I stop using Thunderbird to use KMail

I've always been a user of ThunderbirdI actually never used Microsoft Outlook far from it Outlook Express. Evolution I tried it for a while, as well as clawmail… But neither of these last two I liked enough.

Used Thunderbird because with the add-ons that I had installed, and especially the theme / skin that I put on it, it was really attractive.

Then came Thunderbird v3 ... and my theme I had to stop using it because it was not compatible, along with the skin some add-ons, but nothing happens ... I used another skin that luckily I found. But, Thunderbird v4 represented the same problem ... and v5, v6, etc etc ... and we are on v11, and of all the plugins and skins that I have used, there are almost none left.

All of this has made me feel unhappy with Thunderbird, but I still couldn't find the perfect replacement for him ... until once again, I gave him a chance. KMail.

The point is that for a few days I have been using KMail, and I am 99% satisfied with it 😀

For example, it offers me options to customize it like no other email client ... but hey, those of us who use KDE as we are used to this right? … LOL!!

Also, use Akonadi and so far nothing (but NOTHING) is wrong, this allows several applications to share the same data ...

Advantages I have now using KMail?

  1. Unlike before, now I use a mail client that is Qt, perfect for KDE.
  2. I have more options to customize it, for example now I have more control over notifications, keyboard shortcuts, etc.
  3. Something as simple as clicking the close button (the cross in the corner) does NOT close the application, but puts it in the system tray (tray), in Thunderbird I need an addon ... in KMail no, the option is available there 🙂
  4. Option available for group work by IMAP
  5. Encrypt emails using algorithms such as OpenGPG.
  6. Did I already say that I can change absolutely all the colors of the application? … Make my own skin just by clicking? ...
  7. Organize my emails by labels/Tags ... as if from a site made with WordPress it was ...

And since it can't be perfect, there are some downsides to Thunderbird:

  1. Use of Akonadi ... like all dependencies, this may be uncomfortable for some, as Akonadi save your data in DBs MySQL by default, although it can be configured to use SQL Lite... I will investigate about this hehe.
  2. En Thunderbird by selecting 5 emails (for example) and pressing [Of the] (to send them to the trash) towards which those 5 emails will be marked as «Already read«, And also sent to the wastebasket, while in KMail they are only sent to the trash, and then they appear to me like 5 emails in the trash but not read (this I recognize that some may seem silly haha)

And the golden question…. Which consumes more resources? ...

Well, KMail it consumes me 30.8MB RAM, and Thunderbird 31MB ... so, same thing 😀

Valid clarify, I am using KDE 4.7.4 (KMail v1.13.7), I am NOT using the latest version (KDE 4.8.1), And Thunderbird 11 … It would be fair to compare the latest version of KMail with the last of Thunderbird, but unfortunately in Debian Aun KDE 4.8 It's just a distant dream

I don't remember which upgrades / changes have higher versions of KMail, so I look forward to it 😀

Which email client do you use?

regards


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  1.   Tavo said

    I never had problems with Kmail ... I don't use it that much either, it will be because I only have one account and I usually consult it from the browser. I have not tried the Opera client yet and I adopted it as the default browser

  2.   sieg84 said

    I use the one that comes integrated in Opera, I use kmail to test it, but the functions that Opera brings me are enough, and I don't know if it brings more or less than kmail, total, I never use all the options of a program. (I'm still discovering functions in kwin)

    1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

      I've never used Opera's one, but I don't like the idea of ​​having the email client dependent on a browser, I prefer them separate 😀

      1.    sieg84 said

        Yes, but instead of having 3 or more programs always open, browser, e-mail, rss reader, notes, everything is in Opera that, as you already know, can even be minimized in the system tray.

        1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

          Yes I suppose that from that point of view it makes sense, but I like (something personal) to have things divided and organized ... for example, if later I want to stop using Opera and use Rekonq, I could not, because I depend on Opera for me email 🙂

          1.    sieg84 said

            A guide to some kmail functions would be interesting, especially with the use of gpg or configuration of some accounts, at the beginning I struggled a bit with that of the profiles.

            lately i have been using gpg to encrypt files and save them to the cloud (as backups).

            1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

              Yup, it wouldn't be bad 😀
              I'll see if I make a guide on KMail hahaha.
              regards


  3.   Wolf said

    Well, I have tried dozens of times, but in the end Kmail fails more than a fairground shotgun. While sometimes it worked fine, sometimes it suddenly becomes slow. It happened to me that when I clicked on a message to read it, it took more than 10 seconds to open it. As a KDE user, I would be happy to make it my main client, but I always end up coming back to Thunderbird, out of sheer pragmatism.

    And, on the other hand, it does not allow me to manage my 5 email accounts at the same time, in a simple way. I think it is still a great program, but it does not meet my expectations or meet my needs.

    1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

      Well, so far no problems ... but if what you say starts to happen ... uff ... I'll have to go back to Thunderbird LOL !!

    2.    ren434 said

      Put the opposite to me, zero problems and the latest version is more stable than ever.

      1.    Hyoga Assure said

        Completely agree. A few months ago I tried Kontact on Kubuntu and the Kmail mail was fatal, not to mention that for no apparent reason, the contacts disappeared but since the last version, the improvement has been a lot and it is more stable.

        1.    msx said

          The problem is Kubuntu: I came to Arch looking for a distro where KDE SC worked well and the difference between Kubuntu and Arch + KDE is abysmal. Kubuntu is a shit-making machine, full of errors and bugs wherever you look at it, totally bloated and buggy, with a heavy, uncomfortable and slow response KDE ... in Arch, KDE is light like LXDE in Ubuntu and it is also incredibly stable, especially Kmail and the entire Kontact suite (KDE 4.8.4-3).

      2.    mdrvro said

        Hello!! Well I'll be brief. I have a problem with kmail, I do all the steps correctly until I get the following message:

        : Unable to login to pop.mail.yahoo.com server.
        Pop.mail.yahoo.com could not be accessed. The password may be incorrect.

        The server replied: "[AUTH] Access to this service is not permitted."

        1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

          As I read, Yahoo does not allow POP to be used. Have you been able to check your Yahoo! from other IM clients using POP?

          1.    mdrvro said

            Sorry KZKG ^ Gaara for replying so late. Well the error was due to the fact that in the mail options I did not have the POP mail option enabled. Well happily it works for me with kmail and thank you very much for answering.

            1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

              Don't worry, we all have things to do 🙂
              Well ... I'm glad to know that your problem has been solved

              Greetings.


  4.   pandev92 said

    It created a problem for me in kde 4.8, it was something that akonadi did not start with, but I do not remember well, in the end I chose not to use any mail client on Linux.

    1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

      And what log did it leave you? ... well Akonadi has no will of his own, if he does not start with something, it is haha.

      1.    pandev92 said

        It was something like * the akonadi database could not be found and it would slam shut *, tomorrow I enter chakra and put the log.

    2.    vicky said

      Do you have akonadi activated? In this file ~ / .config / akonadi / akonadiserverrc make sure that the line says

      StartServer = true

  5.   Yoyo Fernandez said

    Well, I don't use email clients, I look at it directly from the web browser, and I have more than 8 O.0 accounts.

    1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

      I like having my emails with me, so when I want to read something I don't depend on having internet 🙂

      1.    Courage said

        Weeping

        1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

          Nosy 😀

      2.    sieg84 said

        Pop3 or Imap?

        1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

          POP3 always 😀

          1.    anubis said

            Try IMAP offline, you will be amazed 😀

            1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

              What differentiates it from POP3? 🙂


          2.    anubis said

            Imap offline has all the IMAP features, but with the convenience of having your emails locally, like POP

            1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

              I still don't understand the difference between disconnected IMAP and POP3 ^ - ^ U.
              They both download the email to the computer, what else?


  6.   lajc0303 said

    I really stay with the thunderbird

  7.   Andrés said

    I use the Opera client, I prefer to have everything in one, that one by one, of course, the client has its limitations, but it integrates very well with my desktop environment, it works perfectly with IMAP (GMail, GMX and MyOpera), and looks cleaner than thunderbird

  8.   vicky said

    From akonadi u sqlie I found this on the kde help page

    Why not use sqlite?
    We tried. Really. It just can't handle the concurrent access very well.
    Please refer to [2] for more information on this subject.

    sqlite
    Status: working with limitations, default backend for mobile systems
    Supported modes: Embedded
    Known issues:
    Requires newer version than the default Qt one.
    Requires patched QtSql driver to fix concurrency issues (Akonadi ships a fork of the driver with the necessary changes)
    Slower than MySQL

    It would be good because it is much lighter but it seems that it does not work: /

    1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

      These data from which site did you take them? And yep, too bad 🙁… it would be great to be able to use it like that…

      1.    vicky said
        1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

          Ah worth a thousand thanks 😀

  9.   Tony said

    Congratulations, Kmail is extremely powerful, so much so that it is sometimes even confusing ... I particularly in Debian Squeeze have not yet managed to send an email from an IMAP account other than the default ...

    1.    Tony said

      Sorry, I meant SMTP.

      1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

        Preferences - »Accounts -» Send 🙂

  10.   anubis said

    Valid clarify, I am using KDE 4.7.4 (KMail v1.13.7)…
    … I don't remember what improvements / changes have higher versions of KMail, so I'm looking forward to them 😀

    The KMail you are using does not integrate Akonadi. You had to configure your account from KMail and then it did not appear in the Akonadi console, right?

    One of the improvements of Kmail 2 (KDEpim 4.6 and higher) is the integration with Akonadi, as well as many more that you will see for yourself (Well, in Debian there is still a lack of that xD).

    I have been using it since the days of KDE 3.X. I can't tell you when I started using it, but I do know that I started using it after "abandoning" Thunderbird 1.X 🙂

    1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

      Yep, I had to add it manually haha ​​... yes yes, I remember that in KDE 4.8 one of the improvements was that KMail was improved a lot, specifically (as you say) it integrates (also depends) more on Akonadi.

      I look forward to the next 5 months ... to see if KDE 4.8 finally enters Debian Testing LOL !!

      1.    Courage said

        What about Arch?

        1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

          Arch gave me too many problems 🙁…. all related to the kernel, but more than enough.

  11.   Gadi said

    I recommend you look for the Lion Mail plasmoid. It is a mail notifier that integrates with Akonadi and therefore it is not necessary that you always have Kmail open 🙂

    1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

      ooo I don't know him, I'll keep an eye on him hehehehehe 😀
      Thanks for the tip 😉

    2.    anubis said

      Did you forget to mention that Lion Mail uses IMAP.

  12.   juanr said

    Does KMail v1.13.7 use Akonadi? I'm almost sure that Kmail2 is the one that integrates it, but I can't say because I'm using a slightly outdated version of KDE, 4.6.5.
    Greetings.

    1.    juanr said

      I just saw Annubis's comment, I hadn't read it. Indeed that was the great improvement of Kmail2 and that it came in KDE 4.7 if I'm not mistaken, but many distros did not integrate it because it was a bit immature.

  13.   proper said

    I don't use a mail client either, I see them directly from the web, I have xDDD in gmail and hotmail. I use a firefox plugin «webmail notifier» and when I get one, the icon just lights up 😛

    And when I am away from my computer, the emails reach my cell phone 😛

  14.   eddojh said

    I started using KMail 4.8.2 in Slackware a few days ago, it is quite good and I had the same experience that you describe with Thunderbird, a program that really has nothing wrong, only that little by little we are becoming more demanding and we want everything to be integrated into our precious KDE.
    Thanks for the tips, I just found the option of the icon in the system tray, I started looking for it thanks to the fact that I found out that it existed.

    regards

    1.    KZKG ^ Gaara said

      Thanks to you for leaving the comment 😀
      Yes indeed, Thunderbird is not (I think) the best option if you use KDE, because it does not integrate well with the environment, while KMail is designed to be the # 1 client of KDE ... for something is it not? 🙂

      Greetings and welcome to the site.

  15.   Hair said

    I have been using Kmail for almost 2 years and I have my email account as POP3.

    The truth is that for me it is the best email manager there can be. Thunderbird is fine, but Kmail is more complete and consumes fewer resources.

    By the way, has anyone noticed this error on their configured POP3 accounts? It happens that some emails get corrupted and become impossible to read, with strange characters like:

    --_8fc95976-4b42-49f2-ad74-95dc68cefb9e_
    Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
    boundary="_aeda4bf2-1d22-4c16-a451-385b01e336f9_"

    --_aeda4bf2-1d22-4c16-a451-385b01e336f9_
    Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
    Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

    I don't know if it's because my Kmail is corrupt or because I have a lot of emails in my inbox….

  16.   @Jlcmux said

    I'm using Kmail: I've already configured it .. But how do I make it stay open in the panel and not have to leave a window open all the time?

    1.    elav said

      Kmail Preferences »Appearance» System Tray »Activate the System Tray icon.

  17.   piero said

    I have been using Opera mail which is going very well, the issue is how you will know in Opera 15 they unlink it from the browser, and now they work separately -Linux doesn't even have its version yet-, so I'm looking to find another mail client. Which do you recommend? Is Kmail still so recommended? Thank you.

  18.   Juan said

    I usually read your notes and I find them interesting, now, things in life, I returned to this. Google brought me because I'm trying to leave Thunderbird with its quich hundred thousand add-ons, at least in the one at home, and I find myself with a difficulty.
    Do you know how to read Thunderbird labels also from Kmail? At work and at home I use the same labels, which means that if I mark "to answer" on one site, I can get to the other and see which ones I have to answer. With Kmail I don't know how to access that info, which is obviously in the message itself. Any ideas?

  19.   Jose Javier said

    This was the space I was looking for.
    A few days ago I started using kmail, everything OK,
    well, almost everything.
    It turns out that now after executing it, a process that consumes 50% of the processor is triggered. The "man" is called: akonadi_imap_resource.
    Does anyone have any ideas how to solve this?
    Thanks in advance.

  20.   Ariel said

    I tried Kmail in Chakra linux and the truth is that it took a long time to open each email. For that reason I uninstalled it and kept using Thunderbird at the cost of losing full integration with kde.

  21.   jhoedram said

    Amigso by chance I hide the menu in kmail and I can no longer see it, how can I do to recover it. I hope you can help me, thanks

  22.   Miguel Carmona said

    It called my attention:
    4. Option available for group work by IMAP

    Can you tell me what is that about group work through IMAP?
    Thank you