A lot of people tend to complain about the services that Microsoft offer; they think that they are too unreliable, are lacking in basic elements of on-line security and are slow and difficult to use. I, however, have always been a great follower of Microsoft, and Outlook Express 5.5 has affirmed ... Read review
Advantages: Very quick and easy to use, can check multiple accounts with it, aids mail-writing, automatic check for new mails, mails can be read offline Disadvantages: Lack of security some cause of concern for some people, can get over-burdened
...complain about the services that Microsoft offer; they think that they are too unreliable, are lacking in basic elements of on-line security and are slow and difficult to use. I, however, have always been a great follower of Microsoft, and Outlook Express 5.5 has affirmed my faith in them if ever a computer program has.
It might well be true that this is one of the greatest e-mail systems around, certainly one of the best for writing ... ...mailer), although, as with most Microsoft products, and the cause of the late court-case of Microsoft, it's in a league of its own.
There are, quite simply, no other popular e-mail systems that you can compare it to (with the possible exception of Netscape Messenger, although this is hardly a possible competitor). For this reason, Outlook Express continues to attract more users than any other product of its kind, and this, the latest ... more
A lot of people tend to complain about the services that Microsoft offer; they think that they are too unreliable, are lacking in basic elements of on-line security and are slow and difficult to use. I, however, have always been a great follower of Microsoft, and Outlook Express 5.5 has affirmed my faith in them if ever a computer program has.
It might well be true that this is one of the greatest e-mail systems around, certainly one of the best for writing mails and storing them offline (hence saving money for the mailer), although, as with most Microsoft products, and the cause of the late court-case of Microsoft, it's in a league of its own.
There are, quite simply, no other popular e-mail systems that you can compare it to (with the possible exception of Netscape Messenger, although this is hardly a possible competitor). For this reason, Outlook Express continues to attract more users than any other product of its kind, and this, the latest version, is the most popular by far.
-----Features-----
Outlook Express 5.5 has been built with a clear aim of making a quick and easy mailing service for the busy consumer. With Outlook Express, it is possible to keep mails to send the next time you go online and keep all your mail in offline folders enabling you, unlike 'Hotmail', for example, to read your mails without the need to be connected. It also has the capability to check mails however often you want it to (which is a great asset if you don't have MSN Messenger or a similar service which tells you when you have new mails automatically), and store multiple accounts (POP3, SMTP and HTTP) all for casual reading pleasure offline.
As well as all of this, it instantly downloads your mails for reading pleasure, has a complete list of your contacts both on and off-line when connected to MSN Messenger, and has a contact-list, easy folder accessability and handy toolbars, all designed to make the job even easier. It even tells you how many mails you have read and un-read in each folder and distinguishes one from the other with a bold and normal font.
As if this wasn't good enough, many of the features can be changed to your liking, eg. the buttons on the toolbar at the top, whether you have to click on a mail to read it in a separate window or whether it appears at the bottom of the screen.
All of the links and attachments are even easier to use than online, it simply sends the attachment alongside the messages, as opposed to Hotmail where you have to load them separately and then send the message on top of that. Of course, it also has the advantage over Hotmail where you don't have to load the pages individually to read the mails - you simply click on the mail you want to read and it appears automatically (providing it has been downloaded into your inbox off-line).
You can also read items from news accounts through Outlook Express, providing that you have access to them. However, once you have typed in the passwords on Outlook, you never have to again. The passwords and usernames are stored automatically, a godsend if you use a different password for each account, or have difficulty remembering all of your accounts.
-----Ease of Use-----
I am not going to try and pretend that Outlook Express is necessarily easy to use - for first-time users, I think that sorting out your different accounts so they all work the way you want them to on here can take time to learn how to do properly - not least when trying to download Hotmail accounts onto there (a fairly recent feature that was supposed to take the stress off some of the servers at Hotmail). However, once you have the system set up the way you want it, the mails tend to go into the right folders and there is never a problem.
Occasionally though, the program will mess you around. I have found this a lot recently. I have 5 accounts on OE5.5 (Outlook Express 5.5) currently, and I have all of the folders for each account on my computer too. Although this means I can check for new mail instantaneously, it also means that my computer finds it hard to keep up with all the mail I get from different sources, meaning it often crashes, and certainly takes a long time to download and check.
One thing my computer also 'likes to do' is hide some of my folders so I can't access them as I have too many others open. This means that I can often go days without being able to look at my mails in one folder without the programme crashing, although it tends to fix itself before too long.
As for writing the mails and sending them themselves, I think this is one of the better aspects of OE5.5. To send a mail, you simply click on someone in your address book or a mail and then click reply, or click on the envelope at the top left of the screen. You can then type in your mail using a variety of different fonts and colours, backgrounds and styles, all of which are clearly displayed on the screen to help as much as possible.
OE5.5 even tells you when you have replied to or forwarded a mail - a little symbol appears to let you know that you don't need to reply to the mail because it has already been replied to - a feature that I am still waiting to see on online services...
-----Conclusion-----
Although OE5.5 may not be one of the most reliable sources for writing mail, with systems such as Hotmail and MSN failing all the time as well, it isn't a surprise that this one does as well, and one that I think isn't that big a point to make.
I would certainly recommend Outlook Express - it is quick, simple and effective, and can be used in a multitude of ways to suit every user. It allows the consumer to write mails on and off-line, something that can save some people without surf-unlimited a lot of money, and can also help and aid with e-mailing.
For those of you who don't use and have never used Outlook Express, if you are looking for a sinple way to save and check your mails more efficiently, then there really isn't any alternative. Although not the best that Microsoft could do, it's certainly one of the best programmes for such work available on the rather limited market and the only one that I would use. Well worth a look at.
Advantages: free, simple to use Disadvantages: fragile in some respects
...will use if you have Microsoft O/S unless your pretty unfortunate to be connected to AOL, or have Lotus Notes. Outlook Express has the standard functionality required for an email reader such as sending/receiving emails, email filters, newsgroup reader, connection to various pop3/SMTP, IMAP or http accounts. If you were using Lotus Notes mail server and VIM this could be a problem if the SMTP option is not turned on. ADDRESS BOOK
Using Outlook Express ... ...annoy me. For a start with email addresses you can add them to the address book by opening the message and from the tools menu you can add to the address book. However it is impossible to add email addresses that are embedded in the actual mail if you are forwarding or replying to a mail. If you are reading a mail you can right click on an embedded email address and add to address book. But there is no option to add all the embedded email addresses ...
Deviant 11.04.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5
...answer, and the reason why? Microsoft distribute it with Internet Explorer, which in turn comes with every new PC. Outlook Express can be thought of as the cut down version of its bigger brother, Outlook, but this isn't actually necessarily the case. Outlook is much more of a personal management program, where the busy people amongst us can manage their lives. Outlook Express is much more streamlined, and offers quick instant access to email and ... ...the power user. As always Microsoft have managed it, with a simple interface hiding a pretty powerful program. First and foremost Outlook Express is there so that you can receive, read and send email. What's good is that it allows your whole family to do this separately and confidentially. A feature called identities allows each user to have their own account, which can be password protected if necessary. This means that when you go online you can ...
real_rob_writer 22.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5
Advantages: Great Data Handling Disadvantages: Dull and Boring
...always given us a classic Microsoft feel to sending an email. Outlook Express 5.5 is bundled along with Internet Explorer 5.5, which you get free with Windows 98. OE 5.5 has yet to change from its predecessor’s design, but in my opinion it never was the design that made OE what it was.
As per usual, to use OE 5.5, you must have an ISP that offers email. OE takes it from there and creates an address for you, which ends with the name of your connection ... ...is no different with any of the versions, and you’ll end up with your street address tagging along at the end somewhere.
OE 5.5 is a convenient package that doesn’t differ that much from the previous OE, but it still boasts a wide range of ways to help improve the service. OE claims to give you access to some 5000 newsgroups and message boards with a range of different topics to choose from. This is one of the things about OE 5.5 that really makes ...
w.hannam 21.03.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5
Advantages: You can read e-mails offline cutting down call charges and everything is set out clearly for you Disadvantages: I had trouble at first getting the correct servers for sending/receiving e-mails but when ironed out no troubles.
The term Outlook Express suggests being able to look at things i.e. e-mails, out of say the internet and at a quick and efficient pace. This is exactly what Outlook Express offers.
Being able to read messages off-line is a brilliant way for those of us who have yet to find a cheap server as you pay for such little time on the net: just for sending and receiving e-mails. The default layout is clear and easy to use, although you can tune the layout ... ...look for you. And that's what it's all about, being easy for the customer to read.
Take my layout as an example. Tabs for the various folders down the left-hand side of the screen means I can switch between different areas of Outlook Express with ease. Alongside this are my contacts listed in alphabetical order, as you would expect, with all that is required to send your friend an e-mail is a double click on their name and away you go.
For sending ...
Hetfield 05.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5
Advantages: Easy to use, integrates heavily with IE and Windows Disadvantages: Can be a little overwhelming for new users
...a fairly strong dislike for Microsoft products, more through reputation than personal use admittedly. But, when I finally got sick of Netscape Navigator crapping out on me, I took the plunge and started using Internet Exporer, and with it, Outlook Express.
Up 'till now, I'd always used either UNIX or web-based email services; however, with my main account ceasing to support its UNIX mail system, and OE supporting Hotmail, I thought it would be as ... ...be a first for a Microsoft program. It also integrates pretty heavily with Windows and IE5.5, for example you can add buttons to your IE toolbar to automatically access Outlook Express; while it probably works just as well alongside Netscape Navigator or whatever, you wouldn't get quite as heavy a level of integration, which can be either a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it.
All in all, it's about everything you could want from ...
JimThorley 06.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5
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** System Requirements **
? Windows® 95 B, Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition
? Windows NT® v4.0 Workstation operating system with service pack 4 or higher
? Windows 2000 Professional
? Intel® Pentium® 150MHz or higher processor
? 32 MB of RAM (64MB for Windows 2000 Professional)
? 70 MB of available hard disk space
? CD-ROM drive
Supported E-mail Clients
? Microsoft® Outlook® Express 4.0/5.X
? MicrosoftOutlook 97/98/2000
? Netscape® Messenger 4.0
? Netscape Mail 6.0
? Eudora® 5.0, Light 3.0, Pro 4.0
? Pegasus Mail 3.0
? Becky! Internet Mail 1.26
? AL-Mail32 1.11
** Installation **
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Advantages: E-mail is surprisingly good considering it's a Microsoft product. Disadvantages: Protocol implementations mean that some services may be rendered useless depending on ISP.
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