Free Email Programs
(My reviews)
I am trying to find a really good free program, so I have downloaded and tested several programs. Keep in mind, what I like or dislike may not be the same for you.
I used to really like Outlook Express, but it doesn't come on Vista or Windows 7. Windows Live Mail, is a buggy version of Outlook Express and the best feature, Identities, is no longer there. I think Microsoft knew it was buggy and came up with Windows Live Mail. I guess it's OK, but for some reason I find it hard to like. It also has a few bugs, but I think I could live with this one if there just wasn't anything else. I am hoping there is something else. In fact, there is NO email program that comes with Windows 7! (Why I don't like Windows Live Mail)
There is Thunderbird. The new version of Thunderbird is probably the best free email client available. I would recommend this one for folks who do not want to use Windows Live Mail.
Some one told me about Evolution for Windows. It seems like it would be OK, but I can't receive mail using Evolution. I can send mail though so I'm thinking it must be a setting somewhere that won't let me receive mail. It says it is receiving, but no mail ever shows up. So far I have tried it using Vista and Windows 7, but still no mail is received.) I finally had to give up on Evolution. I tried it on Windows 7 and on Vista and had the same problem with both versions of Windows; it would send but not receive. I tried every setting and still no go. I ran into difficulty uninstalling Evolution from Vista. It uninstalled very quickly from Windows 7, but took several tries, a reboot and Revo Uninstaller to remove it from the Vista OS. (I may try Evolution again.)
Pegasus mail is another free email program. I could not make it send mail even though there is an option to change the ports. I think it is just me, so you may have no problems with Pegasus mail.
One of the very best free email programs is Eudora. Eudora is easy to configure and is a full featured email client, although it doesn't have a calendar. I used Eudora for a long time. It is no longer supported and many of the features like Help and the spam filters are no longer viable. I tried Eudora, version 8.0b7 on my Windows 7 RCM and it seems to be better than any of the other free programs I have tried.
Incredimail. While a lot of tech folks disdain Incredimail, it is very well designed and easy to use. I wish it had a 'plain text' option, but I can't find one. Other than that, Incredimail is a pretty good email program. I don't recommend it for tech groups as most of them are plain text only. But if you like 'pretty', Incredimail just might be for you.
eMClient I am currently evaluating this program and so far it is by far the best of the free programs. It comes in a paid version as well as free. The trial is the same as the Pro version and reverts to the free version at the end of the trial. Registration is required at the end of the 14-day trial, but a license is available for student and home users and is free. My review.