You need IMAP. Nobody in their right mind would leave email dumped on a single client system anymore. Especially anyone who actually leaves the house from time to time and travels to other places.
IMAP (very briefly) allows you to efficiently manipulate mail on a remote server via a client-independant protocol. This means that you can:
- Get backup done by the server admins
- Switch computers easily
- Switch email clients easily.
On the downside, it makes filtering hard: if you don't have an account on the server system then you'll have to use Sieve instead of procmail.
Thunderbird
Thunderbird hints seems to be the obvious choice for most people. Has a disturbing HTML fetish, and it's difficult to make it let go of it.
Evolution
- is fat, slow and bloated. Doesn't seem to understand how to do IMAP efficiently
Mulberry
- Nice GUI email client, a bit quirky, but spoke IMAP very well.
- It was commercial, now resurrected as open-source.
- Maddening habit of forcing you to see deleted messages.
Sylpheed
- Andrew Morton uses sylpheed. Thus one ought to try it, really.
- 2.1.1 seemed generally nice.
- Doesn't speak IMAP efficiently at all.
- Is slow on large folders.
- Won't do TLS smtp auth over an non SSL connection
- Has a cute little ruler bar in the compose window.
- Adding addresses to address book doens't understand the display name properly.
- Seems to be wholly single-threaded. Ick.
Mutt
- Apparently good if you like text interfaces to your email.
KMail
Can be made to play nice. See KMail hints