I downloaded Ubuntu yesterday and loaded it on my laptop---
am using it to send this message!! I have a problem with the email program in
that I'm not able to enter a password; I have 3 emails and hate to have to go
back to windows to pick up my mail

I like Evolution. To set up mail accounts, select Edit/Preferences. The top
tab is Mail Accounts, and there are Add and Edit buttons.

When I was converting from Windows, I installed Thunderbird on my Windows system
in order to convert email from Outlook Express, then imported it into Evolution.

I thought I would give Evolution for windows a try. I now use
Thunderbird and wonder how to read my current thunderbird email
into evolution. Does it use the same file structure with inbox and
such.

There's a File/Import function. I have most of my archived mail split into
different folders, so I imported it one folder at a time.

But it doesn't recognize Thunderbird. Is TBird the same format as
Netscape? There isn't any export function in Tbird that I can find.
In Evolution I see the Import function but can't get it to work on
Tbird was my question.

it was two years ago, and I have forgotten the exact details. I ran
Thunderbird on Windows to get the emails from Outlook Express, then copied those
files to my new Ubuntu system, and imported them into Evolution. I don't
remember exporting from Thunderbird, but may have.

I wouldn't have converted to Ubuntu if I couldn't have brought over my email,
and my browser favorites. Both turned out to be simple.

There is no 9.4 version of Ubuntu. There is 9.04 and 9.10 and not 9.4 and
9.1. The decimal numbers refer to the months in which they were released
(April the fourth month and October the tenth month) and the number before
the decimal refers to the year. The next release will be 10.04 coming out in
April 2010. Just so you know.

Outlook is not an email programme. It is an integrated suite with contact
manager and calendar. Unless you really need Evolution most people install
and use Thunderbird, the Mozilla email client. It is cross platform and can
be used in both Windows and Linux. You can even copy your settings from one
machine to the other. Evolution would be a replacement for Outlook and
Thunderbird would be a replacement for Outlook Express or email only client.
Thunderbird is simpler to use and set up if all you want is email. You can
get it in the repositories.

If you really need to use the features of Evolution, then by all means use
it. It has a Windows version too. You can get a pdf of the manual for
Evolution here: projects.gnome.org/evolution/doc/evolution228.pdf.
Like many people who install Ubuntu I don't use Evolution, but I opt for
Thunderbird.

As regards Evolution I'm not into all the stuff that;s in it and
Will therefore install Thunderbird (if I can find how to :) )

To install Thunderbird, you can either

#1) go to a command prompt and type "apt-get install thunderbird"

or

#2) go to system->administration->synaptic package manager, search for
thunderbird, select it, right click to "mark for installation" and then
click the "apply" button.

Personally, I'm liking Thunderbird 3, but the default is Thunderbird 2
as 3 is still in beta.

#3 Applications / Ubuntu Software Centre / Internet / Mozilla Thunderbird

is the easiest way for us non hackers!

my system doesn't have that menu entry for some
reason. Maybe because I installed an alpha of 9.10 and have updated it
continuously since then, rather than doing a fresh install of 9.10 final.

its not all in the first menu,
how far did you get?

before 9.10 it wasnt called software centre,

but its better than windows the way you can choose
applications by type and description from different software sources-
the inner ring of totally kosher open source and canonical supported,
then community developed,
then restricted drivers
then copyrighted

I agree that Thunderbird 3 is better. I have been using it for awhile now
and it is ready for everyday use, IMO. However, you can't install it through
the regular repositories so will have to wait a bit.

I have installed Thunderbird all is well