Email and Instant Messaging (IM) Applications & Utilities

Communications has become a key component of computer usage, primarily via email and Instant Messaging (IM).  This article reviews the various email and IM applications and add-on utilities, and make recommendations based on the personal opinions and experience of the author.

EMAIL APPLICATIONS AND UTILITIES

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When you purchase a new Windows PC, an “email application” is included in the Windows installation.  With Vista PCs, the included email application is “Windows Mail”; with prior versions of Windows (including Windows XP) the included email application was “Outlook Express”.  Some users end up using the included email application because it is the “default” email application included with the operating system.  Microsoft Outlook (included with Microsoft Office or purchased separately) is used my many business users as well as home users looking for a more fully-featured email application.  Some users also use the email client provided by their Internet Service Provider (ISP), which may or may not include or consist solely of an online utility.  Some users use one of the many web-based email applications such as Gmail, HotMail or YahooMail.  And there are other options available (most of them free) which you may want to consider (see below).

Locally Installed Email Applications Versus Web-Based Email (WebMail) Applications – The advantage of using an installed email application (Outlook, Windows Mail, Thunderbird, etc.) is that your “old” email (both sent and received) is always available to you whether or not you have Internet access since it is stored locally on your computer’s hard drive.  A locally installed email application can also be “invoked” by any web link or other installed software so that clicking on an email address “link” opens a new mail message addressed to that email address (not possible with a web-based email application).  Email applications locally installed on your computer often also offer more features and can be more “customized” (with setting changes and “plug-ins) than can be a web-based application.  Web-based email applications offer the advantage of being more easily accessed from any Internet-connected computer, and your email is stored on the provider’s server rather than on your computer’s hard drive, so if you computer’s hard drive crashes your email messages and contacts would not be affected and could be accessed from another Internet-connected computer until your computer is repaired.  Popular web-based email services include Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail and AOL Mail.

Outlook Express/Windows Mail versus Outlook – The Microsoft Outlook email program included with most versions of Microsoft Office (or purchased separately) is a much more fully-featured email handler than is Outlook Express or Windows Mail, and also offers full contact management, a task list and a calendar.  For a more complete comparison click here.  For a very full comparison of Outlook Express versus Windows Mail click here.  Important Note: Windows Mail is included in all versions of Windows Vista and is not available as a separate download or purchase.  Outlook Express was included with Windows versions prior to Vista but is now considered a discountinued Microsoft program and is only available when downloaded with discontinued Internet Explorer 6 software, which is only for users NOT running Windows XP or a later version of Windows.  If you need to download Outlook Express you will need to revert to the older Internet Explorer 6.  Click here to download IE6, which includes Outlook Express.

Program Links

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Windows Live Mail – Microsoft also offers a free “upgrade” to both Outlook Express and Windows Mail.  Windows Live Mail is similar to both Outlook Express and Windows Mail, but has the additional features listed below.  When you download and install Windows Live Mail, you’re also offered the option of downloading and installing other Windows Live programs, including Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Writer, Windows Live Photo Gallery, and the Windows Live Toolbar and Family Safety software. All the programs you choose are installed at the same time. For more information about these other Windows Live programs, go to the Windows Live Services website.

• Free access to Windows Live Hotmail. To sign up for a Hotmail account, go to the Hotmail website.
• Integration with Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Spaces, and Windows Live Contacts.
• The ability to connect to popular e‑mail services such as Hotmail, Yahoo!, AOL, or Gmail, or to e‑mail from your Internet service provider (ISP).
• The ability to automatically configure many popular e‑mail services. All you need to do is enter your e‑mail address and Windows Live Mail will automatically enter the correct settings for the e‑mail servers used by that service. 

Outlook 2007 is included with most (but not all) versions of Microsoft Office, or it can be purchased separately (about $100-$110).  According to Microsoft… “Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 provides an integrated solution for managing your time and information, connecting across boundaries, and remaining in control of the information that reaches you. Office Outlook 2007 delivers innovations you can use to quickly search your communications, organize your work, and better share your information with others — all from one place.”  For Mac users, Entourage (part of Microsoft’s Office:Mac) is the equivilent of Outlook for Mac operating systems.

Xobni (Free) - Xobni (“inbox” spelled backwards) is an Outlook add-in that can save you time finding email, conversations, contact info & attachments.  Most users who try Xobni find that it significantly increases their productivity and end up taking advantage of it’s features frequently.

Amic Email Backup ($39.95 one time purchase; free trial available)is a handy software tool for Microsoft Windows based PCs designed to create backup copies of your email database. It can save emails, address books, mail and news accounts and their settings, message rules, blocked sender lists and signatures, to a single compact, compressed backup file that can be easily restored when necessary.  Some of the reasons to do backups: virus infects your computer,  software failures, or power outages can destroy the data on your hard drives. Why would you have to re-download or even loose all you existing email messages ( together with address book, contacts, mail rules and all other email data ) every time your system crashes or you re-install Windows? You can just use Amic Email Backup to create a compressed backup copy of your email data and store it in a safe place. After a crash or a format, simply restore the backup and your data will be back in no time! The Schedule feature allows you to backup the email database daily, weekly or at any pre determined time frame. The email database can be saved on one computer and restored to another, thus making Amic Email Backup not just a backup utility but also a synchronization tool.  Unlike other email backup utilities Amic Email Backup works with the top 11 popular Email Clients such as MS Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, Netscape Messenger, IncrediMail and PocoMail (but it does NOT support Thunderbird).

Click here for four other ways to backup you Email, courtesy of MakeUseOf.com.  Note: Some of this information may be outdated; be sure to visit the home page of the software mentioned for up-to-date information.

Thunderbird (Free) is a “third party” (meaning non-Microsoft) email application for Windows or Mac that includes many features to help you manage your email.  According to their web site… “with Thunderbird 2, it’s easier to prioritize and find your important email with tags and the new find bar helps you find content within your email faster.”  A free add-in for Thunderbird, called Lightning, integrates an Outlook-type calendar into Thunderbird.  Click here to view all of the add-ons available for Thunderbird.  Note: Thunderbird can import data from Outlook for those Outlook users who want to switch to Thunderbird.

Eudora (Free), supported by Quailcomm, is another available alternative to Outlook that is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems.  Although feature rich, there is no calendar functionality available to integrate into Eudora.  Note: Eudora can import data from Outlook for those Outlook users who want to switch to Eudora.

Because of the constant threat of viruses and spyware, regardless of which email application you choose, you should take steps to be insure the safety of your email activities and be sure you run an anti-virus program and keep it up-to-date.  Open the wrong email message (or attachment) if a prime source of virus infections.

Once you decide on which email application is best for you you may want to consider using a SPAM Filter to filter out junk email messages from your inbox.  Click here for our article that discussing the SPAM problem and offers several solutions (many of them are FREE).

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INSTANT MESSAGING PROGRAMS AND UTILITIES

From wiseGEEK.com:  “Instant messaging, or IM in Internet slang, consists of sending real time messages to another Internet user. Instant messaging is comparable to chatting in your own private chat room, with only those people you choose to invite. You can create a list to keep track of welcome guests and alert you when one of them sends you a message. Instant messaging is a bit more private than a typical chat room, and it is a much faster and simpler way to communicate than using email. Since instant messaging allows users to communicate in real time, users can respond quickly to questions or comments. Instant messaging is a great way to stay in touch with family members and friends while saving money on your long distance phone bills. As with any online activity, caution should be exercised with messaging. It is not a good idea to add people to your list unless you know something about them. Children should be supervised carefully when instant messaging and should never add someone to their list or agree to be added to anyone else’s list without approval from their parents. Predators have been known to use instant messaging as well as chat rooms to seek out victims, so while IM may seem safer, it is not without risks.  It is also possible to obtain viruses, worms, and Trojan horses through messaging, so care should be taken when accepting any files. Also, don’t type anything that you wouldn’t want shared with others, since IM’s can be captured and the text can be saved. Even though messaging sessions seem private, they are really not any more secure than your average email. Instant messaging can be a lot of fun and it is a great way to communicate, but like anything else, it should be used with care.”

The most popular IM programs (all of them FREE) include Microsoft’s Windows Live Messaging, AIM (AmericaOnline Instant Messaging), Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and ICQ.  Instant Messaging software is also available from many other sources as well as being included in (or availabe for) many social networking sites such as this online IM service for Facebook.

Pidgin (Free) is an Open Source IM/Chat program which lets you log in to accounts on multiple chat networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on MSN, talking to a friend on Google Talk, and sitting in a Yahoo chat room all at the same time.  Pidgin is compatible with the following chat networks out of the box: AIM, ICQ, Google Talk, Jabber/XMPP, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, QQ, Lotus Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE, MySpaceIM, and Zephyr. It can support many more with plugins.  Pidgin supports many features of these chat networks, such as file transfers, away messages, buddy icons, custom smilies, and typing notifications. Numerous plugins also extend Pidgin’s functionality above and beyond the standard features.  Pidgin is free and contains no ads.

Trillian (Free, or $25 one-time purchase for Pro version with additional features) is a more fully featured, stand-alone, skinnable chat client that supports AIM, ICQ, Microsoft Live Messaging,, Yahoo Messenger, and IRC (but NOT Google Talk). It provides capabilities not possible with original network clients, while supporting standard features such as audio chat, file transfers, group chats, chat rooms, buddy icons, multiple simultaneous connections to the same network, server-side contact importing, typing notification, direct connection (AIM), proxy support, encrypted messaging (AIM/ICQ), SMS support, and privacy settings.  Trillian provides unique functionality such as contact message history, a powerful skinning language, tabbed messaging, global status changes (set all networks away at once), Instant Lookup (automatic Wikipedia integration), contact alerts, an advanced automation system to trigger events based on anything happening in the client, docking, hundreds of emoticons, emotisounds, shell extensions for file transfers, and systray notifications.

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