With Entourage, I know I’m not going anywhere, mainly because given the lifespan of most humans, I don’t want to spend any more time learning another piece of software, but also I know from past experiences with MS, knowing they’re going to make this the best email/PIM out there. It ain’t happening with Palm yet, but it will. Don’t sell the program yet, Joseph; you just may have to wait a year to fully implement it.
And I second it: I’ve always thought the name Entourage was a odd choice.
--
Scott
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From: "Entourage:mac Talk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 06:36:50 -0800
To: "Entourage:mac Talk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Entourage-Talk Digest - 02/28/01
Joseph, most of these guys blow us average Joe's out of the water when it
comes to understanding the machinations of Entourage.
They can be a bit feisty, but that's the good part, I think.
Paul's right, mostly. It's business. Get it out the door. But, Paul is
also a bit wrong. The only real difference between E and Outlook is the PIM
stuff -- which really just doesn't work like it should, by any standard.
(Especially since it was *touted* as being able to sync with the Palm/Visor
... and since Paul says he doesn't use those features, he may not be the
best voice on that subject.)
And no one could have researched what all the bugs were *going* to be.
Given that the real change in the app was the PIM stuff, you'd think they'd
have done it better. (Well, I should say "I" think they should have done it
better.)
But...again...it's business. MS wants to release a "suite" so they need E
in there. So...bugs be damned, it ships. Target: Palm? Remember that the
first version of IE was crap compared to Navigator (at the time) but that
didn't stop the targeting (and crumbling). I was furious back then, but I
came to really enjoy IE. (And, that is the insidious part of
monopolies...you don't get the best product rising to the top. Precisely
the point being litigated as we type.) Now that iCab is here to stay, I've
begun to use IE less and less....but I suppose even IE will eventually be
updated to rival some of the niceties of iCab (too many features to even
begin comparing.)
Entourage *looks* better than Palm Desktop, but it certainly doesn't *work*
better. Sure, there are some bells and whistles that are 'pretty neat' ...
once. But these become a major barrier to *really* implementing E in daily
usage for anything but an email client (and there probably is not a better
one of those for the Mac anywhere, Outlook being equal in my opinion.)
I DO think the whole suite, as a set, IS bloatware. All this junk that you
can't turn off. (Secretaries used to need 18 MB of clip art, but do we
really need that for daily use?) And the fact that IE and E have a bit of a
hard time working together is just ludicrous. And no matter how I change
settings, or format URLs, the spell checker always chokes on them. How can
that possibly be the case, without some real errors in programming?
Outlook rocked, and the MS team "has no one to blame but themselves", is how
I see it...not the end user as Paul suggested.
I do think Paul's advice has to prevail, however. If we just don't find the
application to be "all that", then we should find something else.
Unfortunately, that might mean a slight dip in the bottom line from the Mac
camp, because IE and Outlook rock together, and they are free.
And, since we seem to be therapeutically purging our frustration, what the
heck is with the name "Entourage"? (def: "A group of attendants or
associates; a retinue.") Perhaps Alpaca was a better choice: "it's alpaca
in buta none of ita worka")
Keep the feature list rolling, is what I say. All of this is fine stuff,
and venting once in awhile is healthy. Like any relationship.
I do believe that this list is the best damned list I've ever subscribed to.
There is always something new to learn, always free-flowing opinion, and
always a response when you really need one. And the fact the MS team does
seem to read the list frequently, that's one step closer to the source in
getting your voice heard.
And....AND...the scripting work that you see here is a grand testament to
Apple's insight with AS, and the office:mac team's commitment to the OS in
general.
I think if we can hang on, with all the peeves we may have, we will not need
to change email clients ever again. This thing will also rock...someday.
In the best spirit,
Gary
