OK - what 'email' provider is best, and why...

[AJMD429]

I can't use any of the commercial "email readers" with my email, and I really like to have the added control over filtering and archiving that a reader gives me, plus the ability to have the files ON my machine for off-line use if needed.

So. . . I'm getting ready to pick another 'primary' email provider.

Some of them seem to be hacked every week or so (gmail, yahoo), and others seem to have anti-gun attitudes I'd just as soon not encourage.

On the other hand, I would like to pick one that isn't just a fly-by-night one that won't be there in a few years.

Suggestons...? Reasons...? Better alternatives than email-readers...?

[Rusty]

I don't have it but you might look at the service offered by Glen Beck on The Blaze. It's not free but he claims it is secure.

[jhrosier]

I have used Googlemail for several years without incident.

My email client software is Thunderbird. I keep some emails on my computer and periodically delete what remains online.

Jack

[Panzercat]

Just can't get over google's inbox format. To me, the icons aren't intuitive and the compose button is awkwardly placed.

Hotmail/outlook (using @outlook, not the PC client) has undergone a lot of user interface changes over the last year. It's more visually appealing and easier to use, IMO. Zoho is also nice. It features a very clean interface and have yet to receive the usual spam accumulation. Plus it works in those places that don't accept gmail/hotmail registrations for one reason or another.

My criteria is usability and ease of access for the most part. I want to know what I'm looking at and how to easily respond to it. Zoho is probably the best at that, hotmail/outlook secondary. that said, having an email like blah@outlook.com does sound a fraction more professional due to it's name recognition, which is what Microsoft was counting on, I'm sure.

[Malamute]

I'm the opposite, I don't want anything on my machine. I can access my mail from anywhere with yahoo, but they keep "improving" it and its now pretty much a PIA to use. The feedback pages are totally filled (thousands of comments and seconds to comments) with people that hate the new format and changes. Cant suggest anything better though.

I wonder if yahoo hired the same stellar minds that royally messed up photobucket?

[Chas.]

I too, keep my email on my machine. I use Outlook(not Outlook Express). It checks my comcast.mail every 5 minutes for new mail that needs to be downloaded and/or sends my outbound emails to comcast for delivery. It also instructs comcast to delete any of my mail on their server after 10 days. The time intervals can be changed.

[JohndeFresno]

Doc,

I can speak with some experience on that subject.

I have used a few "readers" as you call it, and settled upon Outlook Express for many years. As noted above, it accepts your e-mail and stores it onto your computer. And its backup feature is easy and reliable, but to use and to restore. But over the years it got buggy with constant updates, some of which I had to back out because of conflicts with other software on my box.

I ended up with Mozilla Thunderbird (free, of course) and its free backup software. With the many hacks that have increased this last decade, Mozilla has stayed up with the game and usually ahead of the exploits of most malware.

I use Yahoo as my ISP, but access it with Thunderbird. In that way, I still have e-mails on the Internet when I travel, accessible from any computer terminal - I just log into Yahoo directly. Like Jack (jhrosier), I periodically delete my online e-mails.

For several years, I telecommuted in my job with a State agency, working from home many hours a day when I was not traveling. I have gone through several ISP's (Internet Service Providers). A side issue that most people don't consider is that when you change, you have to go through the annoying process of alerting every correspondent of your new e-mail address. And then, many won't receive your new address because their spam filters block incoming messages that are addressed to multiple addressees!

Yes, there are services that take all the names from your computer lists and allow you to mass alert everyone. But since some of those names are commercial e-mail addresses (if you use the Internet much), your new address is now added to spam lists! Yes, that happened to me.

After having gone through a long list of ISP's over the years, I am now with a premium service that (so far) is reliable. But I use a paid ("Pro?") version of Yahoo for all e-mail except the few correspondents who won't accept it as a legitimate e-mail address. Yes, Yahoo has added some features that are annoying, but overall it has been reliable and easy to use. The paid version allows for spam filters, multiple folders for various correspondents and subjects (such as Ammo Firearms folder for reloading orders).

If something happens that forces me to lose or leave the excellent AT&T U-verse, no problem. I'll still get mail through Yahoo. And it has been hacked much less than other ISP's.

Make no mistake - most or all ISP's have been hacked and compromised. They just don't admit it. I still get news feeds from various sources that I used before I retired from my IT related work. For instance, GMail and AOL have been compromised more than once, but you have probably not heard about it. And so have several sites that have e-mail as an additional service. Let's face it, you take a risk just by using the Internet. And forget about Facebook - it seems that they hired a Swiss cheese maker for their IT guru.

Through the years, I have used:
Compuserve - my first dial-up service in the days of MS-DOS and the black and white C Prompt> screens;
NetZero.com - when I joined, the service was totally free! And it was adequate for a dial-up service;
Another service that I forgot, used by the State, and found to be unreliable;
Sirius - by far, the best. But they abandoned me, albeit politely, to move to XM Radio;
AT&T (earlier version) - unreliable;
Comcast - dropped because they repeatedly blamed my software or settings for downtime until they admitted there was water in their junction box, and their customer service was inept and repeatedly rude. They now go by "X-Finity" in my area, and I steer folks away from them;
Hughes Satellite - in a word, dishonest about their reliability and speed. Received a settlement check from a class action lawsuit, yet amazingly these folks are still in business;
...and a couple of others that I can't remember.

It seems that a common problem is that they either get over committed for their bandwidth and equipment capabilities, or they flake out and go out of business.

So: AT&T, for one, is now a mature, established and reliable service. But whether or not it is available in your area, you should consider using a well-established service like Yahoo for your e-mail needs, instead of the ISP e-mail provided by your current cable company, if that is what you have. It seems that cable is state-of-the-art in all except company stability!

[Streetstar]

I was going to say Outlook too, but others have said it better than i could

I have a couple of "throwaway" email addresses from the likes of Gmail and AOL for personal stuff - , but for the serious stuff, i use Outlook accounts in both of my business pursuits