Oooh, time for a Holy War.

[venta]

Well, it looks like the computer glitch I've been complaining about really is caused by running Outlook.


I'd like to find a new mail client. So, I'd require it to do the following:
Allow me to read emails quickly (ie, minimal number of keystrokes/mouseclics to go from one to the next, delete mails, etc)
Allow easy filtering of messages (I don't speak procmail, though might be prepared to learn)
Handle attachments in a nice way (otherwise I'd just bite the bullet and use pine)
Preferably one which can be easily operated by keyboard alone.
Preferably one which will cope with the 'add comment' emails replying to LJ updates. Eudora doesn't (though that might be because it doesn't talk to IE)
Probably some other things I haven't thought of.

Any advice ?

At home I use the free version of Eudora, but am not entirely happy with it. I love the fact that you can rearrange its components to suit yourself (the list of mail folders belongs on the right hand side of the screen, dammit), and it does have many good things going for it. On the other hand, its error reporting is crap, and the handling of messages if you read them in the preview window is very poor indeed.

(For bonus points: explain why Outlook causes this problem :)

Comments

Re: Well, I like Outlook

[condign.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't have Emacs installed, but if an application is grabbing focus, it should grab it from anywhere, unless it's a problem with Emacs. I've pulled up five different applications that either *do* or *don't* use the keystrokes you mentioned locally and tried to get Outlook to intercept them--it stubbornly refused to catch focus.

The fact that it's an intermittent problem leads me to believe that it has to do with 3rd party software running, but I could be wrong.

You could try turning Jabber on and off, and ICQ on and off, and see if it happens. These are programs that are designed to be 'intrusive'. I came across this problem because the keyboard shortcuts for Photoshop are the same as for ICQ, but ICQ intercepts them... hence 'grr... ICQ.' By the way, if the ICQ toolbar appears in Outlook, I believe you at least partially have ICQ running.

Re: Well, I like Outlook

[venta.livejournal.com]

if the ICQ toolbar appears in Outlook

The what ? Why on earth would you want one of them ?

(ie it doesn't :)

Re: Well, I like Outlook

[condign.livejournal.com]

ICQ (grr... argh...) installs it automatically, if I recall correctly.

OK, I may be wrong. Tell you what--can you send me a link to your version of emacs? If I get a chance today I'll try recreating the problem...

Re: Well, I like Outlook

[venta.livejournal.com]

That seems like rather a lot of trouble to be putting you to - and I also don't know, as I downloaded my copy of emacs from a server internal to Tao. To the best of my knowledge, this also only happens on XP.

Further details worked out since I posted this morning:

The problem seems to occur when emacs has the focus, and Outlook auto-collects new mail. Once I've looked at Outlook to let it know I know it has mail, the problem goes away. I'm going to try turning off the auto-collect and seeing if that helps.

Re: Well, I like Outlook

[condign.livejournal.com]

Ah. Try going to Email Options and Advanced Email Options and turn off mail notification instead. (I can imagine that if you're using what is basically a non-XP compliant piece of software and your mouse cursor changes--which is one of the notification options--you'll lose the focus. It might go to Outlook, but sometimes might not.)

Re: Well, I like Outlook

[venta.livejournal.com]

turn off mail notification instead

There's no option called that.

I tried this morning unchecking the box which tells it to briefly alter the cursor when mail arrives; didn't solve it.

Re: Well, I like Outlook

[condign.livejournal.com]

Hmm... yeah, I'd try checking the option that plays a sound as well. (Can't see why that would cause a loss of focus either. :()

Ah well. I'll try and find an Emacs program and play about a bit this afternoon...

Re: Well, I like Outlook

[venta.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I unchecked both those options.

Ah well. I'll try and find an Emacs program and play about a bit this afternoon...

Kind though the offer is, I really wouldn't bother. I think it's possibly a fine matter of version numbers / other imponderables. There's certainly at least one other person in Tao using XP/Outlook/emacs, and he has no problems.

Get back to your Japanese foodstuffs :)

Re: Well, I like Outlook

[condign.livejournal.com]

Get back to your Japanese foodstuffs. :)

You hate me, don't you?

Re: Well, I like Outlook

[condign.livejournal.com]

That seems like rather a lot of trouble to be putting you to

I am currently translating application specifications for Foods of Specific Health Use put forward by a Japanese ministry. You have no idea how much I need distraction. OK, I'd probably choose other distractions if they came my way, but I really need something to get this stuff out of my head soon. Otherwise my blood shall transmute to Yakult or something--a neat trick of transubstantiation, but look at what happened to the last person who made a habit of such tricks...