Stupid people

[Hawkmoon]

I decided that it's time to install an e-mail client on my computer so that I don't lose old messages on my Hotmail account due to expiration. (I already lost all the e-mails between me and my late wife, and that continues to gnaw at me.) I use Thunderbird for other accounts and, while I could add Hotmail to it, I prefer not to. So I poked around, and found a freeware client called eM Client. Downloaded it and installed it, and it made me obtain a license (free) with an authentication code.

That got me thinking -- In addition to my primary desktop computer, I have a couple of other desktops (rarely used), a couple of laptops (at least one frequently used), a netbook, and a Windows tablet. Since when on the road I would probably have either the netbook or one of the laptops, plus maybe the tablet, I want to have the same e-mail client on those. So I contacted the company that puts out this software. Their response was that multiple installations is commercial use, and to do that I would have to buy a multi-user license. Even though it's only me that would ever be using it.

So I uninstalled their program and installed a different one.

How can anyone today seriously believe that people would only have ONE computer they would be checking e-mail on? I mentioned this to a friend and his response was, "Hell, I've got nine computers at home -- but I only use seven of them."

[Scout26]

I've been with SBC, AT&T, Whoever they are now.  I still have all my e-mails that I have filed in various files on SBC  account going back to 1996 and I haven't even used 10% of my allocated storage.   And I save almost every e-mail.

Why not use whatever your ISP provides with their service ??  As much as SBC/AT&T pisses me off at times, they have yet to lose one of my bloody e-mails.

[Hawkmoon]

Why not use whatever your ISP provides with their service ??  As much as SBC/AT&T pisses me off at times, they have yet to lose one of my bloody e-mails.

As far as I've been able to determine, there is no mechanism for backing up e-mails from Hotmail (or, now, Outlook on-line) to any permanent storage location. That's why I need want an e-mail client. I suppose I could use Outlook and link the Hotmail account to that, but that's like using a sledge hammer to drive a finishing nail. If Microsoft hadn't discontinued Outlook Express, I'd happily use that.

[lee n. field]

I can get you the installer for Windows Live Mail, if you want.  No longer supported, no longer available for download from Microsoft.

That's why I need want an e-mail client. I suppose I could use Outlook and link the Hotmail account to that, but that's like using a sledge hammer to drive a finishing nail.

Not at all.  Perfectly appropriate way to do it.  Any email provider that lets you do mail on your phone/tablet, supports IMAP.

[lee n. field]

Backing up your important Outlook.com email data

also recommends https://www.emclient.com/

[Hawkmoon]

Backing up your important Outlook.com email data

also recommends https://www.emclient.com/

Thanks, but ...

Details

To back up your email data you must configure your account on a Mail Client.

This is why I'm looking for an e-mail client I can live with. And apparently Microsoft screwed with the architecture underlying Hotmail and Outlook mail, so Windows Live Mail now has problems with those e-mail accounts. And it's a Hotmail account I need it for.

(With the coming changes to Windows Live Mail you may want to use this email client instead.

It is not from Microsoft but is very similar to Windows Live Mail and it will continue to work to sync all you mail, calendar, and contacts.

It is called emclient and it is available here. http://www.emclient.com/ )

I tried eM Client -- see my opening post. Even though it's only me as the user, and I explained that I will be using their program only for personal communication with my late wife's family in South America, as soon as you want to install on more than one device they make you buy a "commercial" multi-user license.

I could use the full Outlook on my primary desktop, but the notebooks and tablets are running Office 2010 Home & Student, which doesn't include Outlook. So I'm looking for a freeware e-mail client I can run on all my devices. (Some are Windows 7, some are Windows 10.)

[lee n. field]

How can anyone today seriously believe that people would only have ONE computer they would be checking e-mail on? I mentioned this to a friend and his response was, "Hell, I've got nine computers at home -- but I only use seven of them."

Hmm, 3 desktops, 5 laptops, and a varying number of virtual machines.  All scavenged.

[lee n. field]

Thanks, but ...

This is why I'm looking for an e-mail client I can live with. And apparently Microsoft screwed with the architecture underlying Hotmail and Outlook mail, so Windows Live Mail now has problems with those e-mail accounts. And it's a Hotmail account I need it for.


I tried eM Client -- see my opening post. Even though it's only me as the user, and I explained that I will be using their program only for personal communication with my late wife's family in South America, as soon as you want to install on more than one device they make you buy a "commercial" multi-user license.

I could use the full Outlook on my primary desktop, but the notebooks and tablets are running Office 2010 Home & Student, which doesn't include Outlook. So I'm looking for a freeware e-mail client I can run on all my devices. (Some are Windows 7, some are Windows 10.)

Sorry, the first post was one I hadn't looked at in a while.

Hotmail is outlook.com.   It's accessable through the IMAP mail protocol.

I still follow my late son's hotmail, though there hasn't been anything but junk for a couple years.  I have it set up as an account in Thunderbird as an IMAP account.  The server for it is imap-mail.outlook.com.  It stashes a local copy in my ~/.thunderbird/<randomstring profile name>/ImapMail/imap-mail.outlook.com folder.  The files under that, all 1.7GB worth, are all his mail, all the various folders going back to about 2006.  I can open them in Thunderbird, online or off, or view them with anything that will handle text files.

(When I first got into this account, he had ten years worth of his mail, all in his Inbox.  Getting control of that was a battle.)

I wouldn't send from this account, unless I somehow accidentally happened to be in that when composing.

Thunderbird will do what you want.

[Hawkmoon]

Hotmail is outlook.com.   It's accessable through the IMAP mail protocol.

I still follow my late son's hotmail, though there hasn't been anything but junk for a couple years.  I have it set up as an account in Thunderbird as an IMAP account.  The server for it is imap-mail.outlook.com.  It stashes a local copy in my ~/.thunderbird/<randomstring profile name>/ImapMail/imap-mail.outlook.com folder.  

...

I wouldn't send from this account, unless I somehow accidentally happened to be in that when composing.

Thunderbird will do what you want.

Thanks, Lee. I know all that, and I know that Thunderbird can do what I need. However, what I want is to use a different e-mail client for the Hotmail account. I already have two accounts in Thunderbird and I have more than once sent out an e-mail over the wrong signature, from the wrong account. I don't want to compound that by adding a third account into the mix.

[Ben]

https://mozilla-thunderbird.en.softonic.com/windows/alternatives

[lee n. field]

Thanks, Lee. I know all that, and I know that Thunderbird can do what I need. However, what I want is to use a different e-mail client for the Hotmail account. I already have two accounts in Thunderbird and I have more than once sent out an e-mail over the wrong signature, from the wrong account. I don't want to compound that by adding a third account into the mix.

maybe set up a totally different Windows account on the pc, and use thunderbird on that.  isolated from anything you do on the main.

[Phantom Warrior]

There is a long list of Windows email clients of varying vintage and functionality.  Having run across a number of them I have to give the highest marks by far to Thunderbird.  User friendly, up to date, works on all versions of Windows, no issues using it on multiple machines. 

My suggestion would be to put Thunderbird on all your OTHER machines.  That way you have a good email program standardized across them.  You may have to make your own decision on your primary machine.  You seem to have very specific requirements there. 

For what it's worth, you can set up multiple profiles in Thunderbird.  These act like completely different installations of Thunderbird.  Each has their own set of accounts that do not intermingle in any way.  Maybe that's a possibility.

Using Multiple Profiles

[Cliffh]

Will T-bird allow multiple installations on one computer?  Use the existing install for the other accounts and a second install for Hotmail?

[lee n. field]

There is a long list of Windows email clients of varying vintage and functionality.  Having run across a number of them I have to give the highest marks by far to Thunderbird.  User friendly, up to date, works on all versions of Windows, no issues using it on multiple machines.  

My suggestion would be to put Thunderbird on all your OTHER machines.  That way you have a good email program standardized across them.  You may have to make your own decision on your primary machine.  You seem to have very specific requirements there.  

For what it's worth, you can set up multiple profiles in Thunderbird.  These act like completely different installations of Thunderbird.  Each has their own set of accounts that do not intermingle in any way.  Maybe that's a possibility.

Using Multiple Profiles

And, gmail regards Thunderbird as secure.  To use Outlook, you have to get into the gmail web interface and explicitly "allow insecure apps".

Cool info on the Thunderbird profiles.  I was looking for something like that, but not hard enough, I guess.  That's the fix for Hawkmoon.

[Ben]

Back when I still used a client, it was always Tbird with multiple profiles for my work/personal accounts. That's the elegant solution for client software. Unless I'm reading things wrong here though, it appears Hawkmoon doesn't want to do that, though  I don't know why.

[Hawkmoon]

Back when I still used a client, it was always Tbird with multiple profiles for my work/personal accounts. That's the elegant solution for client software. Unless I'm reading things wrong here though, it appears Hawkmoon doesn't want to do that, though  I don't know why.

Because I read up on how to do that, and it's WAY above my pay grade. I basically know enough about computers and Windows to get myself in trouble. Since I use Thunderbird for my work e-mail, I can't risk messing it up.

Before you say, "But you can't mess it up," I'll just point out that none of you have seen how thoroughly I can mess up a computer.

[Hawkmoon]

After trying and discarding no less than six candidates, I think I may have found one that's a good fit for me: Claws Mail. It looks a lot like a "lite" version of Thunderbird. It isn't trying to be a complete, all-in-one email client/calendar/personal organizer/notepad/___. It's a simple, clean, e-mail client. Don't know why I never heard of it before.

https://claws-mail.org/win32/

Some reviewers give it negative marks for having an "antiquated" interface. I'm a dinosaur -- to me that's a feature, not a bug.