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Outside of Outlook at work, I can't even remember the last time I used an actual "client" for e-mail. I use the browser interface of the couple different email

Outside of Outlook at work, I can't even remember the last time I used an actual "client" for e-mail. I use the browser interface of the couple different email services I use. This is likely just a support/cost issue. When you leave something "open" in Windows, it has to be tested and supported and it's not as simple as "all of these things use the same protocols". So they narrowed the support strategy and focused testing on the main email services. I see no problem with this.

chris_wot 9y ago
That’s really not accurate. They can still test the main services, but if third party services don’t work then I can’t see they have to do any more work. It’s not like you get unpaid support for Windows already. An operating system like Windows, in my view, should have programs that support open standards and not restrict who you can and can’t use.
pjmlp 9y ago
I use an actual client every single day, and leave the browser for those rare moments I need to go to an internet cafe.
AdmiralAsshat 9y ago
Local email backups are one compelling reason. I've had an e-mail address since 1999 or so, back when usa.net was still a thing. Until about this time last year, I was strictly a webmail reader. Never saw the point in configuring Outlook/Eudora/Thunderbird/Geary, etc. HTML email inside my browser worked just fine, and it meant I could check it from any computer, to boot. Then I read some story on HN about a guy getting his gmail account shutdown and subsequently losing access to his emails, his Drive, his Photos, several websites he had hosted through Blogger, etc. And since these were all "free" services provided by Google, when they decided to shut down his account, he had no legal recourse. The idea of losing 10+ years of emails at the whim of my provider didn't sit well with me, so at that point I installed Thunderbird on my desktop and started keeping a local copy of all my e-mails. Just in case.
- 8ytecoder 9y ago
  In addition, you should also considering buying a domain for yourself and then using Google Apps or one of the other alternatives to host it. It's such a huge hassle to change email address everywhere, you are better off having control over it as well.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
    I recently did this, with Fastmail as the email provider, and picked a domain name that is short and has no ambiguous characters when read aloud over the phone.
    - jmiserez 9y ago
      > short and has no ambiguous characters Damn, I totally did not think of that. I used my last name which is neither short nor easily pronouncable over the phone (even for French/German native speakers). Also I used a .org (.com was taken), which regular people do not “get” when telling them in person. This happened a few times now, e.g. in a store and at the doctors office, I had to type it in myself in the end. So I’d recommend choosing a .com domain over anything else. But for me it’s too late to change it now, as I’ve been using my domain and the associated email address for >5 years. One small negative aspect about your domain though: It might look like a spammers/spam email domain name to some, because of the impersonal nature of it. At least that was my impression when I first saw it in your profile.
      - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
        The spammy appearance didn't occur to me until months later when an old friend pointed out that it suits my personality. I had a good laugh.
- romwell 9y ago
  I've just lived through that, sort of. I was done with grad school last semester, and the department admins immediately shut down all my department accounts. Seven years of academic communication disappeared overnight. Luckily, after some emailing (CC: head of dept.), they provided me with the MBOX files, which I can load with Thunderbird and a plugin. Otherwise, my email client would have been my only offline copy.
Pxtl 9y ago
The phone is where it matters. That's where I want notifications and sharing integration and all that stuff.
xg15 9y ago
It's likely that was the reason - though I do see a problem with it. If you follow that line of thought to the end, you end up in a world where you can only run a program on your computer if the vendor has a business relationship with your OS vendor (or is more powerful than they are). Say goodbye to general-purpose computing.
sixothree 9y ago
Too bad outlook fights integration into windows.
squarefoot 9y ago
"Outside of Outlook at work, I can't even remember the last time I used an actual "client" for e-mail. " I use Claws Mail personally and can find in fractions of a second my entire archive of a dozen accounts starting since 1996 (converted from Eudora until 1998 or 99) where the biggest 5 inboxes sum up to over 42K mails (plus attachements). I have also made few people switch to Claws Mail on Windows too, and none of them wanted to go back. One in particular who needs daily very fast searches on a big database of emails is happy to be able to do that in less than one second instead of Outlook's 10-30 seconds. If you're used to web mail, upgrading to a (good) client can be from a pleasant experience to a life changer. For those interested: http://www.claws-mail.org/index.php http://www.claws-mail.org/index.php

chris_wot 9y ago

That’s really not accurate. They can still test the main services, but if third party services don’t work then I can’t see they have to do any more work. It’s not like you get unpaid support for Windows already. An operating system like Windows, in my view, should have programs that support open standards and not restrict who you can and can’t use.

pjmlp 9y ago

I use an actual client every single day, and leave the browser for those rare moments I need to go to an internet cafe.

AdmiralAsshat 9y ago

Local email backups are one compelling reason. I've had an e-mail address since 1999 or so, back when usa.net was still a thing. Until about this time last year, I was strictly a webmail reader. Never saw the point in configuring Outlook/Eudora/Thunderbird/Geary, etc. HTML email inside my browser worked just fine, and it meant I could check it from any computer, to boot. Then I read some story on HN about a guy getting his gmail account shutdown and subsequently losing access to his emails, his Drive, his Photos, several websites he had hosted through Blogger, etc. And since these were all "free" services provided by Google, when they decided to shut down his account, he had no legal recourse. The idea of losing 10+ years of emails at the whim of my provider didn't sit well with me, so at that point I installed Thunderbird on my desktop and started keeping a local copy of all my e-mails. Just in case.

8ytecoder 9y ago
In addition, you should also considering buying a domain for yourself and then using Google Apps or one of the other alternatives to host it. It's such a huge hassle to change email address everywhere, you are better off having control over it as well.
- TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
  I recently did this, with Fastmail as the email provider, and picked a domain name that is short and has no ambiguous characters when read aloud over the phone.
  - jmiserez 9y ago
    > short and has no ambiguous characters Damn, I totally did not think of that. I used my last name which is neither short nor easily pronouncable over the phone (even for French/German native speakers). Also I used a .org (.com was taken), which regular people do not “get” when telling them in person. This happened a few times now, e.g. in a store and at the doctors office, I had to type it in myself in the end. So I’d recommend choosing a .com domain over anything else. But for me it’s too late to change it now, as I’ve been using my domain and the associated email address for >5 years. One small negative aspect about your domain though: It might look like a spammers/spam email domain name to some, because of the impersonal nature of it. At least that was my impression when I first saw it in your profile.
    - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
      The spammy appearance didn't occur to me until months later when an old friend pointed out that it suits my personality. I had a good laugh.
romwell 9y ago
I've just lived through that, sort of. I was done with grad school last semester, and the department admins immediately shut down all my department accounts. Seven years of academic communication disappeared overnight. Luckily, after some emailing (CC: head of dept.), they provided me with the MBOX files, which I can load with Thunderbird and a plugin. Otherwise, my email client would have been my only offline copy.

Pxtl 9y ago

The phone is where it matters. That's where I want notifications and sharing integration and all that stuff.

xg15 9y ago

It's likely that was the reason - though I do see a problem with it. If you follow that line of thought to the end, you end up in a world where you can only run a program on your computer if the vendor has a business relationship with your OS vendor (or is more powerful than they are). Say goodbye to general-purpose computing.

sixothree 9y ago

Too bad outlook fights integration into windows.

squarefoot 9y ago

"Outside of Outlook at work, I can't even remember the last time I used an actual "client" for e-mail. " I use Claws Mail personally and can find in fractions of a second my entire archive of a dozen accounts starting since 1996 (converted from Eudora until 1998 or 99) where the biggest 5 inboxes sum up to over 42K mails (plus attachements). I have also made few people switch to Claws Mail on Windows too, and none of them wanted to go back. One in particular who needs daily very fast searches on a big database of emails is happy to be able to do that in less than one second instead of Outlook's 10-30 seconds. If you're used to web mail, upgrading to a (good) client can be from a pleasant experience to a life changer. For those interested: http://www.claws-mail.org/index.php http://www.claws-mail.org/index.php