Microsoft Office 2008, part 2: Entourage

While Apple Mail loads in a glimpse of an eye, Entourage feels the need to show you off it’s brand new splash screens for a couple of seconds…

Well, after a first look at Entourage, I told myself “why is it so complicated?”, look at all those buttons, columns, text, icons.. It’s for me impossible to talk about Entourage without comparing it to Apple Mail…

After a few clicks, you notice the usual stuffs: it has its own address book, it has its own calendar and “new” it has its own todos!!! While… Mail is 100% integrated to OS X’s default applications: address book and iCal…

Entourage comes with a catastrophic design little bundled application called MyDay… It is supposed to show you your todos and other infos it collects from Entourage only. The design reminds me of those skinnable applications on Windows like Winamp. I will never let this thing floating on my desktop!
No RSS support for Entourage… But still supports Microsoft Exchange protocols, which is maybe the only reason why someone would have to install Entourage (since it’s now very easy to import all of your messages, settings etc.. from Entourage to Mail).
Apple Mail seems hard to beat.. Even Thunderbird (which I respect as an application) is far from the high quality level of Mail. In one word: don’t do the same mistake I did while installing Office 2008 and click on “customize” while you install it and uncheck Entourage.

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Posted in 3rd Party Software, Address Book, iSync & iCal, Apple Mail, Microsoft

CoffeeDaze

Windows Live is their new suite of applications designed for uniting the web experience with the desktop. Most are pretty simple and similar to Google's apps but there are two that stand out. Windows Live Mail and Windows Live Writer are both excellent apps! I use them on a daily basis. I highly recommend call Windows users to check out the Live suite.

http://get.live.com/

Hedi

Hehe 2 days ago, I helped a friend to configure his ISP provided email address, and told him the best application for Windows is Thunderbird.. Never heard of Windows Live Mail. But it seems M$ is calling each of the applications bundled in the OS: Windows + Application Name... They probably want people to think they are parts of the Operating System.

CoffeeDaze

Yeah, like I said for the average user Entourage and Outlook are way overkill. I didn't use Entourage when I was on Mac because all I ever did was check my personal email and a few business emails a day. I don't use calendars, address books and schedulers on a regular basis. I don't think I've opened Outlook on Windows in months. For Windows users wondering which email programs are great alternatives to Outlook or Outlook Express there is of course Thunderbird but I personally prefer Microsoft's new client called Windows Live Mail (previously Windows Live Mail Desktop Beta "yeah, nice name ha") It is a fast and efficient alternative to Outlook Express and works better for me than Thunderbird. (Besides the fact that it looks so good)

Hedi

Your opinion is logical, based on a more "pro" way to think. Thanks for your post CD! :)

CoffeeDaze

It's kind of impossible to compare Entourage to Apple Mail since they are two completely different types of programs. Entourage is designed to be a one-stop place for organizing all daily tasks, emails, news, RSS, and more. With Apple's programs it is expected to use multiple programs such as Mail, iCal, Safari, Address Book and the like. Entourage was never my favorite for the same reasons I never enjoyed Outlook (The Windows alternative). While it is a powerful tool for large daily data management it is too much for many basic users. For those looking to work with large volumes of mail and contact data as well as organize calendar events, Entourage may be the right tool to use. If you just check personal mail and some dates once in a while it will likely be overkill.