(apologies in advance if this isn’t the right community for this question)
I’ve been flirting with Linux on and off for about 15 years and I think I’m ready to make the switch mostly full-time. I use a laptop for work and have a Microsoft 365 plan with email and such. I need to replace that with something Linux-friendly and would much prefer something that works with a desktop email client. Easy syncing of email, contacts and calendar to Android is a must.
Proton seems like it might be a good option but the privacy features aren’t a huge selling point for me so I’m open to other options!
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Lol wut. Use Thunderbird. We rolled that out to everyone at work.
If you don’t mind self-hosting stuff, nextcloud with davx5 could be a great choice.
If you’re (going to continue) using Office 365, you can use Evolution as an Outlook replacement. Evolution EWS rides OWA and ActiveSync protocols to give you email, calendars, contacts, notes, etc. I’ve used it for over a decade. It works very well once setup.
As for Android, there are several, including Outlook for Android (which is bloated and slow, being a Microsoft product), which I am forced to use because of our company SSO config.
If you’re looking for an Office 365 replacement, I use Nextcloud for my personal stuff. It has files, contacts, calendars, notes, etc. If you install the OnlyOffice plugin, you get multi-user online document and spreadsheet editing. I use the DAVx5 connector to get (shared and personal) contacts, calendars, and tasks in my Android phone. It integrates into the environment so all calendars and contacts apps work automatically. It also automatically backs up pics/vids I take with my phone automatically.
Just in case you don’t know, you can use those Microsoft services no problem in Linux through a web browser. You can also “install” them since they’re PWAs and integrate them with your system notifications.
There’s also Thunderbird from Mozilla, and the open source fork Betterbird that has a far more modern appearance and options. That will work easily with your existing Microsoft email.
I’m by no means encouraging that you stay on Microsoft, but moving to Linux AND changing providers for important stuff like email and calendar might be a lot all at once.
I’m by no means encouraging that you stay on Microsoft, but moving to Linux AND changing providers for important stuff like email and calendar might be a lot all at once.
i agree, i encourage you to try others systems, but it’s a different OS, it work differently, so take it slow, try in a VM, to try apps, them make a dual boot, so you still have windows there while you learn
Good advice - I should have clarified that I’m already doing this. I’ve been dual-booting PopOS for a while and using webmail Outlook. I hardly ever log in to Windows anymore. OneDrive is unusable in Linux so I’m going to use Nextcloud instead; after that I just need to replace the email system.
OneDrive is unusable in Linux
Look into rclone mounts, assuming your org allows you to use rclone with OneDrive and SharePoint Online.
There’s also this open source, and commercial client, but I haven’t used them myself.
OneDrive is unusable in Linux
OneDrive works better in Linux than in Windows with the open-source client. Takes up almost zero memory or resources, downloads files quicker than the Windows client. Only doesn’t have the “on demand” functionality but that often didn’t work properly in Windows either.
