🚀 go-pugleaf

jason@thainjm.demon.co.uk (Jason Thain) writes:

>Hi,

>I currently use Pegasus Mail v2.5 but I'm considering migrating to one
>of the Microsoft products.

>The thing is I've got about 3 different  Microsoft email clients on my
>PC.

>These are:

>1. Microsoft Exchange/Inbox which came with Windows 95 (also known as
>Windows Messaging?)

Don't use this.  It's old and crappy.

>2. MS Outlook, which I think was installed when I installed MS Office
>97.

>3. MS Outlook Express (which came as part of MS Internet Explorer 4?).

Short answer: if your mail server uses POP or IMAP, try Outlook Express.  
If you find that it handles your needs, stick with that.  If not, download
Outlook 98 (www.microsoft.com/outlook), which is available for free download
for the next 90 days or so, and try it in its "Internet mode".  

>Do they all use the same format for storing mail? Can I use any/all of
>them and store the mail in a central Post Office directory?

I'm wondering what you are trying to do.  Are you trying to use a local 
postoffice for a group of people on a LAN?  I think that all but Outlook Express
will work for that purpose.

>Which of them is the most fully featured? Which stores mail in the
>format which is most likely to continue being supported by Microsoft?

Outlook 98 and Outlook Express are both the currently supported clients.
The former is the more fully featured one.

>I don't like to change my mail client too often, and it's essential
>that whichever client I use can a) access my existing mail (if I
>convert it using one of the utilities that are around) and b) uses a
>format that will continue to be portable to another client in the
>future.

I'm not clear what format you're using right now to get to your mail, so
I'm not sure which is the best for you given what your current format is.