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SecretMethod70 · 05-11-2003, 11:41 AM

The first thing to understand is that Linux, per se, does not come with anything - it's just a kernel. Distributions are just groupings of various programs made by others (and some by the distribution) and an installer, etc.

When talking about Gentoo and Debian, you're dealing with 2 very bare-bones distributions (which, in my opinion, is a good thing). So, especially with Gentoo, it will only have what you want.

That said, the first thing depends on what desktop environment you decide to run. If you're going to run KDE, it comes with KMail. If you choose to run Gnome, I believe it comes with Evolution. (That's not to say you NEED Gnome to run Evolution but I do think you need KDE to run KMail as it's actually part of KDE). Another option - and the mail client I prefer - is Mozilla Mail, soon to become Thunderbird once Mozilla stops developing the suite and begins focusing on the standalone clients (Firebird as browser and Thunderbird as mail).

I believe all 3 of these have IMAP support but I can't guarantee it as I have never specifically needed to use it.

Since I know Gentoo - and it's a lot easier to describe - once you have your system installed all you need to do is su to root and then type "emerge -p mozilla" to see what it would download and compile (in case you don't know, portage takes car of finding all the dependencies for you) and one you look over that and are sure you want to get all that, type "emerge mozilla" and go and take a nap - it'll take an hour or 2 to compile probably depending on your computer. If you want to try Evolution, which is essentially a good Outlook clone with some added functionality, do the same thing (emerge -p evolution, then emerge evolution).

Forgive me if you already know any of this, but if you don't already know any of what I just mentioned about Gentoo, you NEED to do some more reading up before you even think about installing it. Get yourself acquainted with the forums - they're incredibly useful - as well as their IRC channel for when you have questions. And be sure to read straight through the installation, desktop configuration, and portage documentation BEFORE you do anything this way you have an idea about the bigger picture before you start.

Again, I apologize if you know all this already but I'd just like to be sure you don't start installing Gentoo and then get lost or not realize what you got yourself into.

Do the same for Debian as well - in some ways it's easier than Gentoo and in a lot of other ways it's harder.

Anyway, back to the question - I recommend Mozilla Mail. I know for a fact it has IMAP support. I do recommend trying out KMail and Evolution as well though as that's the only way to know which one is the best for YOU.

HTH

05-11-2003, 11:41 AM	#2 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	The first thing to understand is that Linux, per se, does not come with anything - it's just a kernel. Distributions are just groupings of various programs made by others (and some by the distribution) and an installer, etc. When talking about Gentoo and Debian, you're dealing with 2 very bare-bones distributions (which, in my opinion, is a good thing). So, especially with Gentoo, it will only have what you want. That said, the first thing depends on what desktop environment you decide to run. If you're going to run KDE, it comes with KMail. If you choose to run Gnome, I believe it comes with Evolution. (That's not to say you NEED Gnome to run Evolution but I do think you need KDE to run KMail as it's actually part of KDE). Another option - and the mail client I prefer - is Mozilla Mail, soon to become Thunderbird once Mozilla stops developing the suite and begins focusing on the standalone clients (Firebird as browser and Thunderbird as mail). I believe all 3 of these have IMAP support but I can't guarantee it as I have never specifically needed to use it. Since I know Gentoo - and it's a lot easier to describe - once you have your system installed all you need to do is su to root and then type "emerge -p mozilla" to see what it would download and compile (in case you don't know, portage takes car of finding all the dependencies for you) and one you look over that and are sure you want to get all that, type "emerge mozilla" and go and take a nap - it'll take an hour or 2 to compile probably depending on your computer. If you want to try Evolution, which is essentially a good Outlook clone with some added functionality, do the same thing (emerge -p evolution, then emerge evolution). Forgive me if you already know any of this, but if you don't already know any of what I just mentioned about Gentoo, you NEED to do some more reading up before you even think about installing it. Get yourself acquainted with the forums - they're incredibly useful - as well as their IRC channel for when you have questions. And be sure to read straight through the installation, desktop configuration, and portage documentation BEFORE you do anything this way you have an idea about the bigger picture before you start. Again, I apologize if you know all this already but I'd just like to be sure you don't start installing Gentoo and then get lost or not realize what you got yourself into. Do the same for Debian as well - in some ways it's easier than Gentoo and in a lot of other ways it's harder. Anyway, back to the question - I recommend Mozilla Mail. I know for a fact it has IMAP support. I do recommend trying out KMail and Evolution as well though as that's the only way to know which one is the best for YOU. HTH __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling