Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 16:17:11 -0500
From: Corvin Russell
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