Email: Thunderbird or Gmail?? I can't decide.

[lildreamer316]

I'm setting up an account for my husband's artist myspace.I want his email to say his dj name.
Opinions? Thanks!

[BlueIris]

1. I think G-mail sucks, but it makes for a schnazzy looking address.

Even if the "G-mail people" (of which I sort of am one) are trendy and cult-like, it's a good way to add an extra bit of professionalism to your "front."

Lemme know if you need any G-mail invites.

[ghostsofgiants]

13. Gmail has open registration now, no more invites.

And why do you think it sucks?

[BlueIris]

17. Interesting. And I thought I was "special" for having all those invites left.

I think G-mail sucks because it's glitchy for me (though I am a Mac user, which may be related). Occasionally, I won't be able to log in for several hours, sometimes more than a day.

[ghostsofgiants]

18. I've been using it since pretty much the beginning and haven't had any problems with it at all.

The interface is really simple and intuitive, the spam filter is outstanding...I really don't have a single complaint about it at this point.

[Kutjara]

2. Thunderbird is just an email program that lets you...

...connect to your email account(s) and download the emails to your own machine. It doesn't have any email accounts built in, so you need to sign up for an email service (like Gmail) and then set Thunderbird up to receive mail from it. You can also compose emails in Thunderbird and send them through Gmail (or whatever email service you choose).

The advantage of Thunderbird over a web-based service like Gmail is that you download the emails to your own machine, so you don't have to be connected to the Net to read old mails; you have a copy of your emails stored on your own machine in case your email service has a server problem and loses your mail; and it's faster than using a web-based mail service because all the reading and composing happens right on your machine, not on the email service's server.

The Gmail site has instructions that tell you how to set up Thunderbird to work with it.

[havocmom]

3. Can I pick your brain later (when I have time to write more ) re this?

Basically, is there a way to forward gmail account mail to my 'real' email which is thru my local internet provider and I use Thunderbird for that account.

Any advice greatly appreciated, as I have to maintain several 'outside' email accounts for professional reasons and it's a pain in the tush sometimes when I don't check often enough and miss something.

Thanks

hm

[Kutjara]

4. Of course, I'm happy to help.

Regarding forwarding Gmail, you should be able to do that. Gmail has a "POP forwarding" feature that makes it send all the mail it receives to any email account you like. Sometimes that can introduce a bit of a delay, however, because your mail has to first go to Gmail and then Gmail has to send it on, so you might be better off simply setting up Gmail in Thunderbird alongside your existing account. All your mail will still end up in the same place, but it'll come directly from the primary email service rather than being forwarded between services.

[havocmom]

6. How do I get the gmail to download to Thunderbird along with my regular address?

Simple steps, I am a Luddite ;)

[Kutjara]

8. Here goes:

(1) Set up a gmail account and then login to it.
(2) Click "Settings" at the top right of the gmail window.
(3) Click "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" at the top of the "Settings" window.
(4) Click "Enable IMAP" in the "IMAP Access" field of this menu.
(5) Click "Configuration Instructions" (it's the next menu item after "Enable IMAP")
(6) Click on "Thunderbird 2.0" from the list of email programs
(7) Follow the step-by-step directions (with pictures) for setting up Thunderbird to send and receive Gmail.

The instructions are pretty clear, but let me know if you have any problems. Have fun! :) :hi:

[havocmom]

9. Thank you for your instruction and patience!

I will probably play with it tonight as I listen to the talking heads on Primary Reality TV ;)

This really will make my online lives (separate identities for separate aspects of my life) easier to keep up with.

[havocmom]

11. GREAT instructions, Kutjara! I managed to pull it all off

Two gmail accounts now easily accessible from my REAL mail account! What a time saver this is.

:woohoo:

[Kutjara]

15. Excellent! I find it much better to have my webmail...

...come into a real mailbox. I can back it up, archive it, read it offline and do all sorts of nifty stuff the webmail interface can't manage (at least not easily). Being able to access Gmail from any browser when I'm on the road is nice, but having it all on my computer is more useful on a day to day basis.

The great thing about the IMAP setup I walked you through is that the emails and folders you have on Gmail will be synchronized with the ones you have on Thunderbird. If you add, for example, a new "My Old Stuff" folder on Gmail and drag a bunch of emails into it, you'll discover the same folder magically appears in Thunderbird, too, the next time you open it.

The old POP method of downloading email can't do this kind of cool stuff.

[havocmom]

16. PLUS my McAfee junk mail filter now sifts through the other accounts

and that REALLY saves time! :thumbsup:

Yeah, one gmail account opened expressly so I can open it on lots of computers I use so I can mail good links to that account and have them on any computer I use. I do some link hunting for other people with specific interests so that is a tool I use a lot.

[KitchenWitch]

5. I have my gmail account download right into Thunderbird

:hi;

[Blue-Jay]

7. Gmail & Thunderbird are two different things.

You can set him up with a gmail account, and use Thunderbird to retrieve the messages.

Or not. It's not like you're going to use a [e-mail] address.

[Swede]

10. Is this the cheap wine thread?

:shrug:

[pokerfan]

12. Yes, it is

I prefer Night Train Express

From the review at http://www.bumwine.com

Night Train Express
17.5% alc. by vol.

Don't let the 0.5% less alcohol by volume fool you, the Night Train is all business when it pulls into the station. All aboard to nowhere - woo wooo! The night train runs only one route: sober to stupid with no roundtrip tickets available, and a strong liklihood of a train wreck along the way. This trainyard favorite is vinted and bottled by E&J Gallo Winery, in in Modesto, CA. Don't bother looking on their web page, because they dare not mention it there. As a clever disguise, the label says that it is made by "Night Train Limited." Some suspect that Night Train is really just Thunderbird with some Kool-Aid-like substance added to try to mask the Clorox flavor. Some of our researchers indicated that it gave them a NyQuil-like drowsiness, and perhaps this is why they put "night" in the name. The picture (above right) shows that the subject that drank Night Train is down for the count, while the Cisco guzzling subject is ready to rock. Guaranteed to tickle your innards.

[ghostsofgiants]

14. Kutjara's post is basically what I was going to tell you.