[Evolution] Slow response

[Peter Saffrey <pzs dcs gla ac uk>]

I've just moved back to Ubuntu after a year working in Windows. I've
been managing my mail, which resides on a MS Exchange server, using
Outlook and Outlook Web Access. Now I'm back on Linux, I decided I would
try using Evolution, since it seems to be the Ubuntu default.

I entered the details through the wizard and lo and behold, there were
all my old folders and contacts. Hurrah. However, actually accessing the
contents is extremely slow. When I click on a folder for the first time,
it says "Scanning for changed messages" and then "Fetching summary
information for new messages". Each stage takes several minutes for each
folder, even though these folders have not changed since I last looked
at them. If I hit "send/receive" it goes through *all* the folders,
which takes about half an hour, even though I'm not actually looking at
the messages. My network monitor occasionally spikes as it does
something, but the rest of the time it seems to be idle. 

It's pretty much the same with looking at a new message or moving a
message from one box to another - both take several minutes. It's not
the server being slow, because it works fine when I use the old webmail.

It's a real pity, because I prefer Evolution's interface and features
over Outlook. However, when a new message arrives, I click on it and it
takes 2 minutes to open, even though the message is only 3 lines of
text, this is not a 21st century Email tool.

Any ideas?

Peter