Anyone who has been reading the Free Line in the past few days knows of my love/hate relationship with Evolution. But how exactly does it stand up to other “free” mail clients? We are about to find that out. And before anyone asks, no. We have not forgotten about our “web app” tests. These things take time, after all. Expect to see the results some time within the next two weeks.

Client #1: Evolution

Website: http://www.dipconsultants.com/evolution/
Developer: The Gnome Project (Original program) and Tor Lillqvist (Windows port)
License: GPL
First Impression: “Where did it go? It likes to randomly disappear from time to time.”
Setup: Easier than most, thanks to the built in setup wizard.
Note: We here at the Free Line believe that the following is required reading:

“…Putting the little “browser snafu” behind me, I found myself heading to Wikipedia to research GPL email clients. Thankfully, the choice here was simple: Evolution. For those unaware, Evolution is the email companion to the Linux-based web browser (and Free Line favorite) Epiphany. About a year ago, the folks in charge of the client, along with higher ups at Novell, decided that it was a good idea to port the system over to Windows. While their intentions were  good, the result was anything but. Users who wanted to try Linux’s “best kept secret” had to compile everything themselves from scratch. Extensive knowledge of the DOS prompt was also required, as the newly installed program required it to be running at all times. Not happy with this turn of events, Novell programmer Nat Freidman hired famed Linux-to-Windows programmer Tor Lillqvist to create an easy to use installation file  for people who dislike compiling their own programs. People just like me.

Installing the program was easy: just click a few buttons and I was on my way. Setting up my various email accounts was easy as well. In many ways, Evolution was actually easier to work with than that brand new copy of Windows Live Mail Desktop that I had been previously using. Everything was going fine, until I accidentally closed the program. This is where my troubles truly began.

Before I go into detail, I think it’s only fair to detail the operating system I use. Like our fantastic product tester/guinea pig Angela Smedley, I work with a system that is dependent upon Windows 7 RC 1. Instead of having your open programs displayed in a long, somewhat annoying row like in previous editions of Windows, Windows 7 puts them all in “button” form next to the start menu. If you wish to have access to these programs after you have closed them, all you have to do is right click on the icon and select “pin to the taskbar.” Simple, elegant, and much easier to deal with than the traditional “long bar/quick launch button” combination. Most programs respond well to the new system. Evolution did not. Here comes “Excedrin headache #10” again…

As I stared at the strange, DOS-based error message, I thought about the steps that brought me to this point. Closing the message, I instantly decided to start the program from the shortcut on my desktop instead of from my taskbar. Although the ominous message was gone, I still didn’t have access to my email accounts. Undaunted, I right clicked on the shortcut and chose the “run as administrator” option. Success! After a few more minutes of “administrator-level” tweaking, I finally have things working properly. The shortcut that is currently pinned to my taskbar still isn’t completely functional, but it doesn’t matter. At least I still have access to my email.”

Client #2: Thunderbird

Website: http://www.mozillamessaging.com/thunderbird/
Developer: Mozilla
License: Mozilla Public License (MPL), Lesser GPL (LGPL), and GPL
First Impression: “Hey look! Add-ons!”
Ease of Setup: Three words: Intuitive setup wizard.
Layout: It wants to be Outlook Express in the worst way possible — icons appear up top, file folders on the left, letters on the top right hand side, and the actual letters show up at the bottom. It isn’t “bad,” but it can get to be a tad boring.

Client #3: Zimbra

Website: http://www.zimbra.com/
Developer: Zimbra Inc. and Yahoo
License: Yahoo Public License (YPL)
First Impression: “This one has some neat stuff in it. I sense that they really want to be Google here.”
Setup: Instead of implementing a tabbed system like Outlook Express or a wizard ala Thunderbird, Zimbra prefers the “one lengthy page” approach found in many web email services.
Layout: It’s as if Outlook Express and Google Apps had a baby. The physical mail client appears to be an almost carbon copy of Outlook, with the “standards” appearing in all the right places. Click on the tabs, however, and the user is taken to a Google Docs style text editor, a link to Flickr, and a feed reader respectively. While it doesn’t necessarily add to the “email experience,” the added features are nice to have on hand.

Client #4: Sylpheed

Website: http://sylpheed.sraoss.jp/en/
Developer: Hiroyuki Yamomoto
License: GPL and LGPL
First Impression: “I don’t see anything that really ’sticks out’ about it.”
Ease of Setup: Simple. Just plug in all of your inforation and the program does the rest.
Layout: A tad dated compared to the likes of Thunderbird and Windows Live Mail, but nothing really to write home about.