Asymmetrical Information

I have been using Thunderbird since version 0.2 or so and I've never seen that problem. The only periodic message deletion I'm aware of would relate to messages in the Junk or Trash folders. Are there any events you can tie to "periodically?" The only bug I've found that might be relevant is here:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=232221
Is that what is happening?

I never had the problem with Thunderbird - but I do have a similar problem with Firefox and my bookmarks. Occasionally, they just disappear.

Regardless, my suggestion is that you switch to Gmail. There is no need for anything else...

FWIW, I sent you an invite.

Cheers.

You may want to check how you are filtering your Spam/Junk e-mail. Thunderbird has that great spam filtering tool, and maybe your messages are going to the filter folder you have set for recieving spam.

But, I have to admit, the above suggestion to go to GMail is pretty compelling. It's a great tool, and you can get to your e-mail from any computer.

I use the whole Mozilla suite 1.7 and have had no problems, from which Thunderbird and Firefox are derived. I am not planning to switch to Thunderbird/Firefox until they are both well past 1.0.

I've noticed a problem with Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition (v7.61) and Thunderbird. This doesn't seem to happen with the "regular" version. Anyhow, with "File System Realtime Protection" enabled, it will see a virus-laden email in your Inbox and try to Quarantine your Inbox. Once it does this, your Inbox is gone (and with the locked-down version I have on my work PC, it can't be retreived). The solution is to go into the options and tell it to Exclude the folder where your mail files are located . On Windows, this will be something like "C:\Documents and Settings\[WindowsUserName]\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\[randomstuff].default\Mail"

As I mentioned, I don't have this problem with my personal systems, since they are running later versions.

Bingo, Aubrey Turner! I suspected Norton might have something to do with it. Thanks for confirming.

Weird Norton's behavior is a good excuse to use the free AVG anti-virus program (if possible in a corporate environment).

You know, I've got a friend with Norton AV, and he's constantly having problems of one kind of another. Yesterday I finally asked him, "why do you still use Norton?"

Jane, your "suspicion" makes me think you've also had previous problems with Norton? Anyone else?

Is NAV really that bad? I don't use it myself, but it's on my mother's machine and I'm beginning to wonder if I should get rid of it.

Norton AntiVirus 2004 hasn't been so bad for me on my personal systems. That version has an email proxy that intercepts virus-laden emails before they get to my Inbox. It will pop-up a warning. For most common viruses, it will remove the offending attachment. For the worst viruses, it will quarantine the email, which effectively deletes that one email (it sends a proxy email to my Inbox with the sender/receiver info so I can at least see where it came from). Norton AntiVirus 2004 has never quarantined my entire Inbox, unlike the Corporate version.

The only problem I have with Norton AntiVirus 2004 is that when it's doing a full system scan the system is nearly unusable. But I've scheduled it to do this on Friday night when I'm not likely to be using the system.

However, your mileage may vary, and I've heard of other people having problems with it (especially in conjunction with certain firewalls and with certain software installers).

I've been using the free AVG antivirus from grisoft and it does a great job of realtime protection. The interface can be a little clunky, but it's free and, unlike McAfee and Norton, doesn't pop up notices and try to sell you on other products.

Thunderbird is still a little too beta for me, but Firefox is a life changing, religious experience. I don't know how I ever lived without tabbed browsing, ad blocking, and all the rest.

Solution to your problem:
Get rid of your insipid virus prone PC, buy ( or get your employer to buy you) a new MAC or iMac. They both come with Mail, Apple's built in email program which works flawlessly.

If you check out todays WSJ you will see an article about running windows on your MAC so you can still use the few useful pcs of software that don't have a MAC equivlent.

You will not believe how much easier using email or a computer will be.

Jane, you really must experience the wonder that is OSX.

Hell, drink enough of that dang T-bird and most everything will disappear for a while . . . .

Oh, you mean the e-mail software. Sorry.

Mac = half the computer for twice the money. Yes, I've used them, including a dual-G5 box. Nice and quiet and I like OSX, but telling someone who is already familiar with PCs to switch to a Mac is a really bad joke.

Regarding AntiVirus software: Complaints against Norton Antivirus range from nuisance (real-time scanner slowing down a computer noticably) to the criminal (eating mail inboxes). I gave up on Norton about two years ago. Lately I've been using AVG and very much like it.

I have been running MAC's since 1986 and I've never even had AntiVirus software. That's why MAC's cost more -- because they work better & look better. I am typing this on my 12" aluminum laptop. It is an awesome pc of gear, goes and fits anywhere, looks slick too.
Twice the machine for about the same price as a pc laptop.

I have been running MAC's since 1986 and I've never even had AntiVirus software.

I'm guessing that's because you're fairly savvy about potential virus hazards and how to avoid them. Well, I've known some PC users who have successfully avoided viruses without using AV; but what does that prove?

Conversely, back when I was in High School I was involved with the school's newspaper for three years, and we had four machines of various ages, two running OS6 IIRC, one running OS7, and one running OS8. As the sole party on the newspaper's staff with a reasonably high level of technical knowledge, I had the privilege of performing most system maintenance for those boxes, and NAV was kept quite busy. In one case virus-induced disk corruption reduced a machine to nigh unusable levels of instability.

(In fairness, an OSX machine will not be as easily targeted as older MacOS versions.)

That's why MAC's cost more -- because they work better

That's not what I've heard from a party who has actually supported them in a high-volume corporate environment...

& look better.

If you want to pay MORE for something that looks better, try an art dealer -- the appreciation issues are much more palatable. But anyone can design an interesting case. Macs cost more primarily because they're a low-marketshare product using a fair bit of proprietary hardware and software, and thus Apple can't capitalize on volume to the same degree that the PC market can.

I am typing this on my 12" aluminum laptop. It is an awesome pc of gear, goes and fits anywhere, looks slick too.

Glad you like it. (No, seriously -- if you have one and like it, more power to you, but I find most of the "look how wonderful and special these things are" arguments used by Apple's more rabit proponents to be largely spurious).

Twice the machine for about the same price as a pc laptop.

Current price on an entry-level iBook G4: $1099. Current price on an entry-level Dell Inspirion 1000 notebook of reasonably comparable specs: $799. Okay, how about desktops? Current price on an entry-level iMac G5: $1299. Current price on a Dell Dimension 3000, optioned up slightly to be reasonably comparable to the iMac package (including a 17" TFT): slightly under $1000.

Or, shorter answer -- I don't think so.

It sounds like she's in a corporate environment, so she can't really choose her OS. But I agree with the people who've had problems with Norton - I'm on AVG at home; you'd think someone would have wrested control of this market from Norton by now.

Why do people prefer Thunderbird? I'm stuck back on Outlook (even at home), after many, many experiments with TP e-mail clients. What's the benefit of Thunderbird over Outlook 2003?

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