Email packages Am I missing something?

[Martin29]

I'm new to Mac and loving it after many years running Windows machines. Moving to the Mac has caused me to rethink and question all my previous experience and my working practices, including the most basic.

I have had a Hotmail account since the very beginning, and virtually all my contacts use that address.. So I don't really want to change email host unless I can automatically and transparently push both incoming and outgoing mail through that address. (Though if I could be persuaded that the benefits were sufficient..)

Since I got my Mac I have been dealing with my mail correspondence through Safari, exactly as I would have done using Firefox on the Windows machines.

Today though, I have been looking at the Mail program, and confess I don't understand why anyone would use it! All my mails, including attachments (and many files I have sent myself for backup purposes over the years) are sitting quietly on Microsoft's servers somewhere and not clogging up my hard drive. If I use Mail, copies of all of this are downloaded onto my hard drive.


What is the advantage?

The second part of my question, is there another web based mail system with a Mac type UI which would do as well as or better than Hotmail? I have never got on with Gmail's UI.

If there is, can I then push both incoming and outgoing mails through that system transparently?

I have glanced at threads here about Mobile Me, which IMO has a fabulous UI but from comments, seems to be an expensive and not particularly good means of doing what I am looking for.

I'd like to be able to access mails and attachments through both my Mac, my Iphone and my Windows laptop (since I can't afford to change it just yet)

All your thoughts much appreciated.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

The biggest advantage of pre-downloading all emails + attachments is that you can access them much more quickly, if you ever need them. The biggest downside is the time required to perform the initial download.

 

[jzuena]

The nice thing about gmail vs hotmail is that you can set it up to use IMAP, which will leave the mail on the server and allow you to access it from your Mac, iPhone, Windows laptop, and the web and always see the same messages. It allows IMAP access for free.

Yahoo mail has an IMAP option, but you have to pay extra to use IMAP.

MobileMe also uses IMAP, but you have to pay for it no matter how you plan to access your mail.

Hotmail only supports POP3, which as you have found means you have to download everything to your local machine. If you set it to not delete from the server, then you will get to download the message to your Mac, iPhone and Windows laptop. But then when you delete a message on your Mac it will still show up on your iPhone and Windows laptop until you delete it there as well.

Having said all of this, I have all of the above mail accounts, plus one from my ISP and they all show up on my Mac and my iPhone. I try to have the majority of my mail come to my gmail and MobileMe accounts due to the POP3 limitations (I don't pay extra for my Yahoo account to support IMAP). MobileMe is actually very good for doing what you want. Most people complain about its poor speed when storing files in its iDisk when compared to solutions such as Dropbox (and of course complain about its cost). Years ago I got my own domain name and can then have its email forward to any of the above services. I switched it from my ISP email to MobileMe when I got my iPhone. Luckily my contacts know my domain email address, not any of the specific service ones, so I didn't have to inform anyone when I switched my primary inbox from my ISP to MobileMe. Hotmail does offer an option to forward email over to a different email address, but you may have to pay extra for that service as well.

 

[Martin29]

So.. Am I right in thinking that if I want to move from Hotmail to another web based mail account, it is not possible to do so without either letting all my contacts know I have changed address, or else paying Microsoft for the means to send and receive through the new account?

As far as speedy access if mails are on my local drive, I have to say I have never had a speed issue with Hotmail, and can search my 10,000 or so stored mails rapidly, sort them into appropriate folders etc. All without taking up disk space on my local machine (and therefore accessible from virtually anywhere, providing I have internet access.

I just love the feel of the Mac UI, and would like to use it for my mail system too.

 

[Martin29]

One other thought which may complicate issues.. All my website registrations, including Apple, iTunes and here are done using the Hotmail address. If I do change my address, what problems will this pose regarding access to these sites?

Any more thoughts or suggestions out there?

 

[panoz7]

So.. Am I right in thinking that if I want to move from Hotmail to another web based mail account, it is not possible to do so without either letting all my contacts know I have changed address, or else paying Microsoft for the means to send and receive through the new account?

No need to pay Microsoft to do that. You can set gmail up to check pop accounts for you. I use that method to forward emails from an older hotmail account to my current gmail and it works like a charm.

For me the two main advantages to using the mail app (other than always having access to my emails, even when I don't have an internet connection) is the spotlight search built into mail and how the mail app links with other mac applications. I send a lot of file attachments and I love being able to just drag them onto the mail app on the doc instead of having to manually select them using a web interface. I also prefer the speed bump of using a native app rather than a web app. The only real downside to the switch is if your harddrive space is tight or if you prefer hotmail's interface to gmail's.

As for your logins, you shouldn't have any issues continuing to use your hotmail address for them as long as you have the forwarding set up. Any forgotten password emails or notifications sent to your hotmail will automatically be forwarded on.