Microsoft Brings Outlook Back to Macs

I'm one of those people who works for an employer who has Microsoft Office (2000) but uses Lotus Notes as it's e-mail and calendar software! That really is quite astonisting, when the far superior and user friendly Outlook comes with Office for free!

I have to say that Lotus Notes is probably the worst 'mainstream' software that I have ever used. Nothing that MS has produced is so un-user friendly, crashes that frequently...sorry I'll have to stop there as my blood is starting boil. Still, it keeps our IT people gamefully employed and busy, when it nessessitates regular total profile rebuild! Lotus Notes sucks...

Take a look at www.lotusnotessucks.com/

I'm just thankful that I use the excellent Outlook (2003) at home. It's been a faithful servent over the past six years, so I won't even be upgrading to a newer version, unless MS force me to! The same goes for the rest of Office 2003.

"I'm one of those people who works for an employer who has Microsoft Office (2000) but uses Lotus Notes as it's e-mail and calendar software! That really is quite astonisting, when the far superior and user friendly Outlook comes with Office for free!"

Actually, that's not the full story. Although Outlook is free with Office, the licenses to use Exchange (the CAL) and the exchange server licenses are not. They are the major cost, not Outlook. Further, moving from email system to email system can be very complex and costly, especially if your business uses Notes as a database and workflow system, which Exchange cannot do.

scotw, you are right to say that Outlook licences use MS Exchange, but it's also true that Outlook can quite easily use IBMs Domino server as Notes users are forced to do. I believe it's the ancient Domino server that is adding to our problems. My employers did use Notes as a workflow solution and even used it as a database and web editing solution too! Thankfully, at least the last part has changed and the resulting web site is generally considered as a vast improvement!

I will grudgingly admit that Notes has improved with each release (we now use 6.5), IMO, but I still think it's way short of the 'standard' opposition for it's main client tasks.

If most businesses choose Outlook, then one must assume that there is are alternative database and workflow solutions?

I can't believe that my employers IT department had the foresight to consider all the options, especially, when you consider that we still use Windows 2000, Office 2000 and approx 98% of our monitors are still 17in CRTs complete with CRT flicker (unless you know how to increase the refresh rate - and 95% of employees don't)! If you have a desktop less than five years old, you are in a tiny minority! Don't anyone suggest our public services are awash with lots of money! We're not in local government! Central government and civil service maybe...?

We used Novell's Groupwise before Outlook - we were forced to change when our large mail order company were taken over by a smaller outfit (with backers with deep pockets) and they gave them (!!) responsibility for all IT which led them to ditch our Mainframe and make 16 of us redundant. Bitter?