E-mail recommendation please

[aekyall]

having had a major computer crash (unrecoverable) last week I took the plunge and bought a new system. My last one was XP(H), which had OE6 e-mail. My new computer is Windows 7 (big culture shock!! ) which has no e-mail program included. I therefore need to get some form of e-mail program (other than my ISP mail which I don't really want to rely on). Windows Live (Hotmail) seems to be the only thing on offer from Windows download centre - is there anything that even remotely resembles OE6? I know it's old, but I was really happy with it (and knew my way around it).

One question re Windows LIve; Would this program reside on my computer, or is it remotely based?

Still suffering from shell-shock of losing everything (old computer going into shop next week to see what, if anything, can be rescued), so would appreciate being steered gently towards a good replacement for OE6.

Many thanks
Keith

[HansV]

My condolences!

Microsoft's naming is confusing:

Windows Live Hotmail is a web-based mail client - it's the new name of Microsoft Hotmail.

Windows Live Mail is a local (disk-based) mail client; it's the successor to Outlook Express 6. It comes with Windows 7, as far as I know, but if not, you can download it for free from Mail - Windows Live.

[BobH]

Hello Keith!

Sorry about the crash but congratulations on the new machine!

I heartily and without reservation recommend the Mozilla products. Mozilla Thunderbird is an excellent email client and Mozilla Firefox is an excellent browser. I've used both for years. You will find them available for free download at Mozilla Products

If you choose to use Thunderbird, I also recommend Lightning as a very good integrated calendaring component.

There are numerous add-ons and extensions for Mozilla products. You might want to noodle around the Mozilla site to get a flavor. I find the add-ons and extensions and themes to be very effective lightweight ways to tailor the use of these apps to your own liking. This is quite unlike Microsofat which provides very weighty solutions to serve everyone's tea from the same cup. Horses for courses, I suppose.

[aekyall]

Thank you Hans! Took me a while to sort out just using my own e-mail address rather than the @live.co.uk I had to set up to get started! - But I got there in the end

As always, your help greatly appreciated. Now all I've got to do is get to grips with Windows 7!!

Regards

PS: Thanks also for correcting the typo in subject line!

[aekyall]

Hello Keith!

Sorry about the crash but congratulations on the new machine!

I heartily and without reservation recommend the Mozilla products. Mozilla Thunderbird is an excellent email client and Mozilla Firefox is an excellent browser. I've used both for years. You will find them available for free download atMozilla Products

If you choose to use Thunderbird, I also recommend Lightning as a very good integrated calendaring component.

There are numerous add-ons and extensions for Mozilla products. You might want to noodle around the Mozilla site to get a flavor. I find the add-ons and extensions and themes to be very effective lightweight ways to tailor the use of these apps to your own liking. This is quite unlike Microsofat which provides very weighty solutions to serve everyone's tea from the same cup. Horses for courses, I suppose.

BobH,
Thanks for response - as you 'll see from my reply to Hans I've just managed to get up and running using Windows Live. However, once I've worked out what I'm doing with Windows 7 (and that may take a while!!) I will certainly have a look at your recommendations. At the moment I'm hanging in there with my fingernails!!!
Thanks again for the pointers - really appreciated.
Regards

[HansV]

When I get a computer with a (for me) new version of Windows, I always feel disoriented and hemmed in for a while, but I was pleasantly surprised by Windows 7. I found most things to be intuitive, so I got up to steam quickly.
Take a bit of time to view the introductory videos - they contain useful information.

[JoeP]

My condolences!
It comes with Windows 7, as far as I know, but if not, you can download it for free from Mail - Windows Live.

Unfortunately, no email client is included in Windows anymore. If WLM is installed it is because of a deal between Microsoft and an OEM to pre-load Windows Live Eseentials.

Joe

[HansV]

If WLM is installed it is because of a deal between Microsoft and an OEM to pre-load Windows Live Eseentials.

Thanks - I didn't know that. My Dell indeed came with Windows Live Essentials pre-installed.