An “outlook” can be so much more than pretty scenery and in the world of PCs, we have at least three to choose from. The trouble is Outlook Express, Outlook Web Access and Microsoft Outlook all sound like the same thing. So, how can you tell them apart and why would you want to? (Here’s a tip – You really do want to!)
Like children with the same parents (Microsoft) they all share a name (Outlook), but having the same name doesn’t mean they are the same and, also like children, they all have their own characteristics and special talents.
Outlook Express is the baby of the family. This comes free with most PCs using the Windows format. For home use and low volume, everyday e-mail, it’s a fine product. It has an address book, can read from some news sites and pull down messages from Internet Service Providers. Usually you get what you pay for and, considering you don’t pay for Outlook Express, most domestic users come out ahead of the game.
Outlook Web Access sounds like it might be Outlook Express with greater internet capabilities. It’s not. It’s a feature of Microsoft Exchange Server. With Web Access, you can get into your Exchange Server mailbox from anywhere, providing you have a browser. Web Access also has multi-platform functionality, meaning it can be reached via Internet Explorer, Apple Mac, or UNIX. This is the e-mail access program for the wanderer (or the wayward child.)
Microsoft Outlook, on the other hand, is the biggest sibling of the family. It usually comes as a part of Microsoft Office and is packed full of serious features. Outlook is ready for action and a not so small industry has grown up around providing add-ons for it.
Like little brother Outlook Express, Microsoft Outlook lives in your PC and your data is stored there.
With Microsoft Outlook, you have quick and easy access to pop and imap ISPs as well as Exchange Server. Indeed, combining Microsoft Outlook with Exchange Server brings out the best in both products.
Microsoft Outlook is for those looking to do serious business on the web. What other program integrates your diary, your messages, your address book and your hand held or mobile devices?
Contacts can be categorized and called up in whatever fashion you require. With a mail merge facility, you can call up any group and have their contact details transferred onto envelopes, stationery, or labels.
Old messages which would usually just clog up the system until you deleted them (usually less than a day before realizing you really needed them!) can be archived so they are stored out of the way but are retrievable at the click of a mouse.
But in a world increasingly bombarded by spam and junk e-mails the Rules feature of Microsoft Outlook might be the aspect you will appreciate most. Rules read your mail for you! It can be programmed to recognize mail actually addressed to you and delete or divert everything else. It can pass pre-determined messages on to another designated person, or forward personal (or whatever category you prefer) messages on to your mobile phone. And so much more!
If not the first-born, then Microsoft Outlook is definitely the favorite child.
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Tags: Access, Choosing, Express, Microsoft, Outlook