With Mozilla Thunderbird development on ice for the last few months, there aren’t too many email alternatives. If you’re a consumer, you could use the old Outlook Express or the more recent Windows Mail. There’s also Live Mail. However, whilst we wait for the planned Thunderbird 3, there are few choices to rival Microsoft Outlook.

One possible alternative is the eM Client which looks like Outlook 2003, in the old pre-ribbon interface. In fact, it’s almost a clone, bar a few visual improvements to the calendar part of the user-interface and more. However, it’s free, so it’s worth considering if you want to implement an Outlook clone across your various workstations.

Getting started with eM Client is relatively easy as it will import your existing Outlook-based email. The calendar will support CalDAV which means you’ll be able to sync it with other calendars. For instance, support for synchronising with your Google calendar is planned, as well as storing and swapping your contact information.

It’s still in preview form, so perhaps not usable for everyday email. However, if you’re keen on finding something better than the current Thunderbird, but similar to Outlook, give it a go. There’s also a portable version available for flash drives.