Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 16:17:11 -0500 From: Corvin Russell <corvinr@sympatico.ca> Message-ID: <20001125161711.A1220@raven.unknowing.org> Subject: Re: [SLE] Balsa, mahogany, kmail...Summing up So, summing up: There seems to be a consensus that despite the proliferation of clients, there is no robust GUI MUA that can compete with Outlook, Outlook Express, or Eudora. Users who like the functionality of those programs are not going to be impressed by the options on offer for Linux. I don't suggest that it should be our 'mission' to convert people to linux, but there are undeniable benefits (and annoyances) that will come with a larger user base. To the extent that it is desirable (for companies like SuSE e.g.) that more people switch, it is a hard sell to persuade people that hey, all they really need is Mutt (or MUA x), which looks like a 'throwback to DOS days,' as a Mac user commented on my screenshots. The initial PITA configuring Mutt is certainly a deterrent to its adoption. I use Mutt and like it very much, and I don't think I'll be switching soon... it does what I want it to, and no more than I want it to. But there are people who use linux who miss their GUI mail readers. A friend using Linux keeps around his Mac OS for the following reasons: Eudora, anti-aliased font display, and BBEdit. I suspect that a lot of people like the polish available in the main commercial OS's. KDE is getting to that level of polish, but there are still gaping lacunae. Perhaps someone at SuSE could note the volume of response to this issue and the relative consensus on it. It seems it would be in everyone's interest if the linux companies created a joint project to make a good email client -- or just funded one of the existing projects so that it could get the job done. Even OSS benefits from good project management and clear goals, as SuSE has shown us. Best, Corvin -- Corvin Russell <corvinr@sympatico.ca>