Migrating Outlook Express's inbox

The days are starting to look numbered for Outlook Express, Microsoft's slimmed-down email client. (Why do they call email programs 'clients'?) It was not added into the Vista suite of programs, and neither is it be in Windows 7. You either buy the full Outlook program, or use one of the many free email clients, like Thunderbird, which is what I use at home. But I still use Express at work, because I like its simple interface, even if it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of its big brother (most of which I find a distraction). So if you are planning to switch, how do you migrate the contents of your Outlook Express inbox? If you switch to Thunderbird, the latter walks you through a simple process. If you switch to Outlook, it's a bit more complicated, but PC World has a good description here.

Backing up email data

If you do one manual back-ups of your data files, one of the most difficult and yet most critical tasks is backing up your email system : address books, correspondence, attachments, etc, etc. But where do you find the files? Unfortunately, they can be located in a number of different places, depending on which version of Windows your use.
If you use Firefox and Thunderbird, some really helpful tips are in this article by Gizmo, at TechAlert. (I would really recommend printing this out.)
If you use Outlook, this article will explain the procedures for 2000, 2003 and 2007 versions, as well as for Outlook Express. I do like the nice people who write all this helpful stuff!