Best email server? Why? (hard drive, keyboard, graphics, gmail)
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I have had our cable companies email service for a number of years. It is fine to use for my MS Outlook as I can file and retain messages, addresses and personal information and store it on my hard drive via Outlook.
However, it is a nightmare to access my email from another computer! Because charter.net does not store any messages on their site, I cannot save anything that I do not actually create a file or Excel file for on my computer. Any emails that I open from the charter.net website are then lost on my own computer at home.
I really need an email server that is professional, would work well with Outlook for Office, not Outlook Express, and would give me virtually no spam (unlike Yahoo and Hotmail).
My son has suggested gmail. I have read previously that Outlook has a problem with saving, sending, etc. gmail. Any suggestions and reasons why you like a particular server? I really appreciate some good sound advice here.
Last edited by gemkeeper; 10-25-2008 at 05:39 PM..
There is no reason why Outlook would not work with a particular mail service as long as that mail service is a pop3 account. As far as I can remember, gmail can be popped so it should work with outlook, outlook express, thunderbird, eudora or any other email client.
He's talking about his contacts and whatnot living both in his client and on the ISP's system, I believe.
Bottom line: Unless you're willing to spend big bucks, it's probably not going to happen.
I would either go with something like Gmail and use it, instead of Outlook, to manage your contacts and such, or sign up with LogMeIn (they have a free basic service that would suit your needs) and access your home PC remotely when you need to.
I quit using Outlook a long time ago, because I got tired of changing email addresses and setting up new ones. I started using online email and have never regretted it.
Thank you for all of your replies. Yes, the problem is that my email server, charter.net, does not store anything. It is fine for Outlook on my primary computer, but to access it on another computer means that I will not have those messages show up in Outlook when I get home to use my primary computer.
I think what most of you have suggested is my only option and that is to use an email server who has free storage space on line for my account. I will look into some of the servers suggested and see what will best suit my needs.
I do appreciate your expertise and own experiences. I can keyboard fast as lightening, but still can't figure out RAM!! Thanks, all.
Postfix, sendmail, qmail... I prefer exim. I'm pretty sure that's not really what the OP meant, though.
Yeah, I just re-read the post and realized we are talking about email providers. Personally, I like inbox.com simply for the interface. I would also say that Gmail is a good service as well. However, what I think you may be describing is more of an issue with Outlook rather than any provider. Are you saying that messages are deleted from server after accessing them via POP3 with Outlook? If that is the case, this is an option, and you need to make Outlook keep messages on server when it downloads them. What version of Office are you using?
Actually, it is a problem with the provider - charter cable company's email.
They do not store anything in their system, unlike gmail, hotmail, and others. So, once an email is downloaded onto a computer other than my primary computer which has Outlook (where, of course, I can keep and file messages), I will not receive them on my primary computer in Outlook. The provider sends them one time only and then they are gone once read.
My only option is to forward any wanted messages to myself and not open them until I return home and sign onto Outlook. I need a provider that will also store my messages on their system.
I hope that doesn't sound like gobbelty-gouk!! It is difficult to explain without some graphics!
I would say Gmail is your best option. Lots of storage space and they support IMAP.
In a nutshell, the difference between POP3 (what your current provider uses) and IMAP is that with POP3, the messages are stored locally (on your computer), while with IMAP, the messages are stored on the server. That means that regardless of how you're checking your mail (Outlook, web interface, etc), the same messages/folders will appear. The drawback to IMAP is that messages aren't available while you're offline or if there's some kind of issue with the server. Keeping local backups of your mail is also more problematic.
Set up a Gmail account and then set it up in Outlook (making sure to use IMAP instead of POP3) and send a bunch of test messages to your new account. Create some folders, move some messages around, log in with the web interface... Play around with the new account and see if it suits you.
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I really appreciate some good sound advice here.
Thanks, all.
