Thunderbird for Gmail/Hotmail

[metrognome7]

I've been waffling back and forth for a few days now on whether or not to install Thunderbird and convert over from Outlook. As it stands I have four email addresses: really old Hotmail now used to filter junk, old Hotmail primarily now used for mailing lists, personal Gmail, and work Gmail. I know that there's a fairly simple POP workaround for Gmail and T'bird, but I've heard it's tough to get Hotmail to work with the program - even when using the Webmail extension. The other issue is that I occasionally need to attach/integrate Office files into my email for work. I have no need for complex programming interface, just a solid, virus/phishing free desktop email program.

In your opinion, is it worth it convert to Thunderbird, or should I just stick with Outlook?

PS - I use Firefox for browsing and have been doing so for a long time.

[Suigin406]

i used to use outlook, but i switched to thunderbird/firefox combo because it ran a bit smoother and it was an easier interface to use...

i haven't used hotmail in years, i thought u had to pay for POP3 access, which was one of the reasons y i dropped it...

[TobDog]

I use outlook at work(calendar baby) and Thunderbird everywhere else. I dont have hotmail so I dont know how it works, but if there is a mail forward function, you can forward it to one or your gmail accounts.

[kidpokeher]

You sound like you have the exact situation I do and I've been wondering whether to switch as well. Both my gmail and hotmail I can access using pop3. I'm sure TBird supports this, but I'd like someone to confirm.

Also, I read somewhere that Firefox+TBird < Opera + Opera Mail because Opera's mail client and browser are more integrated but, again, I'd like someone to weigh in. Do either have decent built-in spam filters?

[TobDog]

I dont use Opera, but Gmail has very good spam filters, and Thunderbird has ok/trainable spam filters. Im really getting tired of "Hi its(insert dumas name here)emails, I occasionally click on the spam folder to see if it caught anything it was not supposed to.