Any rumors of Windows Mail-like client for Windows 8?

[Sparky's Mum]

Believe me, there many of us out here who want OE to return. We are not troglodytes, we just enjoy OE and it supported our hobby very well. So easy to use without all the other stuff we don't want. i have used OE since well, let's leave the year out of this. The stationery works perfectly in OE, we make all singing all dancing email stationery.

[Medico]

I do not believe you will see OE returned. I also enjoyed it, but have learned to live with WLM and have gotten accustomed to it's intricacies. I do not use stationery but according to Ask.com, WLM can use stationery.

[Sparky's Mum]

Yes WLM does support stationeries BUT...it decides to strip some of the coding in the stationery and it does not perform like it should, or it adds extra stuff to the coding and then causes even more havoc. You have to use short paths of the sources and sometimes that does not owrk properly, so all in all WLM causes more problems. I have tried to use WLM stationery, the kind that comes with programme and then I get error messages that says it cannot recreate the stationery. now this is the stationery designed by WLM...so frustrating. There are other features I do not like about WLM, to me it is not user friendly. if OE does not return I am prepared to buy another programme that does support Stationery. i have been trialling it and it works fine, just a bit more convuluted than OE and the stationery has to be created using IE8 HTML, but that is work around and far better than WLM...

I have had a look at Thunderbird today and not sure that I could settle to using it.

Dream Mail out of China, is ok, but just have too many questions regarding security. it still does not perfom like OE...

[Rfarmer]

Is there an evaluation/comparison somewhere on the web of simple, fast, clean replacements for Outlook Express that can be used on Windows 7?

[delinwales]

Hooray for Sparky's mom. Yes I know it is possible to use stationery with either WLM or Mokum Mail or some other systems, but it sure isn't as straightforward as it was (and should be) in Outlook Express.
I too reverted to XP in order to continue to use stationery. Sadly a large proportion of computer experts do not even understand what stationery means. As it is they throw up their hands in horror at the thought of using HTML or scripting as they believe it is the devil's work. If Win 8 is as bad as win 7 then I will continue with XP until death do us part.

[DrWho]

I'm a working computer tech and have been since the DOS days.
Over the past ten years, for instance, I've had many calls about an email program that's gone Wonky and out of all those calls, all but one have been about MS Outlook. Just one of those service calls was related to OE6. That was because the user (x2) had never emptied the Sent Items folder and it was so HUGE it could not be opened in the available RAM. I dumped that folder and the problem was solved.
That customer now cleans out their Sent Items and Deleted Items folder as a part of their weekly computer maintenance routine.
Fixing Outlook was never simple and a real pain in the arse. It's just WAY too complicated for a home user that doesn't want or need all that extra stuff.

OE was still available in Vista, under the alias of Windows Mail. It could be set up to look and act exactly like OE6.

Enter Windows 7. Windows Mail was still there, but now disabled. I never did understand that, unless they new that some clever tech would find the key to re-activating it. Success sometimes comes in small packages.
Just replacing the MSOE.dll file in Windows Mail, with the same file from Vista, fixes it so it works.
I now carry that file on my Utilities DVD and I activate Windows Mail for every one of my Win-7 customers, who want it. Many have just been using Web-Mail for years and are just as happy to continue using that.
But those who have used OE6 very much appreciate being able to use Windows Mail.

Enter Windows 8. Windows Mail is still right there, in the same place as in Win-7, but the re-activate fix, as outlined above, does not work. At least I've not made it work yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, that in a later version of Win-8, it WILL work. I'm trusting that some clever programmer (hacker) will find a way to fix Windows Mail in Win-8.

I personally wish that some very clever programmer out there someplace, would write an OE6 workalike email program.
We have Workalikes for Office, Adobe Reader and many other programs, so why not OE6?

I'm still running Windows XP-Pro-SP3 on my main computer and I sincerely LOVE it over every other OS that I've tried and I've tried them all, at least as far as MS is concerned.

So for that person that has their whole life tied to OE6, all I can say is keep one PC running XP and OE6 to do your email on and if you want to run 7, 8 or whatever else comes along, do that on a separate PC.
But above all, if you have that much of your life saved on that one PC, for goodness sake, BACKUP! BACKUP! BACKUP! and if you don't know how, to make full C: drive backups, ask me in a PM and I'll lay it out for you.

I do this stuff for a living, so I'm no stranger to it.

Cheers mates!
The Doctor

[LilBambi]

Yes, I agree! It was sad that Microsoft did a two fold, in my opinion, error with email. Windows Live Mail is not nearly as good as it's predecessor, Outlook Express.

At the same time, Microsoft moved Outlook out of the Student and Home Office Edition of Microsoft Office forcing people to either stay with the old version, or buy it for nearly $80 as a separate single license.

I think these were unwise moves on Microsoft's part.

[Jagworld]

Is there an evaluation/comparison somewhere on the web of simple, fast, clean replacements for Outlook Express that can be used on Windows 7?

I also can't make the complete "Break a way" from XP mainly due to OE6. BUT, what I did on my win7 install (of which is on a separate drive) is use Thunderbird.

I first installed TB in my XP because it will pull all the OE6 mail/accs/etc. to the TB install, I then installed "Mozbackup" and backed up to a separate partition (very easy), I then went into Win7 and installed TB -- then installed Moxbackup and Moz program brought it up to date.

How ever, the win7 TB is now out of date as I seem to be in XP most of the time.

[Logger]

First post here for me

I tested Windows mail on Windows 8 Preview, worked splendidly. I followed the directions from here (it's for Windows 7 but same goes for 8):
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...dows-mail.html
and have everything needed on disk now for future use.

Like DrWho I activate Windows Mail on systems I work on if the owners so wish.
XP still rocks! and I am very happy with it still and see no pressing need to change to 7 or, eventually, 8 until it's time for a new system (possibly a slate of some kind).

Cheers,
Logger

[Medico]

The reason Windows mail was disabled (I believe) in Win 7 and Win 8 DP is due to the various lawsuits in Europe and elsewhere that forced the issue onto MS in order to allow Win 7 into those markets. Perhaps I am wrong but that is what I am remembering on this. Some of their competitors could not compete and had to force the issue so MS disabled WinMail to satisfy these lawsuits. Many of us users suffered from this.

[BruceR]

Is there an evaluation/comparison somewhere on the web of simple, fast, clean replacements for Outlook Express that can be used on Windows 7?

There's a brief summary here, with links to reviews and user recommendations: Top 11 Free Email Programs for Windows

Bruce

[jwitalka]

Many of us users suffered from this

Ted, I don't see how any users suffered from this decision. Microsoft still developed an alternate mail program. You just have to download it rather than having it part of the OS. Microsoft has a tremendous application advantage for apps they include with the OS due to their monopoly position. Separating them out evens the playing field and allows for more variety and the user usually benefits. This is more obvious in browsers where we now have Firefox, Chrome, and Opera where IE was once dominant due to its prior inclusion in the OS. Competition even makes Microsoft apps better. I doubt if we would have IE 9 as good as it now is with little or no competition.

Jerry

[DrWho]

So, now that MS effectively Killed OE, where's all that 3rd party software that the Euro's were bellyakin' about not being able to sell?
I'm sorry,,,,,,,,, I don't see any!
I see that whole scenario as compared to a man being told to get out of his house so homeless beggars could live there. Cheeech!

In the early days of Win-7, I set up Windows Live Mail for one of my customers, and even though it Worked, it looked like sh** and he hated it.
The very setup time was at least four times longer and much harder than setting up OE6 which I can practically do blindfolded.
Or I can walk someone through it over the phone.

So I'm all in favor of the guy with the expertise to write an OE6 workalike.
Or, figure out how to force it to work on Win-7 and 8.

Like, I force Solitaire from XP to work on Win-7 & Win-8.
You just have to know what .dll file to migrate along with the .exe file.

Laters!
Doc

[Medico]

Perhaps my last sentence was a little dramatic. Many users that were enamored to OE had to learn a new Mail Client with different features, some features of which were lacking as specified by Sparky's Mum. My mother also really liked the stationery feature which does not work nearly as well with WLM. I agree competition often makes apps better. The point I was making is not that apps are better or worse, but that this was the reason WinMail was disabled in Win 7. It was not by choice but to satisfy lawsuits brought against MS by competitiors.

[jwitalka]

MS killing OE is interdependent of whether a mail app is included in the OS. MS included live mail in Vista. Like it or not, MS made the decision to go with apps with a ribbon interface for all future development. Even Windows Explorer has a ribbon in Windows 8.

I am ambivalent on Windows live mail and have set it up many times without it taking an inordinate amount of time. As I have said before, some people like the ribbon and some people hate it. That's why they call them personal computers.

Jerry