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   Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2007 08:00:15 -0600   
   From: Dan Coit    
   User-Agent: Thunderbird 1.5.0.9 (X11/20070103)   
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   Newsgroups: alt.comp.freeware,alt.os.linux.ubuntu   
   Subject: Re: My ubuntu experience   
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   os.linux.ubuntu:8783   
      
   Chris Game wrote:   
   > On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 10:25:42 +0100, Laszlo Lebrun wrote:   
   >    
   >>> Trying to install such a basic program as Pine - which must be ages old   
   >>> - means one has to compile from source to get a decent working binary   
   >>> with all the features.   
   >    
   >> Due the licence that comes with PINE, distribution of binaries are not   
   >> allowed, hence there are no binary packages for debian.   
   >    
   > Not quite right, there is a debian package on the UW website (this is   
   > fairly recent); the main licensing problem was that UW didn't like to see   
   > modified versions of Pine offered because of support/quality issues, the   
   > next version (called 'alpine' for the moment) will be on an open source   
   > license. Open source/free software obsessives didn't like the current   
   > license conditions so refused to include Pine in distributions.   
   >    
   > My point was that to get even such a simple program working well on Linux,   
   > you have to apply various patches then compile from source. This is not   
   > the way to support customers in the 21st C.!   
   >    
   > Linux apologists will point out that there are many email programs that   
   > can be used instead. Unfortunately most are unfinished and of poor   
   > quality, not what you want from an important resource. The whole Linux   
   > project suffers from dissipation of effort into too many channels. If it   
   > were better focused Linux could have captured the desktop OS market by   
   > now.   
   >    
   I would disagree with you, my friend.  Mozilla Thunderbird is an   
   excellent email program which also serves as a news reader.  If you add   
   the Lightning extension (there are dozens of different extensions by the   
   way) it also does calendaring.  And to top it all off, if you aren't   
   quite sure how it stacks up agains Microsoft Outlook (or is that   
   "Look-Out!"?) you can even install the Windows version and compare them   
   side by side.  And ease of installation?  With Ubuntu you only need type   
   "apt-get install mozilla-thunderbird" and it downloads, installs and   
   puts an icon in the menu for you.  Whew!  If only Windows were as easy!   
   --- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5   
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