(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!

  • abraham_linksys@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    33
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • cygnus@lemmy.caOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      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.

      • krnl386@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        1 year ago

        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.

        • cygnus@lemmy.caOP
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          5
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          I looked into these but the “on demand” functionality is missing; I don’t want to download the entire OneDrive contents to my laptop or have to manually sync and unsync folders. Nextcloud does have that feature.

          • abraham_linksys@sh.itjust.works
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            1 year ago

            Nextcloud is awesome. I work in cloud engineering and we’re implementing them for a client right now. So many cool extensions, and everything open source

          • krnl386@lemmy.ca
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            1 year ago

            rclone mounts don’t download anything; they cache “hot” data, and you can tweak that behaviour.

            • cygnus@lemmy.caOP
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              That sounds like it’s beyond my current proficiency level – I’m willing to put in some work to de-Google/Microsoft myself, but still want something that “just works”.

        • holland@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          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.

    • Vilian@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      1 year ago

      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

  • Synestine@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    18
    ·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • cygnus@lemmy.caOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      1 year ago

      This is great, thank you. I don’t see a compelling reason to keep using MS email if I’m ditching the Office apps and OneDrive, so in my case it’ll be all or nothing. This is the second recommendation here for OnlyOffice; I’ve been using LibreOffice but might have to give that a shot.

      • Synestine@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        If you’re replacing all of O365 (excellent choice, BTW), I do recommend Nextcloud with a few plugins. I use it specifically for sharing contacts and calendars among my family.

        LibreOffice is my desktop word processor and spreadsheet, and I use it more than OnlyOffice, but if you need two people in the same file at the same time, OnlyOffice is a better option.

    • bahmanm@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      Evolution (with Gnome) is pretty great! Smooth integration with both Google and Microsoft accounts with a decent UI.

  • sat012e@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    15
    ·
    1 year ago

    I’ve been on Linux desktop (Mint) for over a decade now. My company uses O365 for email, as did the organization before them.

    I use Thunderbird with several add-ons: Mailbox Alert, Owl for Exchange (paid), Provider for Exchange ActiveSync, and TbSync. I honestly couldn’t tell you which one or ones I find most useful - it’s been so long since I’ve installed them, I don’t remember which addon provides which functionality. My most recent install was Owl, for calendaring and because things got a wee bit fucky with O365 servers for a week or two last year. I have Thunderbird set to collect addresses when I reply to users. You can have it query AD for contacts, I think, but it tends to be a wee bit slow.

    On my Android phone, I use the default Google Calendar app, and the Gmail app to query O365.

    • cygnus@lemmy.caOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Wow this seems like a far better deal than Proton, Tutanota etc. Do you use their service?

      • harl3k1n@feddit.de
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        I do. Only on Android though. I’m not sure how well the cloud drive integrates with Linux DEs.

        • cygnus@lemmy.caOP
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          How is the deliverability? Do you have any issues with it going to people’s spam folder?

          • harl3k1n@feddit.de
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            I haven’t had any issues yet with my @etik.com address. However, I only use it privately, not for business.

    • cygnus@lemmy.caOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      I have, and I’ll probably use it - I just need a replacement for the email provider.

        • cygnus@lemmy.caOP
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          I’ve read mixed feedback on deliverability with Zoho. As this is for work, I don’t want my emails going into clients’ spam folder.

          • Engywuck@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            1 year ago

            I didn’t personally experience any kind of problem during all the time I have used them on a free tier (more than 6-7 years, for sure).

      • planish@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        You could try Google. Most big email and calendar apps will support their nonstandard login flow.

  • excitingburp@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Fastmail is well-regarded, although they are hosted in Australia (which has some really dumb privacy laws). I use them. There’s an import tool.

    If you are privacy paranoid, mailfence is hosted in Belgium, which is a brick wall when it comes to privacy and warrants - likely the best jurisdiction in the world in this regard. The interface is dated.

  • _edge@discuss.tchncs.de
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Google Mail/Calender/Workspace or what it’s called. Works perfectly in a web browser and you can connect Thunderbird or Evolution. Most people who use Linux professionally are on Google. And most other people, too. Microsoft is a niche player unless you are locked in.

    You can add self-hosted and open-source stuff anytime, but you’ll need good email and calender that plays nice with the outside world, so Google. Maybe something like mailbox.org. Maybe you ISP’s email + Thunderbird + nextcloud + K9 on Android will do, but you do not want to self-host or experiment with email if your business relies on it.

    Nextcloud works fine for internal file exchange (but so does google drive), internal calendar, many apps on top of it. It even has a web-based mail client, but personally I would not use this is as my primary business email unless you are a hosting pro.

  • priapus@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Thunderbird should be good for all of those, especially with the new interface. I’ve used it with Microsoft Exchange emails as previous jobs and it always worked well, but I also never did anything advanced.

    I think they’re planning to release a mobile app as well, but for now I recommend K9 mail which they sponsor. It should all sync if you add the accounts on android.