C H A P T E R 14 Communicating with Others Being online is all about staying in touch, and Ubuntu is no slouch in this regard. Ubuntu offers a wide range of applications, including a full-featured e-mail program, called Evolution, as well as an instant messaging client called Empathy, which allows you to connect to the most popular instant messaging sites, such as GTalk and MSN. You can install a Skype client that allows you to connect to the popular service to make voice and video calls to other Skype users or to telephones; and you can install an open source alternative to Skype called Ekiga. Introducing Evolution Evolution is considered the "official" GNOME desktop e-mail program, and the Evolution interface retains the same look and feel as many elements of the Ubuntu desktop. Evolution is similar to Microsoft Outlook: in addition to being a powerful e-mail client, it incorporates contact management, a calendar, a to-do list, and a memo function. It is a first-class business tool. Evolution is even able to connect to Microsoft Exchange (2000 and later) groupware servers and synchronize with contact and calendar data, in addition to fetching e-mail. Of course, it can also connect to standard POP3/SMTP e-mail servers, as well as IMAP, Novell GroupMail, and a handful of other mail server technologies. This means it is compatible with practically every e-mail system in common use today. Evolution consists of five components: Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Memos, and Tasks. These are interconnected but operate as separate modes within the program. Each mode can be selected by using the switcher located at the bottom-left side of the program window. Simply click the button for the mode you wish to use. The program window, toolbar, and menu system will change to accommodate whichever mode is selected. Figure 14-1 shows the program in the default Mail mode. Tip You can shrink the switcher component to small icons or even just text buttons by selecting from the choices on the View Switcher Appearance submenu. 309