all.
Yeah, I did a similar search and sure enough, I had heard of 1 of the 10, I believe. Tried it, and it sucked.
“Unfortunately, a lot of the free Linux apps are not well-written, or they are written by programmers without being architected by a real UI guy, and are not well-designed.”
I agree and recognize the reality. In the bigger picture this is only because there is not enough demand yet. Build it and they will come... and the demand will finally be supplied because the tips and like shareware “full versions” of improved apps will actually be worth developing.
And here is another point, there is nothing keeping users from adding to and improving apps themselves BECAUSE THEY CAN. You cannot play with MS or MS apps at all....... You have to BUY an app to stack on the rest to do anything like that “IF” MS lets you.
We have hit the edge of the abyss.
“I wish WINE actually worked.”
Me too! But believe it or not, Linux devs are actually porting MS stuff to Linux if the app is popular enough and the license allows. Therefore not needing Wine...
This will all get better with more demand...
the Outlook that is free and replaces Mail
I have Outlook - that is part of O365, but also Mail. I use Mail for my personal stuff, and the Outlook that’s part of O365 for work.
MS is saying they’re replacing Mail with Outlook.
Well there’s a load of bad news. It’s been my primary for about 2 decades :(
I used to use yahoo too. Up until they pushed O-bro for president. This is when I caught on to their communist leanings.
So you can still support them or find other options. Your principles so your call... I know it is “convenient” to have everything at one place. But there are moral aspects involved that might warrant a little less convenience and a little more personal effort. :)
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