Microsoft Unfair to Mac Users!

[John H. Horvath]

Microsoft owes the Mac community the ability to work with its Exchange
server -- without the user having to beg the administrators to enable IMAP,
and without having to boot into Classic. In fact, we should be able to send
e-mail from either OS 9 or OS X, and not have to jump through hoops!

Microsoft also owes us a utility that will bring info across from Outlook
Express or Entourage to Outlook (and back again, too!) What were these
people thinking?!

We pay the same money everyone else does. But we don't get functionality. We
get "crippleware" that only works if you can somehow pull strings with your
administrator, and even then, you only get half the package you paid for.
(Yeah, I know, Outlook 2001 was "free," but it should have been bundled with
the not-so-inexpensive Office package I paid for!)

Microsoft seems to think it can use its customers as pawns in some grand
political game it plays with Apple. The result is all the "workarounds" we
have to deal with!

If anyone is interested in putting together a class action suit, please let
me know. Enough is enough!

 

[Craig Robben]

AMEN!

Entourage is no replacement for Outlook 2001, and I think the people at MS
know it. Virtual PC is way to friggin slow and unreliable to use. Heck, if it
weren't for Citrix & Terminal Services, I probably would have had a
breakdown a couple years ago.

The plain truth is if they can't make money off it, MS won't do it. OK, so
fine, charge us, but give us something that works. I'm sure the users that I
work with would glady pony up a couple hundred dollars each for an
Outlook where:
1) it doesn't crash 3-4 times a day
2) their global address book doesn't dissappear for no apparent reason
3) it doesn't need to run Classic mode
4) the feature set as least comes close to the Windows versions

Come on MS, Apple has given developers some of the best tools to ever
grace the planet. It's time to rethink your whole philosophy here.

 

[William M. Smith]

AMEN!

Entourage is no replacement for Outlook 2001, and I think the people at MS
know it. Virtual PC is way to friggin slow and unreliable to use. Heck, if
it
weren't for Citrix & Terminal Services, I probably would have had a
breakdown a couple years ago.

The plain truth is if they can't make money off it, MS won't do it. OK, so
fine, charge us, but give us something that works. I'm sure the users that I
work with would glady pony up a couple hundred dollars each for an
Outlook where:
1) it doesn't crash 3-4 times a day
2) their global address book doesn't dissappear for no apparent reason
3) it doesn't need to run Classic mode
4) the feature set as least comes close to the Windows versions

Come on MS, Apple has given developers some of the best tools to ever
grace the planet. It's time to rethink your whole philosophy here.

Hi Craig!

I certainly sympathize (and empathize) with your cause, so thought I'd pass
along some of the "why" behind what Microsoft does.

First, yes, it does come down to money. Microsoft isn't conspiring to put
Apple out of business or cheapen its Mac products to make Windows look
superior. Many would like to think so.

There's a group at Microsoft that is fanatical about the Mac platform and
they're called the Mac Business Unit or MacBU for short. They handle the Mac
development and are separate from the Windows developers to a great degree.
Microsoft has segmented its groups based on platform and therefore the MacBU
gets a proportionate amount of development dollars to spend toward Mac
products. Keeping in mind that Microsoft makes far more money from its
Windows platform than Mac, the dollar amounts vary accordingly.

Outlook 2001 was developed outside of the MacBU and therefore they don't
"own the code". This is why the effort to position Entourage as the Mac OS X
Exchange server client has taken place. Plus this means the MacBU is
starting almost from the ground up to make it work. Things will improve with
this client.

So don't think that Microsoft's development strategies are anti-Mac. It
really does come down to dollars and the MacBU really knows how to put their
dollars to work to achieve what they have done so far. The more feedback you
give to Microsoft through their feedback mechanisms such as the one in my
signature or through Microsoft product Help menu feedback links, the more
you can say how dollars are spent.

bill