Thunderbird is the best e-mail program for Windows users, and the portable version is the best version of Thunderbird.
On August 31st I explained why I think Thunderbird is the best client-side e-mail program for defensively thinking Windows users (see There is only one e-mail program). Earlier the same day I discussed my personal e-mail backup scheme (Backing up e-mail). Here I'll tie both these previous postings together.
To begin with, a portable application is one that does not need to be installed. The entire application exists in a single folder. It does not store anything in the Windows registry or a Windows system folder.
Typically, portable applications go hand in hand with flash/thumb/pen/USB drives, but this is not a requirement. You can run portable applications off your C drive or any internal hard disk partition. In fact, doing so makes them run faster.
While portability is the prominent, public, sexy feature, to me, being able to backup an application is just as important, if not more so. You can back up a portable application simply by copying a folder. It is impossible to back up a normally installed Windows application because pieces of it are scattered all over the place. To get around this, you're forced to do disk image backups, which are a big hassle.
The flip side, uninstalling, is another advantage of portable applications. You get rid of a portable application simply by deleting a folder. No fuss. No muss. In contrast, it can be next to impossible to erase all traces of a normally installed Windows application. If nothing else, it's very common for junk to be left in the registry after uninstalling.
A portable Windows application can either be created that way originally or the portability can be retrofitted onto it. John T. Haller makes portable versions of normally unportable open-source applications at www.portableapps.com. Like the original, the portable version is free.
If you use more than one computer, the advantages of portable applications that can be transported on flash drives is obvious. However, even if you only use a single computer, being able to simply and easily backup an application is reason enough to opt for a portable application. The simple backup of a portable e-mail program is especially important.
Your e-mail program has three different types of data; your mail, your address book and your settings for things like the POP3 and SMTP servers. Backing up these different types of data with a normal Windows e-mail program, such as Outlook Express or Eudora, can be a real pain.
You can try to back up the files where the various types of data reside, but finding them all is error prone and the locations may change with new releases. Your e-mail program may have an Export function, but the ones I've seen have a different function for each type of data. None of these problems exist when backing up a portable e-mail program such as Thunderbird.
Copying a single folder copies your e-mail, address book, settings and more. More? Let's not forget it also copies the application itself and any changes you might have made to the user interface (Thunderbird is fairly customizable) and, in the case of Thunderbird, any extensions you might have installed. As an old commercial put it, I can't believe I copied the whole thing. :-)
Installing
You can download the portable version of Thunderbird from portableapps.com. According to the Web site, it runs under Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP and Vista as well on Linux/UNIX with assistance from the Wine program loader.
The downloaded file is currently named Thunderbird_Portable_2.0.0.6_en-us.paf.exe. When you run it, an installation wizard starts. Agree to the license agreement, and select a folder. The wizard instructions about the folder are to "Choose the folder in which to install Mozilla Thunderbird, Portable Edition". The wording is unfortunate as you are not installing the application, just un-compressing it. The wizard extracts a bunch of files and ends.
The folder you pointed the wizard to now has a sub-folder called ThunderbirdPortable. To move or back up your copy of portable Thunderbird, this is the folder you move or back up. Everything you ever wanted to know about portable Thunderbird is in this little folder.
As evidence that nothing was installed, you'll notice there is no icon for portable Thunderbird on the Windows desktop, no entry for it in the Programs or All Programs list off the Start button and no entry for it in the Add or Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel.
That's the good news. The bad news is that you have to make your own shortcut for it. In the ThunderbirdPortable folder is a program called ThunderbirdPortable.exe. Create a shortcut to this EXE file and copy the shortcut anywhere you'd like (the Windows desktop is a good starting point). The first time you run portable Thunderbird, it behaves like any e-mail program the first time it's run, you have to set up a new account.
To reiterate an earlier point, portable applications run just fine from the C disk, they are not married to flash/thumb/USB drives. In fact, they run faster from an internal hard disk. Trust me.
I've run across only one down side to using portable Thunderbird as your main e-mail program--making it the default e-mail program in Windows. That is, making it the program that Windows invokes when you click on an e-mail link in a Web page. Since the program was not officially installed, Windows barely knows that it's there. This has still got me stumped.
Update: Portable Thunderbird is also available from download.com. September 4, 2007.
Update: Replying to reader comments/questions September 4, 2007
The portable version of Thunderbird updates itself the same way as the normally installed version. Of course, updating any application can cause problems and this is where portable applications shine - you can make a full backup of portable Thunderbird before updating it.
I updated version 1 of portable Thunderbird many times without incident. However, I waited a long time to move from version 1 to version 2 and by the time I ran that update, it failed. But, I had a full backup, so the failure didn't slow me down. Some day, I'll deal with this, no rush though.
This story does however, illustrate the big problem with free software - the lack of technical support. I'm on my own to deal with this problem. A posting I made at the official forum was a waste of time despite including a screen shot of all the error messages.
As for the Lightning calendar add-on for Thunderbird, I haven't tried it. I prefer my email program to only do email. Just keeping that alive and well can be hard enough (see above), no need to complicate things.
The supported operating systems for Portable Thunderbird are listed in the posting. Windows Mobile was not one of them.
There is only one email program for Windows users. No, I haven't lost my mind, and yes Windows users can chose from many client side email programs. But this is a Defensive Computing blog and speaking defensively, that is, with the hope of avoiding problems in the future, there is only one choice when it comes to email programs (webmail is another topic entirely - if you use webmail exclusively you can stop reading here).
Outlook
Outlook is out because it stores all your email in a single file. You don't need to be a techie/nerd to know how dangerous it is to have all your eggs in one basket. A single bad hard disk sector will suck up your time, money and/or email. And because the basket can get very large, backing it up is a pain. Not to mention it's expensive (OK, I did mention it).
Outlook Express
Outlook Express starts with two big advantages, it's free and pre-installed in Windows XP and earlier versions of Windows. And it stores each folder as a
separate file, avoiding the
big Outlook design flaw. I never liked it, in part because it
uses Internet Explorer to display HTML formatted email and thus inherits the
security problems of IE. But don't rule it out for this reason alone.
A few days ago, Leo Notenboom wrote that Outlook Express is dead. At his
Ask-Leo website someone asked about un-installing and re-installing Outlook Express, a classic tactic for
a problematic application. No can do. Quoting Leo: "With the introduction of
Internet Explorer 7, Outlook Express has apparently been put out to
pasture, at least if you're on Windows XP."
There never was a standalone download of Outlook Express, it was
always married to IE5 and IE6. When you updated Internet Explorer, you
also updated Outlook Express, like it or not. With the
introduction of IE7, Outlook Express was thrown overboard,
it's no longer included with the browser.
Thus, if you're currently using Outlook Express on Windows XP, or an earlier version
of Windows, you'd better hope it doesn't start acting up. Leo
describes a number of ways to try and fix a broken copy of Outlook
Express, but none are mainstream operations (I suggest reading the article to see
if the fixes are things you're comfortable doing). And his suggested
fixes are all Windows things, not Outlook Express things. In my opinion, you're better off using an email program that is not an integral part of the operating system.
Windows Mail
Windows Mail is the replacement for Outlook Express in Vista (it only runs in Vista). According to Leo, there is no stand-alone download of Windows Mail, so it too can't be easily un-installed and re-installed and is, perhaps, too much a part of the operating system. Also, it's new and thus likely to be buggy.
Windows Live Mail
Leo Notenboom updated his posting September 1st to include Windows Live Mail, an email program that neither he nor I was aware of. It's a new version of Outlook Express that runs on both Vista and XP with Service Pack 2.
First off, I can't believe the name. Microsoft learned nothing from the confusion they caused non-techies by similarly naming two totally different email programs (Outlook and Outlook Express). My guess is that it will eventually be referred to as Live Mail, both because the "Windows" is superfluous and to help differentiate it from the Vista-only program (which they should have called Vista Mail).
Whatever it's name, the software is in beta, so the jury is still out. Except, that is, when choosing defensively. Beta software is out of the question when it comes to applications that really matter to you.
Thunderbird
I recommend Thunderbird from Mozilla, the same organization
behind Firefox. According to Leo Notenboom "Thunderbird is free,
fairly similar to OE to use, and actually somewhat more powerful. It's
free, downloadable, it's being updated, works on Windows XP and Vista
as well as the Mac and Linux, and there are many add-ons available for it."
To this I'll add that Thunderbird, like
Firefox, is very good about updating itself with bug fixes. Keeping
your applications up to date is a great defense against malicious
software. And since Thunderbird does not use Internet Explorer under
the covers to display HTML formatted email, it's safer still.
The
safety provided by Thunderbird comes at virtually no cost. Not only is
the software free, but it's easy to use. I say that not based on my own
use of the program but based on the reaction of many of my non-techie
clients.
You can download Thunderbird from Mozilla or from download.com where the Editor's review gave it 5 stars (out of 5) and where 511 users (as of September 1, 2007) rated it 4.5 stars.
Eudora
Eudora is liked by many techies but it's in transition and thus I'd
be wary of trusting it with my email. The official website says "The Paid mode commercial versions of Eudora are no longer available as of May 1st, 2007. The Sponsored mode versions of Eudora continue to be
available for download. An open source version of EudoraŽ is being developed by Mozilla and will be free of charge."
To translate, "sponsored mode" refers to a free ad-supported version. While free is good, abandoned is not. The new open source version of Eudora is called Penelope and the first beta was released August 31, 2007. Any brand new software is likely to be buggy for a while. I'll pass.
Lotus Notes
Perhaps the most hated email program to ever walk the face of the earth.
Updated September 1, 2007: Added Lotus Notes, Windows Live Mail, link to download.com for Thunderbird and Penelope.
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