MI-80

I am a nerd, and have generally become accustomed to the obscure practices unique to the IT field, such as clicking Start for the longest time in Windows to turn my computer off. It does not make sense when I first look at it, but it is the way it is, so I learn and live with it. However, after recently upgrading to Outlook 2007 and attempting to use it daily, I must say it is absurd how it handles some things. My first major hurdle was that I had a folder previously entitled RSS Feeds, so when I installed Outlook 2007 it made a default folder named RSS Feeds1. This was minor, but I was determined to fix it since it could not be that hard to fix...right? Sadly, you cannot simply rename default folders, so I spent some loving time with Google before finally discovering you can start Outlook with the /resetfoldernames flag after deleting the RSS Feeds folder I had created, causing the default folder will revert to its proper name and drop the extra 1. Why in the world does that have to be so difficult? Live and learn though; delete folders that may conflict with Outlook created folders prior to installing! I was even more dumbfounded by the fact Outlook will not let me select an IMAP folder to place RSS feeds into, so instead of having a single RSS feed I can access from any system, I have to configure my feeds for each workstation I use. Almost as if Microsoft were just topping the insults off, IMAP mail does not present a notice/message preview in the lower-right corner like Exchange mail does, so I cannot quickly catch incoming mail without opening Outlook. Overall Outlook is not a mail client, but simply an Exchange client. If you are not using Exchange, Microsoft makes it apparent they do not want your business. My next issue was that after initially setting up my IMAP account Outlook did not immediately hide deleted mail, instead formatting the preview (sender, subject line, etc.) with strikethrough. This is both ugly and clumsy to work with, and another nuisance specific to non-Exchange mail. I resolved this easily enough by hitting View → Current View and selecting "Hide Messages Marked for Deletion," which then removed the Reading Pane, and reset my display filters (show in groups, organize by date, etc.). Therefore, I then had to go back to View → Reading Pane and set that back up, and right-click the header of each folder to get my personal preferences back. So this was an easy fix since I knew where everything was, but is this what the average user expects walking into Outlook? Overall, I do not consider Outlook 2007 usable as a normal email client. Many better solutions, such as Thunderbird, feature easier interfaces and much more logical defaults. So if you are not using Exchange, why bother with Outlook?