Thunderbird mail

[raymond]

On 08/18/2013 10:43 AM, Stephen M. Webb wrote:
> On 08/18/2013 08:59 AM, raymond wrote:
>> Hi all, why use thunderbird mail? It is only duplicating what I get through my gmail account (in my case).And it's
>> slower at start up because it must get the mail info from my other mail accounts.I know that it stores my mail in
>> my computer, is that it's sole purpose? It seems like a lot of duplication to me, can anyone clear this up for me,
>> Thanks.
> First off, that's like asking why drive a Ford when you could drive a Toyota. Different folks choose different
> products for different reasons.
>
> Second, even if you choose to have Google read and keep all of your email, the filtering ability of Google's mail
> product is very limited and extremely poor (their philosophy is that you have to actively search for specific mail
> instead of passively sort -- which means you send them your search keys and they sell your data for their profit -- of
> no benefit to you).  If you use a local email client you can use very detailed and powerful filters to sort your
> email, just like in the olden days when you owned your own data.  This point may not affect you if you only have a few
> messages per day from a few people, but many folks out there get thousands of messages per day from very many sources,
> and Google's mail product does not come close to meeting requirements.
>
> Third, you might have multiple email accounts and want to be able to read everything in one place.  Sure, you could
> route all your email from all your accounts through Google's mail servers in the US.  Some mail sources, such as many
> employers or educational institutions, do not allow you to do that.  Others are private and you don't want Google
> reading and selling your private correspondence.
>
> Fourth, you may be disturbed by ongoing US government surveillance, the Canadian government's proposed warrentless
> surveillance bills, or industrial espionage and wish to encrypt your correspondence.  Google's mail product does not
> support email encryption and decryption.  For that, you need a client-side email program like Thunderbird.
>
Thanks Steven, now you are clearing up some of the questions I have. 
Thunderbird can encrypt and decrypt, I did not know that, and it is very 
interesting. Next, I have to find out how. I don't have a large volume 
of mail but Yes I am disturbed by all the surveillance, actual and 
proposed. I need to take a closer look at thunderbird. Thank you for the 
informative reply.