When I was first approached to respond to an enquiry into pc verses amiga e-mailers, little did I realise the impact it would have on my mail box in-tray. The lady with the voice similar to Fred Flintstone`s wife, kept informing me that I have more new mail. My family became so frustrated with her never ending messages that I simply had to replace her vocal noises with something more brain soothing, silence!
The flow of private messages over the past week has been nothing short of extraordinary.I sometimes wonder if this is a conspiracy conjured up just to keep my old brain cells active. Own up you guys!
Anyway, it seemingly all started from a few weeks back when friend Colin happened to mention a pc mailer called Foxmail. The overwhelming general consensus drawn was that many Amiga users were seriously frustrated at not having what most pc users took for granted. Email programs that catered for modern methods of communication.
Yam was without doubt the most popular amiga mailer but apart from an undeniably basic efficiency and option of adding attachments, it offered little else. So people asked me what was available on the pc while others commented on programs they happened to use at college or at work.
Most had one thing in mind, the need to transfer over to the pc full time but some wished for information on the mailers available to them, before making the final move.
I did notice some initial dislike towards the idea of using MS Outlook Express. However after pointing out some tips (via Graham Barlow`s guide) some soon realised that Outlook can in fact be quite adequate. Someone had ignored Outlook`s stationary features but now enjoys having nice backgrounds displayed in their emails. A simple utility but now an important factor to that individual.
OK, Outlook is popular because it comes free but it`s quite a versatile program and offers lots of little extras like the Maintenance (Options) and the reading of News group postings. It`s not the best mailer around, but it works well enough and is used by millions around the globe.
A few others expressed an opinion that they would never use anything by MS at any cost.
Many of the remaining Amiga users that have corresponded with me, have now suddenly awakened and have expressed a desire to no longer remain under the shadows of old Amiga technology and I can`t say I blame them. They know they are in some ways, missing out, and when one takes costs of computers and accessories into the equation, then purchasing a pc is in relative terms - cost saving.
For those who may be in middle earth, and cannot quite decide which way to go, I have made out a list of some of the more popular e-mail programs available free or for trial down load.
If you have access to a pc, then I`m sure that there`s little harm in trying out some of those mentioned further below.
Yam, is a fine efficient Amiga program and I for one won`t knock it. I have proclaimed its worthy points too many times over the years. However, in modern terms, out with text and handling of standard attachments, in many respects, Yam now lags behind pc mailers (but I`ll still keep using it). Most pc programs tend to be larger that the likes of Yam or Air Mail but since the modern pc cpus are fast, size often plays little part in their overall performance. Mailing problems are in fact associated more with limitations within the efficiency of telephone lines and service, rather than with individual program routines.
Side note....My son and wife like many pc users utilise a Hotmail account. These web accounts are handy for those on the move and wish to access their emails anytime or from anywhere. Some mailers work well with these (usually non pop3) web accounts while others cannot access them - so take care when choosing .
Since I have already provided some info on each of these programs elsewhere to individuals, I will only supply short titles for this list - if you do not mind.
Incredimail is one of the nicest programs around and my son and I often communicate via this program. He also forwards and receives pictures and sound files to & from his fellow barristers while he`s on the way to or while in court session. Extremely handy program for those who require sound & pix or even animation files. Comes with backgrounds and "compose your own" letter sets are available. Can access Hotmail and other Web accounts. Although I see Mariposa have only awarded it 4 stars, I personally think it worthy of 5. And it`s rather cool into the bargain!
Becky 2. I loaded up this mailer a while back and I also tried version 2.5 just a few days ago, but I decided to stay and experiment further with Poco, Foxmail and Mail Warrior. However, Becky offers PGP, HTML support and IMAP. Although (IMHO) not the prettiest of programs to look at, (besides looks are not everything) it`s certainly a highly efficient program and deserves the 5 stars Mariposa have awarded it. Recommended by other sites.
Foxmail along with Poco must have been one of the first programs I installed on my up-graded pc some time back. I always liked the moving ticker tape displaying each sender`s name and the little audio message pop-up informer at base of screen. My wife and daughter have always liked the look of this fine program and it`s very efficient into the bargain. Overall a very good program featuring X-Face, HTML etc and a number of templates. A worthy favourite of Colin and many others - hence its 5 stars.
Poco is still a favourite of mine. There`s little I don`t like about it and it has served me well for a number of years now on our family pc. Visually, it`s nice to look at, pretty fast and makes writing emails a pleasure. I use old drop & drag version 1.2 but there`s now a much newer v2.51 available which I have yet to try.
Others worth trying out include NPop, Scribe, Mail Warrior, The Bat, Mullberry, Calypso and numerous others. If you wish to investigate pc mailers then pop into:
I forgot to mention that if you miss YAM on the Amiga, then you may consider loading up YAMC on the pc. It`s a nice developing little mailer that has a calendar etc and can import/export to Outlook and Eudora mailers.
Easy to set up and use, this could suffice those who hate hassle.
And how did ppl react to possible choices between Amiga Yam and pc mailers?
My findings:
Well, after seeking out some pc programs, each had decided that the first item of note was the great choice available to them via the pc. Some found the choice somewhat confusing.
I had pointed out that there were a number of mailers available for the amiga but none were IMHO quite as good as Yam. These included AEMail, Monsoon, Air Mail etc.
I believe one or two tried these out as I had forwarded copies to those who asked for them.
Nearly all commented on the professional look pc programs offered in comparison to those on the Amiga.
Resources could normally be said to play a part, but since most pc programs I had mentioned had only a single author, that argument did not stand up.
Another point raised was the use of Birdie and MUI and most felt that built-in gfx via the MS pc was better over all.
A few years back, I could have argued that the Amiga offered more personal tailoring than the pc, but with numerous modern skins available even for MS programs, I can no longer fully justify that argument.
Summing up.
Since the tone within many of the letters indicated unrest, it was more or less a foregone conclusion that the pc mailers would win the day. Even users of Outlook Express were happy using MS ware and no one indicated that they would go back to using Yam. But it`s early days yet and who knows how things will shape up over the next few months. There may be other days to rally round the amiga boing ball - so long as it keeps bouncing or should that be spinning?
Cheers for now.
Peter