thunderbird
Linux Training Week: Software Availability
February 16, 2010
One of the biggest issues when moving away from Windows is software availability; what we do on a computer isn’t defined by the operating system, but the third party software we use on that operating system. Because most of the software written for Linux operating systems is open source, it may be difficult to find a replacement for the everyday software that you use on Windows or Mac OS X.
Web Browsers and Email
Everybody has their favourite browser, and you’ll find many available for Linux. I chose to use Firefox (which is installed on Ubuntu by default), Google Chrome (my browser of preference on Windows and OS X) and Opera 10 Browser in addition to this.
When testing each browser, I found them to be on par with each other, although Opera was definitely slower than Firefox and Chrome. I found Chrome to be extremely fast and lightweight in comparison to Firefox, and it remains my browser of choice on Linux. If you make the switch, or already use Ubuntu, I definitely recommend checking Chrome out. Enabling Flash was also an easy process – I simply downloaded the plugin on first use and everything worked great.
Continue reading »How To Use Your Free Hotmail Account With A Desktop Email Client
December 21, 2009
When a friend asked me to help him out with setting up his Hotmail account with a desktop email client such as Thunderbird or Outlook, I thought I was in for a bit of a rough ride; the last time I tried such a thing it didn’t turn out so well (this was a number of years ago now).
However, I was rather surprised at the simplicity of the whole operation – if anybody has tried setting up a free Hotmail account in the past and couldn’t do so due to Microsoft’s restrictions or the necessary third party software, you need worry no longer!
Continue reading »PortableApps Review (Applications For Your USB Memory Stick)
December 11, 2009
Some things in life are truly frustrating… Having to use Internet Explorer on a public PC, being without an e-mail client that has all my settings already saved – you get the idea, but what’s the solution? Actually, I think I’ve just found it, and all you need is a USB memory stick!
In case you hadn’t already guessed, I’m talking about the PortableApps platform, which is a completely free download, and allows you to install portable versions of many applications on your USB pen drive so that you can take them with you, and can use them on any PC. When downloading PortableApps, you have three packages to choose from: “Platform Only”, “Suite Light” and “Suite Standard”.
Continue reading »Thunderbird 3 RC1 Review (Desktop Email Client)
November 29, 2009
I’ve used Mozilla Thunderbird for as long as I can remember; I much prefer desktop e-mail clients to their web counterparts and Thunderbird’s my number one choice on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. When I downloaded the Release Candidate 1 of Thunderbird 3, I was faced with a plethora of new features to sink my teeth in to, so where do I start?
After mourning the loss of my many incompatible add-ons, I struck up the courage to create an account in Thunderbird 3, and if you’re new to Thunderbird or you’re setting up another account, you’ll appreciate how easy it is to get up and running.
Rather than manually input the details of your email provider, all you need to do is type in your email address and password and Thunderbird sorts the rest out for you. I tested this with 3 email accounts, each on different providers and Thunderbird set up each one with no problems. If you want/need to set up an account manually, don’t worry, you can still do so!
Continue reading »5 Top Open Source Applications
October 25, 2009
Whilst writing this article, the phrase ‘nothing in life is free’ leaps to mind. However, a quick trip to sourceforge.net will entirely disprove that theory. Sourceforge is a developer’s paradise, a community where developers create and build upon their own and other people’s open source software. This article will take you through the top 5 must-have open source applications that could save you literally hundreds of pounds…
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