Cancel MS Office 365

[SumDay]

We had been paying for a subscription for the past couple of years for Office 365 (well, actually one of DH's contractors reimbursed us for it to keep their office staff less cranky) and now that we're both retired I don't see either of us needing to prepare as many Power Point presentations. So, we're going to let our MS Office subscription lapse in December. I've turned off the auto-renew.

I plan to install Libre Office for our Word, PPT, XLS needs, but apparently I'm going to lose Outlook too?

I have both Comcast & Gmail email addresses, so am wondering who you guys use for your email client/reader? I found this article but was hoping the collective wisdom could steer me to one you like best: https://www.techradar.com/news/best-email-client

TIA!

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

I use Thunderbird as an email client.

 

[SumDay]

Thanks copyright - I've seen that one mentioned in lots of reviews. What do you like about it? Anything you wish it did that it doesn't?

 

[Philliefan33]

I have both a Verizon and Gmail address. I have all the Verizon email automatically forwarded to the gmail account, and use the gmail app on my Apple devices and gmail web interface on the Windows machines

 

[jim584672]

I use Thunderbird as an email client.

+1
Thunderbird. Use the enigmail plugin if you want the ability to use encryption.

 

[CaptTom]

Another vote for Thunderbird. I haven't found anything I wanted it to do that it can't, yet.

 

[OldShooter]

Thunderbird for sure. GMail has seductive features and I do have a GMail address, but I just set up T'bird as a POP client for incoming GMail and I do not use it for any outgoing mail. A thin veil of resistance to Google's prying eyes, to be sure, but better than nothing.

I also limit the contact names that I give Google to just those that I am likely to need for calls from my Android phone. Another thin veil, I know.

 

[OldShooter]

You can also buy a stand-alone copy of Office 2013 or 2016 with (for the time being anyway) no additional payments to M$. Lots of 'em on eBay; looks like $50 +/- though there it probably some risk of counterfeit and having to get a refund from eBay's buyer protection.

 

[easysurfer]

I use sylpheed as my email reader.

Used to use Outlook Express years ago, but ran into a virus there that contained a keylogger by just previewing my email.

sylpheed is no frills and gets the job done. Oh, and has a built-in spam filter too for training emails as junk or not .

 

[Cobra9777]

I use eM Client, which is #3 in the OP's linked article. When I finally dumped Outlook a few years ago, I did a LOT of research into email clients. I also did a 30-day free trial before purchasing the Pro version for $50. DW and I both use the same desktop PC. Between the two of us, we have 6 email addresses. The program has all 6 email accounts updated at all times. No need for logging in or changing profiles. It also combines our Google contact lists and calendars, which is very convenient.

As far as I can tell, it does everything Outlook can and much more. For former Outlook users, it's a very familiar look and feel but seems more intuitive. Plus it's very easy to set up, learn, and use. There are other new-to-me features as well, such as a column on the right hand side that shows all email history with the person whose email I'm currently reading. The column can also be used for agenda, tasks, etc, similar to Outlook.

Anyway, I ended up with eM Client after researching for a day or two, plus a very positive experience during the 30-day free trial. I detest most web-based email readers, including Gmail. Outlook is OK but seems to have become clunky and a resource hog. And it never really worked well with my gmail calendar and contacts. On my Android phone, I use BlueMail (again after a lot of research).

 

[SumDay]

Thanks all - keep 'em coming!

Question - what happens to all my emails when Outlook disappears? Or will it? Or will it just not update?

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Thanks copyright - I've seen that one mentioned in lots of reviews. What do you like about it? Anything you wish it did that it doesn't?

Free.
Supports having a bunch of accounts, pop3, imap, exchange/outlook I have school (work, uses Outlook), gmail, and several others that I can use all from one place (Thunderbird).Can Autoconfigure most. Has encryption plugin.

But mostly because I've used it for so long.

Did I mention free?

 

[gauss]

Thunderbird on Windoze accessing gmail and yahoo accts via IMAP.

Thunderbird was originally from the people who brought us the Firefox browser.

I would avoid POP as a connection protocol as it is obsolete (carryover from dialup modem days)and risks deleting email inadvertently (ie email was downloaded from server and then automatically deleted on server) .

You might want to create a new/temporary email account on your current platform (ie gmail if that is the case) while you learn how to use/configure thunderbird. This would further decrease the risk of inadvertently destroying email until you are satisfied with how it works. At that point you could switch over to your real email account.

-gauss
"one who never deletes email intentionally"

 

[OldShooter]

... risks deleting email inadvertently (ie email was downloaded from server and then automatically deleted on server) ...

Actually for me not a bug but a feature. I don't want my email hanging around the internet on other people's servers, especially Google's. I have Tbird on my home machine configured to download and delete. This happens multiple times per day. I also have a tablet and a phone running (Android) K-9 Mail. These are configured to download but not delete. Typically these are used in the evening when my computer is shut down and when we are traveling.

 

[jimbee]

I use Thunderbird for my email client, using IMAP to connect to Gmail.

 

[HI Bill]

I had a very old version of Outlook (2003?) that finally stopped working when Windows 10 came out. I lost my Contacts and archived email (which I don't miss or refer to), and moved entirely to Gmail. My wife uses Google Docs (Word-compatible) and Google Sheets (Excel-compatible) for everything. There's also Open Office to consider.

 

[pb4uski]

I gave up Outlook and any email client a long time ago... I just use gmail... no need for an email client here.

 

[Bamaman]

I bought a new laptop this month. Made sure it had an old style DVD reader/recorder. That way, I could use my Microsoft Office 2007 forever for free.

 

[beowulf]

I bought a new laptop this month. Made sure it had an old style DVD reader/recorder. That way, I could use my Microsoft Office 2007 forever for free.

Does your Office 2007 work with Windows 10? Mine wouldn't even load.

 

[Katsmeow]

I am keeping Office 365 (I use Excel on a daily basis and like it), but dislike Outlook. So, I don't use it. I used to use a third party mail client (I used The Bat back in the day), but for some years now use Gmail. I do have my own domain name and email address but I have it forwarded to Gmail and can send mail under that name from Gmail.

 

[gauss]

Actually for me not a bug but a feature. I don't want my email hanging around the internet on other people's servers, especially Google's. I have Tbird on my home machine configured to download and delete. This happens multiple times per day. I also have a tablet and a phone running (Android) K-9 Mail. These are configured to download but not delete. Typically these are used in the evening when my computer is shut down and when we are traveling.

Thanks for clarifying. It sounds like the two of us have very different values/priorities with regards to how email is handled (ie 'delete the email' vs 'retain the email'.)

Perhaps we could agree that if someone migrates to Thunderbird from a web-based email system that they should understand the differences between IMAP and POP and make a choice that best supports their individual needs.

-gauss

 

[pb4uski]

I am keeping Office 365 (I use Excel on a daily basis and like it) ....

When I got my new Win 10 laptop and couldn't find my Office 2013 disc, I decided to try (free) Libre Office. I configured the Writer and Calc components to save all files in Word and Excel formats. I've been using it for over 18 months and other than a bit of initial learning curve it works fine for me. And did I mention that it is free?

 

[OldShooter]

Does your Office 2007 work with Windows 10? Mine wouldn't even load.

Mine does. When I got my Surface 3 Pro it had Windows 8 and Office 2007 loaded just fine. IIRC it just came along for the ride when I upgraded to Win 10.

... Perhaps we could agree that if someone migrates to Thunderbird from a web-based email system that they should understand the differences between IMAP and POP and make a choice that best supports their individual needs. ...

Of course. More generally, it is important for users to understand their tools though this is admittedly hard in the case of computer applications.

And I understand your philosophy. DW has gigabytes of saved mail that she will never look at again. The vast majority of "saved" mail I have in T'bird is in the Trash folders that I don't clean out often enough. Total about 5,300 today. I need to get to work.

 

[easysurfer]

I bought a new laptop this month. Made sure it had an old style DVD reader/recorder. That way, I could use my Microsoft Office 2007 forever for free.

Also could have used an USB external DVD reader/recorder if the laptop didn't come with the old style DVD burner. I'm old fashioned like you and prefer having a DVD writer built-in, but do also own an external that powers with the usb connection. No other power source needed.

 

[jim584672]

As long as you get the iso a DVD player is not needed. Just mount the iso and install Office in Windows. The isos are on the Internet, the problem is getting a valid activation key.

We had a agreement at Megacorp to get Office for $10 with the "home use program." HUP