On my computer (unfortunately) I’ve always had a dual boot setup. For my email, calendar, and contact management Thunderbird was my favorite pick. Was until I had a closer look at Evolution.

Why have I now switched?

1) Thunderbird is email and contacts only, so there is the need to install Lightning or Sunbird to get calendar and tasks functionality. With Evolution, everything is already packaged, more convenient for me.

2) Syncing Evolution with webservices is very easy! I have integrated my GMail (in IMAP), GCalendar, RememberTheMilk (1-way syncing), and Google’s contacts. Just go through the options of creating a new Calendar, Task List, Address Book, etc. and choose where you information is placed on the web.

Important note, unlike some other reviews that I heard, Evolution handles GMail’s IMAP just as well as Thunderbird.

3) Integration with my desktop: Gnome’s clock applet will show you not only day, time, and weather information, it’ll also show you any events you have in Evolution. Plus, sending files through email is easy with “Send to…” options inside Gnome.

4) Palm syncing, yes I still have a Palm… I’m currently using my Palm more like an ebook reader, but if I ever wanted to sync my email, contact, calendar, and task list, I can do it with Evolution (absolutely not with Thunderbird).

I realize some of the above functions are still from plug-ins that Evolution has, but being convenient by bundling these plug-ins saves me time. Less setup time with same (and even a bit more) functionality has now made Evolution my favorite office tool.