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Email On Both the Desktop and the Laptop?

Posted by Cliff on from the shared-inbox dept.

RapterOfParadox asks: "I recently purchased a new laptop and have everything configured except for my e-mail. I've always liked having a single location where I know my e-mail is safe, secure and gets backed up automatically. If I've needed access to new messages then I use webmail, since I close down the email client when I leave the house. I'm currently using Outlook XP for my desktop and was thinking about using the same for my laptop. My only issue is that I'm a little weary about using only my laptop for storing e-mail, since it's a lot more likely to fail. I've been thinking about just synchronizing my Outlook data directories at login, or even using IMAP. Has anyone seen/bought/built an e-mail client that will allow me to have my main e-mail client on my desktop and then update my laptop e-mail client when ever I'm in range, or through a personal IMAP Server?"

60 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Just use IMAP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's not a big deal. I use IMAP at home, at work, and on my PDA. Everything works fine.

    1. Re:Just use IMAP by DeadSea · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Agreed. Just run IMAP on the server, leave all your mail on the server, and make sure the server gets backed up.

    2. Re:Just use IMAP by vitamine73 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Exactly, and if you want double protection for some important messages, just forward them (just those or all!) to a gmail account. You can set up filters to redirect mails from certain persons, or on certain subjects, or just everything, automatically!

    3. Re:Just use IMAP by syntax · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Seriously, this is the correct answer. I use IMAP from every computer I use. It's not nearly as flakey as past history might lead you to believe, it supports SSL, and just works. As a bonus, most webmail clients use IMAP as their back ends (beats having to manage mail spools yourself), so if you log into your webmail you get to see the exact same messages as on your desktop and laptop. Almost any serious mail provider offers it, and most actively encourage its use.

      All the other hackish suggestions offered don't concern you. IMAP does what you describe, and it's already built in and ready to use.

    4. Re:Just use IMAP by swillden · · Score: 1

      Agreed. Just run IMAP on the server, leave all your mail on the server, and make sure the server gets backed up.

      That's what I do with my personal e-mail, but what if the poster doesn't have control of the mail server? If your e-mail comes through an ISP and they don't offer IMAP, or you don't trust them to keep your e-mail (and for whatever reason can't change ISPs), then there might a reason to want to do this.

      One nice solution would be to run an IMAP server on the desktop machine, and use fetchmail to automatically pull mail from the ISP and deliver it to the IMAP server. Then you can just configure your mail clients to point at that personal IMAP server.

      I do something like that, actually. I work for IBM, so I'm supposed to use Lotus Notes for my e-mail. I hate Lotus Notes. Even worse, it's a pain to use on my Linux-only computers (including my company laptop). Sure, it runs under WINE, but not perfectly, and my Notes under WINE config seemed to break every few months. PITA.

      Some kind and enterprising soul in IBM hacked together a library that provides access to Notes databases, and someone else built a fetchmail-like tool for Notes called, obviously enough, fetchnotes. So, I have a cron job that downloads my Notes mail every minute and delivers it to a courier IMAP server, and I use KMail to get mail from there. On the rare cases I don't have my laptop, or can't find a way to connect it, there's also a sqwebmail instance on the server, so I can get my Notes through a browser.

      It works very well. I don't know what the options might be for setting up a similar fetchmail/IMAP system if you're on Windows, but I imagine there must be something similar.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    5. Re:Just use IMAP by booch · · Score: 2, Informative

      I'd recommend IMAPS (IMAP with SSL) for a secure connection between your client and server. And a webmail client that accesses the IMAPS server as well. Whether you should do it yourself or subscribe to a service depends on how much time you want to spend setting it up (assuming you have the skills to do so -- it's not trivial).

      --
      Software sucks. Open Source sucks less.
    6. Re:Just use IMAP by Clover_Kicker · · Score: 1

      > That's what I do with my personal e-mail, but what if the
      > poster doesn't have control of the mail server?

      Roll your own. My pentium 233 is waaay overpowered as a mailserver/fileserver.

    7. Re:Just use IMAP by tacocat · · Score: 1

      I'm sorry but I have to disagree with that comment that most webmail servers use IMAP as a backend.

      Only a few of them do. It's much more difficult to create an IMAP based webmail application than it is to create a file based one. One of the biggest difficulties that I've run into so far is managing performance to it stays sane. There are a lot of things that IMAP servers do that filesystems don't and similarly a lot things that you have to account for in IMAP that you just don't have to worry about with file systems.

    8. Re:Just use IMAP by Anml4ixoye · · Score: 1

      I was also thinking they could roll their own, but if they can't, what I do is set my POP clients to only delete mail after 3 days, and run it on both my laptop and desktop. Since my home computer is up 24/7, it always has a chance, and I just make sure to fire up my laptop once every 3 days at least (which isn't a problem as I use it for work too).

      --
      Random Musings
    9. Re:Just use IMAP by cloudmaster · · Score: 1

      If you don't trust your ISP to store your email for privacy reasons, you have bigger problems than merely synchronising email between two machines. If you don't trust them for backup reasons, then just set one of the machines (or both) to download the full messages locally. Most default to just getting headers, but it's pretty trivial to get all the mail locally, to set up a filter which auto-copies mail to local folders, etc. But really, just doing periodic backups fo the imap stuff (copy everything to a local folder) shoudl be adequate if the ISP doesn't suck. If the ISP does suck, well, it's time to move on. Email's too important now to leave to a suck-ass ISP.

    10. Re:Just use IMAP by tigersha · · Score: 1

      I use a similar setup. You can run a Notes server as a IMAP server and I simply use fetchmail to pull some Notes db into an local server. Our spam filter runs like that, the people have a script in their mail template to dump any spams into a central mail file. This is setup as an IMAP mailbox (in Notes) and I use fetchmail to pull the contents of that mailbox and feed it to our postfix/spamassassin mail forwading edge machine. Works very well.

      Please tell me about that fetchnotes thingamajig, that might interest me.

      --
      The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism
    11. Re:Just use IMAP by swillden · · Score: 1

      Please tell me about that fetchnotes thingamajig, that might interest me.

      It's just like fetchmail, except that it pulls mail from a Notes server via the Notes protocol. Then, of course, it delivers the mail to an SMTP server. I have a cron job that runs every minute and tests to see if I currently have access to the IBM network (by pinging an internal IP address) and if so runs fetchnotes, which delivers the e-mail to a postfix instance running on my laptop, which drops them in a Maildir in my home directory. I find it's a much better solution than Notes. Not only are Kmail, Thunderbird and Evolution better e-mail clients than Notes, but I find I both receive and send e-mail faster than if I use Notes. Plus, for someone with a Linux desktop, it's really nice not to have to mess with VMWare or WINE just to read e-mail.

      Unfortunately, if you're not an IBM employee, this may not do you much good. The tool is distributed on an IBM-internal Sourceforge site.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
  2. Gmail and pop by HughsOnFirst · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Get a Gmail account, redirect all your mail to it, and fetch it from Gmail with a pop client

    1. Re:Gmail and pop by gatzke · · Score: 1


      I pop my mail to my desktop (download it there and back it up).

      I use a web based client on my laptop or while out of the office.

      I used to also pop but leave messages on the server from desktop at home and laptop. That works ok, but web clients are now pretty good.

      If you want all your mail with you, rsync your nsmail directory to your laptop.

    2. Re:Gmail and pop by rider_prider · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This is what I do, it's just really easy, low maintenance and dependable. Also I am 100% sure google does a better job of uptime and backup than I will ever have time to do. Oh, and if I am really concerned about privacy, I encrypt, which is what I do regardless of whether the file I feel is sensitive is on my server or someone elses...

  3. Simple but effective solution by eagl · · Score: 1

    Call me simple, but I use outlook express and just copy off my .dbx files every once in a while. Any geek should be able to automate the copying of the files, and windows doesn't get all weird over the .dbx files like it does about open .pst files.

    Here's a trivial way to do it -

    Create a script that you call to open OE. The script first makes a directory that includes a time/datestamp, then copies the contents of your mail identity directory to that folder. Then it opens OE just like usual.

    Simple and effective. All you have to remember to do is delete the old folders before you run out of drive space. Sure it would take a while if you keep a ton of email around, but it's just a simple example of how to automate the backup of the .dbx files.

  4. IMAP Webmail by DrSkwid · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://fastmail.fm/

    I use it from my latop / desktop / web browser / Nokia 6600
    etc. etc.

    --
    There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
    1. Re:IMAP Webmail by egarland · · Score: 1

      I run my own IMAP server from my home server attached to a cable modem. The mail is stored on a RAID5 array and backed up nightly to a separate drive. I then run IMAP clients some saving a local copy, some not. I could setup a webmail server but personally I think a web browser is a horrible application for reading mail, an email client like Thunderbird is much better suited so I don't bother.

      I then have all my e-mail delivered to this computer. It may sound like more work than it's worth but I have all my emails back to 1996 online all the time and nobody bugs me about being over-quota.

      I think everyone should have a server like this.

      --
      set softtabstop=4 shiftwidth=4 expandtab nocp worlddomination
    2. Re:IMAP Webmail by DrSkwid · · Score: 1

      my computers don't stay built for long enough for that.

      I don't see the point of 10 years of email, personally.

      A quota means I have to clear out.

      Web browser is no less rich, all you need is a tree control and a text area.

      --
      There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
    3. Re:IMAP Webmail by Xenna · · Score: 1

      Yeah Fastmail. I've been using it for almost 2 years and I'm very happy with it. It has a huge amount of filtering archiving, personality, domains, etc. etc. features. The webmail client is great in its simplicity (no graphics at all). Running your own IMAP server is fine and I did that for years before that, but it's also too big a hassle (esp. the backups).

      OTOH, don't trust FM too much. Two weeks ago their main server (the big expensive one that housed most of their 'enhanced' clients) and it took them THREE DAYS to recover from backups.

      Since then I run a Gmail account in parallel (mail is forwarded to both fastmail & gmail). I hate Gmail 'cause it doesn't do IMAP, but as a backup for Fastmail it's almost perfect.

      X.

  5. one of the many solutions by Beatbyte · · Score: 2, Informative

    leave a copy of the messages on the server and have both the workstation and laptop check them. set them to delete the messages after 7-10 days or whatever time period you think would be sufficient for both places to check the mail.

    --
    Get paid to code OSS
  6. Leave messages on server? by Qazimov · · Score: 1

    May be overly simplistic, but how about you set your laptop to simply leave messages on the server? When on the road, you can read your new mail - but the message remains on your server so when you connect from home you can still see those same messages. This obviously wouldn't help with sent items, but at least gets you messages at both locations so you don't have to worry about losing data if it is only stored on one machine. For my work e-mail - I have my office machine leave messages on the server for 7 days, at home it has no deletion rule. I can leave both online all the time but still get all messages at either location with backups being performed on the work machine.

  7. Wow, how over complicated. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Come on people! There is a protocol to take care of this, it exists in every major email program, and is offered by every major ISP. It's called IMAP, and does exactly what the poster requested, and doesn't require any more work than clicking a different protocol on a drop down menu.

    What's next on ask slashdot? "I want to transfer web pages over an encrypted connection!"
    Replies: Setup a cgi wrapper script to encrypt all traffic over `openssl`. Setup another daemon to manage public key exchange, and then write a Firefox extension to do the key exchange and decrypt on the fly!

  8. Well, what do you expect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    From an Outlook Express user?

  9. Gmail/POP/IMAP by ErisCalmsme · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I use a combo of things to keep my mail in line. For my work and blog email I use IMAP since it's available. For my mailing lists I use gmail and pop it on my zaurus (running OpenBSD) via fetchmail, leaving messages on the server. This way gmail keeps a nice searchable archive for me, and thanks to procmail I have everything I decide to keep in folders on my zaurus. I can delete everything from my z if I want to and just keep items that are useful to me at the moment. I'm usually in a place where I can plug the z in and shell into it and use mutt from there (the cute little keyboard novelty wears off after about 10 minutes of reading mail). It might seem like extra work, but it's really convenient to have things on the pda so when I go I have the stuff in my pocket. Mutt handles my IMAP stuff well, and mstmtp is great for sending mail from multiple accounts (including gmail). After a while of hating the fact that I actually use 5 different email addresses, I've finally come to a point where it's managable. The best part is that I leave the pda fetching overnight so I can read the mail when I'm riding the subway to work in the morning.

    --
    Chaos is Divine *
  10. Ummm by Apreche · · Score: 1

    If you are using POP there should be a box so that you don't delete your mail from the server after you download it. If you use IMAP this is the default. I don't see what the problem here is. You keep all your messages on the server and your client just checks to see what's there. Your computer be it laptop or desktop is not the place for e-mail to be stored, the server is. If your e-mail server is not backed up you have worse problems. If you're super worried, get gmail.

    --
    The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
  11. Imap is the way to go by CAPSLOCK2000 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Your IMAP suggestion is the way to go.
    Here's the recipe:

    use fetchmail to get your mail from all the mail accounts you might have,
    use spamassassin to check your mail for spam,
    use clamav to check for virusses (if you are on Windows, like you are),
    use procmail to filter the mail to seperate folders,
    set up imap so you can read the mail from any mailclient without removing it from the server,
    install some kind of webmail so you can reach your mail from internet-kiosks and other places with browser-only access.
    Finally, BACK IT UP! Bacula is quite good.

    1. Re:Imap is the way to go by Penguin+Programmer · · Score: 1

      Agreed. I just can't understand how or why anyone uses POP at all. It's an absolutely stupid idea, and completely defeats the purpose of email in my opinion.

      Now if only I could convince the higher-ups at work that IMAP is the way to go. I think with the viruses floating around this week I might have some leverage.

    2. Re:Imap is the way to go by anticypher · · Score: 1

      Almost exactly the setup I have at home.

      Fetchmail for the dozens of remote/old accounts I have
      Spamassassin as the milter
      No clamav, since I don't have any windoze machines that look at email
      Procmail to sort all the mailing lists, client email from personal, etc.
      Dovecot as the IMAP server. The alpha code was quite broken until recently, but they've started to fix the worst bugs and SSL support works again. External access is only IMAPS with preshared keys on my laptop and a couple of work machines. Internally I can do IMAP but rarely do. I have a mix of mbox and maildir users on my main server, it supports both quite well
      Imp for a web front end (available only through HTTPS), and I'm now looking at other packages

      Main storage is currently a sparc solaris box, but I'm testing different small NAS boxes with DVD-RAM drives for archiving. The server will probably end up a Mac Mini with a firewire attached Raid box with a DVD-RAM and some applescripts to fire off regular backups. There is also an rsync backup to a server in a data centre, for those times my home network is completely offline.

      On the client end, I can use just about anything, usually thunderbird. Sometimes I find myself on a client site with only a windoze machine, and I can configure lookout to IMAPS home. For those rare times I only have a browser, I have a webmail front end.

      the AC

      --
      Hemos is like...sci-fi fans;he thinks technology is cool, but he hasn't bothered to understand the science it's based on
    3. Re:Imap is the way to go by mabinogi · · Score: 1

      Yup, that's pretty much exactly how I had things in the past -

      fecthmail -> cyrus IMAP, backed up by bacula.
      I used Sieve for filtering though, and my email had already passed through spamassassin before the fetchmail stage.

      Now I've changed the setup a bit, since I've moved my mail server to my dedicated hosting machine, and run the MTA myself -

      I use postfix + spamassassin + amavis, which deliver to Cyrus IMAPd, filtering is done via Sieve again, and I use Squirrelmail for web access, which has an excellent Sieve plugin. I use Webcyradmin to manage users, mailboxes and aliases.
      And again, it's all backed up by bacula.

      --
      Advanced users are users too!
  12. Laptop and Home Computer by liqnitro · · Score: 1

    I know what the poster means, for a long time I did not have usefull mail on my laptop, I consider being able to view the mail I sent someone a crucial feature of email. Blame it on my isp, they dont offer an imap option. But recently when I was setting up a linux box for my website I installed an imap server for keeping my mail. For those that dont know imap differs from a pop server in that instead of the email client keeping all the mail on the client computer the imap server keeps the email on the server, so that any client can access the email. Bundled with fetchmail, to forward my old pop account to my new email at my domain, and Squirrell, a web mail client in case Im not on my own machine, its the perfect combo. Here is a link to a HOWTO. This guy set up his email system nearly identical to mine. Good Luck!

  13. Cached Exchange mode & Google by duffbeer703 · · Score: 1

    I have a similar setup with Office 2003.

    My desktop is the "home base" for all of my email, but I connect my laptop daily to sync my exchange mailbox. Then when I'm on the road my mailbox is cached on the laptop.

    I have a 500MB email quota, and backup older stuff to PST files on my desktop. Google Desktop makes that easy by storing a cache of the emails in its index.

    --
    Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
  14. Remote Desktop by jelevy01 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Really easy, really simple. Just use remote desktop and connect back to your home machine. I have been doing this for years and works fantastic. Not to mention it's an easy way to bypass any corporate website blocking too..

    1. Re:Remote Desktop by demongp · · Score: 1

      Not to mention it's an easy way to bypass any corporate website blocking too..
      I really do apologize if i am being a total noob here - but afaik most companies will block just about all outgoing ports at the firewall - which means you won't be able to use Remote Desktop as it doesn't travel over port 80, but over port 443? Unless there is a way to tunnel this over HTTP - in which case would you please point me in the direction of some links that I can peruse?
    2. Re:Remote Desktop by gumpish · · Score: 1

      You can change the port RDP listens on via a registry key.

      http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb; en-us;555031

  15. even using IMAP? by croddy · · Score: 1

    I dunno, can it be done? Way to shoot for the moon!

  16. Simplisity by Hinkey · · Score: 1

    Everyone is missing the most simple option, tell the client on the laptop never to delete messages on the server, so that way, even if you check your messages o nthe laptop durring the day you can still grab them on the desktop when you get home.

    --
    -=Hinkey=-
  17. USB thumb drive by log0 · · Score: 1

    If it were me, I'd keep my mailbox on a USB drive and physically move it between each machine.

    Maybe I'm still stuck in the 56K mindset (avoid using bandwidth at all costs) though.

    1. Re:USB thumb drive by Nutria · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If it were me, I'd keep my mailbox on a USB drive and physically move it between each machine.

      Now that's a clever idea.

      Better encrypt it, though, since those things get lost easy.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
  18. Server options by dtfinch · · Score: 1

    [*] Leave copy of mail on server.
    Delete after [ x ] days.

  19. IMAP by countach · · Score: 1


    I prefer to just use IMAP and access it on the server. But if you really want to have it on the laptop without a net connection, look up the "cp" command under Unix. Yep, just copy the mail files to the laptop. Assumes you have control of the server, but that is a given in the question, so go to it!

  20. Leave SENT on server too by Chris+Pimlott · · Score: 1

    Most email clients will let you specify a remote folder as a destination for your sent mail. I haven't had any problem doing it in Thunderbird.

  21. Rocket Science! by fm6 · · Score: 1
    Has anyone seen/bought/built an e-mail client that will allow me to have my main e-mail client on my desktop and then update my laptop e-mail client when ever I'm in range, or through a personal IMAP Server?"
    Jeez, how hard did you look? Any email client that supports both IMAP and "offline mode" will do that. I use Thunderbird, but I'm sure there are others.
    1. Re:Rocket Science! by Manuka · · Score: 1

      The only problem I have with IMAP and T-bird on multiple machines is keeping the settings and filters in synch from one client to the next.

  22. Ever hear of IMAP? by CaptainTux · · Score: 1

    nt

    --
    Anthony Papillion
    Advanced Data Concepts, Inc.
    "Quality Custom Software and IT Services"
  23. I configured my laptop to check the mail but ... by Thatto · · Score: 1

    leave them on the server. My home machine grabs mail once a day( 1am ) and deletes it from the server. That way, when I am away from home, my lappy will catch the new mail, but my home machine will archive it. If by chance there the home machine catches an important message, its a trivial task to get at it.
    The only problem I could see with this scheme is organizing sent mail. I rarely use the home machine for anything other than file server and backup tasks so this isnt a problem for me.

  24. You stated your own solution by chivo243 · · Score: 1

    You had used a web client, keep doing it if you need piece of mind that your mail is where you know it should be. If you had given more info about 'the' mail server and who hosts it, if you have any quotas to live with, I might have more to say....

    --
    Sig Hansen?
  25. IMAP by tacocat · · Score: 1

    I've been running IMAP for years and just finished writing my own variant of a webmail server in Perl. Just couldn't find what I wanted in PHP and this runs really fast.

    But IMAP works great. This isn't new. It's overdue.

  26. I have the reverse problem! by CommanderData · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I have used nothing but a long stream of laptops since the mid 90's. Never owned a desktop until I bought one this fall. Originally I used Netscape for browsing and e-mail (v2.0 - v4), and later moved to Eudora (to avoid the perils of Outlook).

    With every new laptop purchase I transfer my mailboxes and data from Eudora to the new one. No problem there. My problem comes when I want to check e-mail across these two machines- Eudora obviously supports it, but I do not have IMAP available for my e-mail server.

    What to do then? I may take the laptop and be on the road for several weeks, but I want all incoming and outgoing mail synchronized between it and my new desktop. Ideas other than "find a new e-mail provider" are appreciated. :)

    --
    Urge to post... fading... fading... RISING!... fading... fading... gone.
    1. Re:I have the reverse problem! by MoonBuggy · · Score: 1

      Grab all the mail using whatever protocol you like on the desktop machine, set up an IMAP server on that desktop and then access it remotely from the laptop when needed. Essentially you'd be using the desktop as a proxy for the laptop, meaning they should always stay in synch.

  27. Configure Outlook to leave messages on the server. by serialdj · · Score: 1

    When creating your email account in Outlook on your laptop configure it to leave messages on the server that way when your desktop goes to download the messages afterwards they are still housed on the server.

  28. Obligatory off-topic spelling flame ;-) by Sheridan · · Score: 2, Funny
    My only issue is that I'm a little weary about using only my laptop for storing e-mail, since it's a lot more likely to fail.
    but why does "using only your laptop for storing e-mail" make you tired?

    Note that, in accordance with a long tradition of posts pointing out spelling errors, this post has not been previewed in the hope that it will then contain at least one spelling error.
    --
    I know what you're thinking, but I am not a nut-bag. -- Millroy the Magician

  29. buy an SBS box by way2trivial · · Score: 1

    they are fun.. I'm running one now for less than two months

    outlook web access, remote desktop, outlook over http.. leave it at home, get it anywhere!

    (remote desktop alone works wonders as well-- no purchase beyond XP pro on home machine necassary)

    --
    every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
  30. Imap + Vpn by nurb432 · · Score: 1

    Setup a local IMAP server at home. Have a local POP client collect your mail for you at the house, then VPN or SSH+port forward back home to read it.

    If you use windows, Mercury32 works great. If you use *nix, there are TONS of options.

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  31. Re:I configured my laptop to check the mail but .. by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 1

    Tell both machines to leave copies, and delete after two days. That way, both get everything, but the mailbox doesn't clog up.

    --
    Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
  32. gmail?? by ripnet · · Score: 1

    I switched from desktop email software (Outlook Express) to gmail for exactly this reason. Can access same inbox from work, home, mobile phone and laptop, and even internet cafe should I want to g

  33. Outlook not so good by dbIII · · Score: 1
    Call me simple, but I use outlook express
    Not simple, just uninformed. A lot of things can corrupt those *.dbx files, enven something as simple as letting one of them grow above 2GB - and then someone with a clue has to spend a lot of time recovering your mail.

    Almost every other email program in existance uses a portable mail format - use one of those and not just the free add-on that came with MS Windows or the more complicated free add-on that came with MS Office.

  34. Options by NateTech · · Score: 1

    IMAP on your own server.

    POP3 clients that can "leave mail on server".

    Something like gmail (if you trust them to keep your mail safe and never disappear)

    A service like GoToMyPC.

    There's about a million ways to do what you're looking to do. It's almost too easy.

    --
    +++OK ATH
  35. Ditto. by WoTG · · Score: 1

    I've recommended this type of setup for many people over the last few years. If your mail host also supports webmail, you get the added bonus of access via web.

  36. Courier-IMAP, offlineimap, squirrelmail by jeffroe · · Score: 1

    I currently use Courier-IMAP on my mailserver and offlineimap to synchronize my linux desktop machine with the imap server. I then use a version of pine I patched to work with Maildir instead of Mbox, and also have squirrelmail running on the mailserver for web based access. On my Windows machine, I use Outlook with IMAP and everything stays magically in sync. With offlineimap, I sync my inbox, sent-mail, and a few other commonly used folders every 5 minutes and the rest of them every hour. It works well.