Posted: 11-Apr-2001
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3 out of 5 Mice |
Vendor: Microsoft | Type: COMMERCIAL |
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Reviewer: Bill Catambay | Class: WINDOWS |
Outlook 2000 is a commercial e-mail
client for Windows, providing e-mail functionality, note keeping, journals, calendars,
and more. It's a solid product which supports both POP and IMAP e-mail servers.
As just an e-mail client, Outlook 2000 does not offer a whole lot over Outlook Express,
Microsoft's free e-mail client. After using both Outlook 2000 and Outlook Express,
if all you are after is a simple e-mail client, there is no compelling reason to
pay for Outlook 2000 when you can get Outlook Express for free. Outlook 2000 does
have a slightly snazzier interface, with expanding and animated menus; on the other
hand, these extra features may not be welcome by some users. Animations can get
old after the initial "cool" period wears down, and the expanding menus
I found a bit jarring. Expanding menus are menus that initially display only primary
functions of the menu with a double arrow at the bottom which allows you to expand
the menu to include other functions as well. Personally, I would prefer to have
the menu be stable, and always show all the items available.
The address book portion of Outlook 2000 sports a lot more features than Outlook
Express, including a roll-ex type alphebet tab column for quickly finding names.
As nifty as that may seem, I didn't find it to be something I really needed. The
only real feature that I really liked in Outlook 2000 that is not present in Outlook
Express is the Calendar. This allows you to set meetings, appointments, and other
date-related functions, which could be quite handy for the person who is always on
the go. Whether it is enough to push you into buying Outlook 2000 probably varies
with each user. Some may already have other utilities which perform this function,
but having it integrated into your e-mail client is a plus.
One thing I didn't like about Outlook 2000 is a small feature which is also lacking
in Outlook Express: the ability to quote text on replies with your response entered
below the quote. For the internet savvy, this is a standard which has been in existence
for years, and even the Eudora e-mail client supports it. For some reason, Microsoft
chooses not to. While there are times that having a long history can be considered
an advantage, there are also times where it is not. The problem with always putting
the quoted text at the end is that it encourages users to let the history build.
After 20 exchanges, you could have an e-mail with the history of every exchange
lasting for pages and pages. This can be considered a waste of bandwidth, but more
importantly, it wreaks havoc on mailing lists (especally those in digest mode).
Both Eudora and AOL (amazingly enough) support the feature where you can highlight
the actual text you want to reply to, and in the reply that text is quoted above
where you input your reply. Outlook 2000 desparately needs to include this as an
option.
Pros
- Solid and stable product
- Allows windows to be moved outside of the application window
- Useful Calendar integration
Cons
- Does not offer a lot of useful functionality over the free Outlook Express
- Does not support selective text replies with the option to have replies entered below quoted text
Overall, Outlook 2000 is a solid e-mail client, one of the best out there. Whether
it is worth the cost depends on how much you need the Calendar integration. You
may be better off with Outlook Express or Eudora.
Rating: 3
out of 5 Mice