Virtual Assistant Forums | Work from Home

PeppyM · #1 (**permalink**) 08-08-2011

Can anyone recommend a robust e-mail program, other than Outlook? I want all of the functionality of Outlook and none of the headaches. I was never able to get Outlook 2007 to work on my p.c. and now, I can't get Outlook 2010 to work either. I'm frustrated. I've installed and re-installed. I've repaired the the pst file. I've repaired the entire program. I've moved the pst file to where it should be, as it was located in some other place. I'm about done with Outlook. Thanks for any advice on e-mail software.

burneyvoa · #2 (**permalink**) 08-08-2011

Peppy, I have an email account that came with my website host service and it works perfectly for my business. I have a personal account with gmail ( by Google). Hope that helps.
Wendy

PeppyM · #3 (**permalink**) 08-08-2011

Thanks, Wendy! Is it as functional as Outlook, i.e., calendar, contacts, etc.? I'm looking for an Outlook clone. Do you ever have to sync your calendar with a client's calendar?

lukeg · #4 (**permalink**) 08-09-2011

Thunderbird (w/ the Lightning calendar plug-in) has been decent for me on Windows and Linux, and I've heard that Evolution on Linux is basically a clone of Outlook. I can't vouch for sharing calendars with the same ease as with Outlook, however. It depends a lot on the software that you are connecting to, be it Microsoft Exchange, etc.

lillie · #5 (**permalink**) 08-09-2011

Do you need it to be a desktop application? What types of features do you need? In my experience, Gmail is the best program out there right now for managing email.

At my office we recently switched from Gmail to Outlook 2010 and it's been a hard transition. Everyone is talking about how Gmail was a much easier system, much more intuitive and faster, too. In Outlook we're spending more time reading and organizing our emails than we did in Gmail, where it just took care of itself. Combined with Google Calendar, Google Docs, etc makes it a pretty powerful set of tools and the fact that it's online means you can access it from anywhere. (And the Docs are really easy to share with clients, they can make comments, etc.)

But, Gmail doesn't have everything that Outlook has - for example, we switched because we had to connect to Microsoft Exchange server - so, it will depend on your needs. I recommend giving it a whirl to see what you think. Make sure you check out the Labs features, which are customizations that you can install to make the program fit your preferred work style.

Good luck!

reneeshupe · #6 (**permalink**) 08-09-2011

If you are a solo professional, and need to collaborate with clients using gmail or google apps (gmail as well) is IMO the way to go. It's flexible, adaptable, powerful and they are always developing it. I've used Google apps Gmail now for 3 years and would never go back I love that it's online, so not matter where I'm at I can access it, I have my calendar, task list and contact all in the same space and the spam control is amazing!

martsgirl · #7 (**permalink**) 08-27-2011

Peppy, have you tried checking Windows Live Mail? It's free and it's similar to the old Outlook Express of Microsoft. If you're email is from your own domain, you can set it up as a Google Apps -- which means you can access the email via Gmail. I've done this with my own webmail. You just need to contact your webhost and change some configurations with the MX settings I think..

And just like what Renee has mentioned above, it's easy to collaborate with other clients who us google apps as well.

On The Go RE Assistant · #8 (**permalink**) 08-27-2011

Hi Peppy, I would also suggest checking out Windows Live, it is very easy to use and you have most of the same functions as outlook. And you can add multiple email accounts including Gmail, yahoo, msn, etc.