Better Email for Mac?

by caseycase

Posted: 13 years ago 13 replies

OFF TOPIC

Hey Mac-using Warriors! Any suggestions for a better email client than Mac Mail for email? I am pulling my hair out with this program, as it never seems to work right. Always telling me it can't send, and on some of my email accounts, I have never been able to send an email even though I can receive. I know it is not my servers or my settings, as the email seems to work fine, sending and receiving, on my phone with the same exact settings.

Anyway, been googling to find some solutions, but I thought I might see if some Warriors could weigh in on what they use. I do not necessarily need a desktop client, although that is my first choice. I really just need something that...works. I do want to use my own email addresses associated with my domains, however.

Thanks in advance!

#email #email client #mac #mail

QuickSurf 13 years ago

Yeh I'm looking right now as the Mac email sucks, constantly giving me issues and errors with my account. I'm looking into Thunderbird as I have a gmail account, yahoo, and 4 email accounts with hostgator.... so want something like Outlook Express where all those can be setup on one program and recieve/send and not have to keep logging back into every single account all the time, plus I love hostgator but their webmail setup is annoying to use.
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caseycase 13 years ago

Yeah, I am checking into Thunderbird as an alternative. Looks like a viable possibility. Thanks!
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- dancing brave 13 years ago
  
  Hi. found this out there, review you may be interested in?
  
  Mozilla Thunderbird is a fully featured, secure and very functional email client and RSS feed reader. It lets you handle mail efficiently and with style, and Mozilla Thunderbird filters away junk mail too.
  At the same time, Mozilla Thunderbird could be more helpful with showing related information, suggesting labels or folders, for example.
  Pros
  Views, tags, filters, fast search and smart folders help you manage mail in Mozilla Thunderbird
  Mozilla Thunderbird gets rid of junk mail precisely using Bayesian filtering and detects scams, too
  Mozilla Thunderbird lets you reads RSS feeds like streams of email with filters, search and labeling
  
  Cons
  Mozilla Thunderbird does not show related messages, sites, documents, posts, etc.
  The Mozilla Thunderbird RSS feed reader could be integrated better and offer more power
  Mozilla Thunderbird could be more helpful by suggesting tags or reply text, for example
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
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  dancing brave 13 years ago
  
  OPERA
  The Opera email client is a slick and flexible interface that will satisfy almost all your email needs, and Opera integrates RSS feeds in this experience as well.
  
  Pros
  Opera is a slick, small, fast and secure email client and RSS feed reader
  Mail shows up in all relevant places automatically and can be searched with speed in Opera
  Opera comes with a precise spam filter and smart labels that presorts mail and learn by example
  
  Cons
  Opera does not offer flexible message templates or advanced automation
  Secure message signing and encryption are not supported by Opera
  Opera can be idiosyncratic to the uninitiated and hides some capabilities
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
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  dancing brave 13 years ago
  
  web based
  
  Mailreader.com provides a clean and fast way to check your POP account from anywhere, and send emails and replies, too.
  
  Pros
  Mailreader.com is clean, fast and configurable
  Simple, but usable address book
  Supports TLS/SSL security, keeps nothing in cache
  
  Cons
  Mailreader.com doesn't support IMAP accounts
  No support for message encryption and signing
  Mailreader.com offers no filtering and no spam control
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
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  dancing brave 13 years ago
  
  mail2web provides secure and anonymous access to your POP or IMAP account from any web browser or hand-held device. Unfortunately, mail2web lacks some convenience functions.
  
  Pros
  mail2web provides access to mail in POP and IMAP accounts
  Privacy conscious, mail2web lets you read mail securely anywhere
  mail2web supports many languages
  
  Cons
  mail2web lacks support for secure messaging
  You cannot create IMAP folders, and mail2web offers no filters
  mail2web's lack of From: customization can be a problem
  
  Hope this helps!
  
  Thanks
  
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caseycase 13 years ago

Thanks! I think I am going to try out Thunderbird first, and then see how it goes from there.
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- QuickSurf 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by caseycase
  
  Thanks! I think I am going to try out Thunderbird first, and then see how it goes from there.
  
  Me too, there's a few good videos on YouTube on how to set it up correctly since yahoo for example needs 3rd party software to run in Thunderbird etc. Can't belive Apple doesn't make a better email program than the pos that comes stock. Heard the new models will have Thunderbird integrated.
  
  Thanks
  
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caseycase 13 years ago

Seriously, maybe they should pause the iPad2 and work on email! Haha!

Anyway, for you QuickSurf and for anyone else who finds this thread wondering about this question, I have been testing Thunderbird and so far it has been exactly what I needed and more. All emails sending and receiving now, and even getting my gmail on it as well. I think I found my answer.
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- QuickSurf 13 years ago
  
  Going to test out Thunderbird today.
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
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  Zaxx 13 years ago
  
  I am wondering how you guys are liking Thunderbird so far. I have tried every Mac email client that I know of including Entourage 2004&2088, Outlook 2011, Thunderbird, Mail, Postbox, and Eudora. From my experience none are perfect, least of all Mac Mail which is truly awful in many ways (e.g., handeling of attachments, lack of calendar or address book integration, and reliability (believe it or not).
  
  Here is my two cents based on memory:
  Mail - nice look, has quick link to responses sent, terrible with attachments (displays jpegs and Word documents in line rather than as a simple attachment even if you check to send Windows friendly attachments)
  
  Entourage - nice features and integration - scary database setup making in vulnerable to complete failure with too many messages
  
  Thunderbird - Mostly good. Checks email lightning fast (no pun on their calendar), decent search/filters, bad reliability after a while (loads of failures/Force Quits), quirky behavior (like forcing a grey background on all outgoing messages regardless of settings), great integration with 3rd party apps (iCal, CalDav, Address Book, etc...)
  
  Outlook - Nice interface, reliable, feature rich email, BUT it is a complete island. Unlike the ubiquitous Windows version and all other Mac email clients, there is absolutely no integration whatsoever with any 3rd party software or protocols
  
  Postbox - very similar to Mac Mail, but adds some extra features. I just did the trial on that one a while back and don't even recall why I did not buy it. I may try it again on a different machine
  
  I have a family member who loves Eudora, but I do not like all of the panels. I may give that a try anyway. Has anyone else tried any that they really like?
  
  I am hoping to get a mail client that is stable, good with signatures attachments, integrates with outside calendars, and has links to replies/forwards from within the message.
  
  Thanks
  
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reverseengineering 13 years ago

I agree about thunderbird. But honestly the scripts stop running on it occasionally and then it freezes. That really sucks after writing a long well planned out proposal, know what I mean? I've been in the habit of saving my emails as write them just in case. This issue probably has more to do with my mac having too many programs running, but no other program does this......but other than that thunderbird is a great way to organize emails
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caseycase 13 years ago

After originally asking the question back in March, I have personally been using Thunderbird and haven't looked back. As reverseengineering says above, it does freeze sometimes, and that is super frustrating, but it doesn't happen regularly enough to make me stop using it, and overall, it is the best, most consistent program I have found that is still free.
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Better Email for Mac?

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