What Is A Good Replacement For Fastmail? - Page 4

**Shelded** · 19 Nov 2012, 06:16 AM

I think there should be room for a good desktop mail cilent.They're generally more powerful than webmail. But they are harder to support so ISPs don't want to touch them.

George_B · 19 Nov 2012, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by labarum

I saw that - except you're getting 15 months for the price of 12.

But as I said earlier, I have spent some time exploring the new MS free mail service. I has a very simple and sharp interface - I like the minimalism. Now I am retired I think it will do all my wife and I need. As now I would run Gmail as a backup using the mail redirection switch at my domain hosted by 123-reg.co.uk

My Fastmail subs run till February, so there is no rush.

I've seen many people liking the Outlook.com minimalist design. We have a member that likes it too I believe and he came up with the following look for our service. What do you think ? Does it seem more minimalist ?

http://i47.tinypic.com/34ebyub.png
http://i48.tinypic.com/2r23a7a.png
http://i47.tinypic.com/2l9ing0.png
http://i49.tinypic.com/6onacn.png

William9 · 19 Nov 2012, 07:39 AM

It's all of the screen real estate taken up with the Group Office banner that I don't really care for. Because of that, the minimalist screen shots are appealing; however, I would probably like the current UI as well without the big banner at the top. That's my first impression.

Terry · 19 Nov 2012, 07:52 AM

Looks ok....do they have sieve script ?

ServiceTech · 19 Nov 2012, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shelded

From the signup screen, it looks like something a dozen years old. What does it do better that you're leaving Fastmail for?

It doesn't lock you out of your email for weeks of no support. That is the reason for the people I see leaving.

ServiceTech · 19 Nov 2012, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shelded

I think there should be room for a good desktop mail cilent.They're generally more powerful than webmail. But they are harder to support so ISPs don't want to touch them.

The trend is toward people wanting the same interface to get their email on their PC, the office PC, a Internet cafe, their cell phone, and their mom's tablet.

Although younger people don't want to email at all, who needs it? ("If it can't be texted, tweeted, or posted, then it is not worth saying.")

Terry · 19 Nov 2012, 09:19 AM

[quote=ServiceTech;548912]The trend is toward people wanting the same interface to get their email on their PC, the office PC, a Internet cafe, their cell phone, and their mom's tablet.

Yes, but unfortunately we purchased a classic interface with an old customised log in screen.....and we are no longer getting what we paid for.

Why change something that was working really well to a Nerd type email system.

I really wish I could get my 2 x 5 year subscriptions back....

labarum · 19 Nov 2012, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George_B

I've seen many people liking the Outlook.com minimalist design. We have a member that likes it too I believe and he came up with the following look for our service. What do you think ? Does it seem more minimalist ?

Very nice, you're tempting me.

Is that minimalistic design available as a dynamic demo, then we could all have a play?

The biggest issue for me is getting a clutter free screen and a confortable font to read on a small laptop - or one of the latest Chromebooks. Currently Fastmail-Ajax and Gmail are pretty awful.

Polarismail would have more features than Outlook.com (Wish they hadn't called it that - you have to add the .com to avoid confusion with that miserable client they flog.)

Yes, Polarismail would have more features than Outlook.com, but now I'm retired my needs are simpler. Could boil down to whether I think I need to pay to keep my data away from the big boys who can and will do as they please.

But £16 a year is not a fortune.

ServiceTech · 19 Nov 2012, 02:33 PM

[quote=Terry;548913]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ServiceTech

I really wish I could get my 2 x 5 year subscriptions back.

Another thread indicated that they are offering refunds, you have to go through support so expect a long wait.

Also, someone thought the reason for the change was to go to an off-the-shelf system to reduce costs.

ewal · 19 Nov 2012, 09:26 PM

Can anyone point me to a side-by-side comparison between Fastmail and Polarismail?

I see that Polarismail are currently giving a 90 day trial for Fastmail users and where they (if I got that right) will migrate all the Fastmail data over. It seems churlish of me not to try it out, particularly in view of the various positive reports I'm seeing.

What are Polarismail's redundancy/contingency plans? Do they have backup servers outside their location? How timely are they in fixing problems?

Anyone know what the actual experience is of Polarismail's privacy actions are like? Do they, for example, embed user's machine IP address into outgoing emails?

I see that Polarismail is located in Canada. Is the Canadian government actually respectful of privacy? Or are they going down the UK route of mandating all providers to keep detailed records of all emails, URLs and so forth?

Essentially can Polarismail be trusted?

Ed

lane · 19 Nov 2012, 11:52 PM

I don't know the answer to most of your questions. I'd be interested, though, but in an academic sort of way as I am not hung up particularly on privacy issues.

PolarisMail's servers are located in Montreal (Canada), and they appear to be an entirely Canadian operation. I doubt that they would be able, under Canadian law, to routinely respond positively to a subpoena from another country (I'm of course thinking the US), though if there were severe criminal aspects I'm sure something could be made to work via intergovernmental cooperation. You might search out their terms of service.

When sending from a desktop client, PolarisMail puts the following in the internal headers:

Received: from unknown (HELO Lanexps) (bGFuZUBwbS5sYmlzaG9wLm5ldEAxNDIuMTY3LjE3LjE4Mg==) (POLARISLOCAL) by smtp2.emailarray.com with (AES128-SHA encrypted) SMTP; 19 Nov 2012 15:34:52 -0000
Message-ID: <3415085C6DCB430AAC7F53E16BA7800D@Lanexps>

"Lanexps" is the name of my laptop, so I guess some information is revealed. The long string in parenthesis might well be something PolarisMail can decode to reveal my IP address, perhaps in cases of undelivered mail issues, or abuse (e.g., spammers). You could ask George.

From the Enhanced webmail (Group-Office), the same header looks like:

Received: from unknown (HELO subxx--mydomain--tld.emailarray.com) (bGFuZUBwbS5sYmlzaG9wLm5ldEAxOTIuMTY4LjEuMTQ=) (POLARISLOCAL) by smtp1.emailarray.com with SMTP; 19 Nov 2012 15:47:45 -0000
Message-ID: <1353340065.50aa54a15f26a@subxx--mydomain--tld.emailarray.com>

So in this case, my (sub-)domain I use at PolarisMail is revealed.

ewal · 20 Nov 2012, 12:26 AM

Many thanks Lane, that is very useful.

My use of emails simply extends to family and friends (parties, social meetings etc) so I'm not hung up on privacy issues as such and I don't have anything to hide. However I do value my privacy quite strongly, particularly in the face of of various governments trying to data mine me.

Let's see if George comes back here, I'm particualrly interested in the back end of his operation, the robustness and so forth. Maybe I will try and find the time to do a full trial run. Time is such a scare resource these days.

Thanks again
Ed

ServiceTech · 20 Nov 2012, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ewal

Many thanks Lane, that is very useful.

My use of emails simply extends to family and friends (parties, social meetings etc) so I'm not hung up on privacy issues as such and I don't have anything to hide. However I do value my privacy quite strongly, particularly in the face of of various governments trying to data mine me.

Let's see if George comes back here, I'm particualrly interested in the back end of his operation, the robustness and so forth. Maybe I will try and find the time to do a full trial run. Time is such a scare resource these days.

Thanks again
Ed

For email, privacy is of top importance even if you are not the (former) head of the CIA. Ever been to the Black Hat conference? It is deeply scary the tools criminals are getting. If you have any money, daughters, etc., then you have much to hide from certain types.

PON · 20 Nov 2012, 08:36 PM

Interesting that you imply that daughters are property like money. Do they know?

labarum · 20 Nov 2012, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PON

Interesting that you imply that daughters are property like money. Do they know?

Didn't you know? Men marry: women are given in marriage.

19 Nov 2012, 06:16 AM	#46
Shelded Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: USA Northwest Posts: 3,849	I think there should be room for a good desktop mail cilent.They're generally more powerful than webmail. But they are harder to support so ISPs don't want to touch them.

19 Nov 2012, 07:39 AM	#48
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	It's all of the screen real estate taken up with the Group Office banner that I don't really care for. Because of that, the minimalist screen shots are appealing; however, I would probably like the current UI as well without the big banner at the top. That's my first impression.

19 Nov 2012, 07:52 AM	#49
Terry The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: VK4 Posts: 3,012	Looks ok....do they have sieve script ?

19 Nov 2012, 09:19 AM	#52
Terry The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: VK4 Posts: 3,012	[quote=ServiceTech;548912]The trend is toward people wanting the same interface to get their email on their PC, the office PC, a Internet cafe, their cell phone, and their mom's tablet. Yes, but unfortunately we purchased a classic interface with an old customised log in screen.....and we are no longer getting what we paid for. Why change something that was working really well to a Nerd type email system. I really wish I could get my 2 x 5 year subscriptions back....

19 Nov 2012, 09:26 PM	#55
ewal Master of the @ Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: West Sussex, UK Posts: 1,334	Can anyone point me to a side-by-side comparison between Fastmail and Polarismail? I see that Polarismail are currently giving a 90 day trial for Fastmail users and where they (if I got that right) will migrate all the Fastmail data over. It seems churlish of me not to try it out, particularly in view of the various positive reports I'm seeing. What are Polarismail's redundancy/contingency plans? Do they have backup servers outside their location? How timely are they in fixing problems? Anyone know what the actual experience is of Polarismail's privacy actions are like? Do they, for example, embed user's machine IP address into outgoing emails? I see that Polarismail is located in Canada. Is the Canadian government actually respectful of privacy? Or are they going down the UK route of mandating all providers to keep detailed records of all emails, URLs and so forth? Essentially can Polarismail be trusted? Ed

19 Nov 2012, 11:52 PM	#56
lane Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Kars, NB, Canada Posts: 702	I don't know the answer to most of your questions. I'd be interested, though, but in an academic sort of way as I am not hung up particularly on privacy issues. PolarisMail's servers are located in Montreal (Canada), and they appear to be an entirely Canadian operation. I doubt that they would be able, under Canadian law, to routinely respond positively to a subpoena from another country (I'm of course thinking the US), though if there were severe criminal aspects I'm sure something could be made to work via intergovernmental cooperation. You might search out their terms of service. When sending from a desktop client, PolarisMail puts the following in the internal headers: Received: from unknown (HELO Lanexps) (bGFuZUBwbS5sYmlzaG9wLm5ldEAxNDIuMTY3LjE3LjE4Mg==) (POLARISLOCAL) by smtp2.emailarray.com with (AES128-SHA encrypted) SMTP; 19 Nov 2012 15:34:52 -0000 Message-ID: <3415085C6DCB430AAC7F53E16BA7800D@Lanexps> "Lanexps" is the name of my laptop, so I guess some information is revealed. The long string in parenthesis might well be something PolarisMail can decode to reveal my IP address, perhaps in cases of undelivered mail issues, or abuse (e.g., spammers). You could ask George. From the Enhanced webmail (Group-Office), the same header looks like: Received: from unknown (HELO subxx--mydomain--tld.emailarray.com) (bGFuZUBwbS5sYmlzaG9wLm5ldEAxOTIuMTY4LjEuMTQ=) (POLARISLOCAL) by smtp1.emailarray.com with SMTP; 19 Nov 2012 15:47:45 -0000 Message-ID: <1353340065.50aa54a15f26a@subxx--mydomain--tld.emailarray.com> So in this case, my (sub-)domain I use at PolarisMail is revealed.

20 Nov 2012, 12:26 AM	#57
ewal Master of the @ Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: West Sussex, UK Posts: 1,334	Many thanks Lane, that is very useful. My use of emails simply extends to family and friends (parties, social meetings etc) so I'm not hung up on privacy issues as such and I don't have anything to hide. However I do value my privacy quite strongly, particularly in the face of of various governments trying to data mine me. Let's see if George comes back here, I'm particualrly interested in the back end of his operation, the robustness and so forth. Maybe I will try and find the time to do a full trial run. Time is such a scare resource these days. Thanks again Ed

20 Nov 2012, 08:36 PM	#59
PON Essential Contributor Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Wicklow, Ireland Posts: 449	Interesting that you imply that daughters are property like money. Do they know?