Microsoft makes Outlook Express U-turn

Silicon.com ^ | August 15, 2003

[HAL9000]

Just days after announcing that it planned to halt development on Outlook Express, Microsoft has been forced to change its position following internal confusion and an outcry from customers.

As reported earlier this week on silicon.com Microsoft had planned to stop product development on Outlook Express, which forms part of the Internet Explorer code bundled with consumer versions of Windows.

At the time Dan Leach, Office product manager, said: "The technology doesn't go away, but no new work is being done."

Under that vision, consumers would have been directed towards the company's MSN software, while businesses would be encouraged to purchase Office, which includes the full Outlook client.

However, Leach has now distanced himself from his original comments, claiming that while Microsoft had originally planned to halt new work on Outlook Express, the situation has since changed.

"I sat down with the Windows team today, and they tell me my comments were inaccurate," Leach said Friday. "Outlook Express was in sustain engineering, but customers asked for continued improvement, and we are doing that. Microsoft will continue its innovation around the email experience in Windows."

Leach blamed communication problems for the confusion.

"The Outlook Express team has been in the process of making this change known inside Microsoft," he said. "They just hadn't reached me before I left for Asia."

The lack of internal communication underlines the growing challenge faced by Microsoft as it attempts to co-ordinate software development activities over an increasingly diverse range of markets.

[July 4th]

I love Eudora. Never given me a single problem. Even more importantly, it has never sent thousands of unwanted messages to people in its address book.

Plus, I use PGP occasionally, and it has a good plug-in for that.

[Voltage]

I love Mozilla for e-mail. Add SpamPal (spampal.org) to that and I am killing 98% + of my spam.

This a technological solution that works...and its free!

[js1138]

OK, I won't spread any false gossip about the kernel. I wonder, however, how the font of all that is holy got hacked. Check out the posts on this thread. It's obvious that only Microsoft servers are vulnerable and only Microsoft email clients are vulnerable. I may have trolled a bit, but every thread about Microsoft is a troll booth.

[agrace]

I just downloaded a bunch of patches, one major for OE, and as a result I can no longer open most attachments sent to me via email. I'm not even given a choice - I am simply told that "OE will not allow the opening of suspect attachment" or some such nonsense. Anyone have any idea how to get around this or do I just go download Eudora?

[blackie]

I've been using Eudora for years ... I love it!

Be Well ~ Be Armed ~ Be Safe ~ Molon Labe!

[B Knotts]

It was due to an exploit that got released one week before the patch for the ptrace vulnerability in the kernel.

The GNU FTP server was hacked by a user that apparently had an account on the machine, during that week. He was collecting passwords.

[JustAnAmerican]

Eudora, Eudora, Eudora. Need I say more? :)

[rmvh]

People can moan and complain all day long...but Microsoft remains #1....

Reason?.... Because they have excellent technology and fine marketing....People buy their products as the best available.

The myriad problems that arise as the technology moves forward is easily handled by those who understand how computers work and understand that there are hackers and idiots out there who take joy in screwing up the interent and the rest of the world.

For the rest, those who don't understand,?....I suppose they will just have to keep complaining.

[justlurking]

I installed Thunderbird 0.1 a few days ago. It's still in alpha and has a few annoying, but not serious bugs. But, it's already superior to Outlook Express.

[justlurking]

Outlook is blocking executable attachments. Ask the sender to ZIP the attachment first (it will reduce the bandwidth requirements, too).

[HAL9000]

what improvements does this app need? it does what it is designed to do right?

Yes, Outlook Express is designed to function like a gay bathhouse.

[discostu]

check in Tools Option, there should be something in there on security turn it down a notch or two.

[HAL9000]

Reason?.... Because they have excellent technology and fine marketing....

You're right about the marketing, but not the technology. Microsoft's technology is low quality crap.

The security problems in Microsoft products have cost their customers several hundred million dollars to clean up. I would not be surprised if the damage during the last couple of years has surpassed $1 billion.

[lelio]

If you were on linux, check out Ximian.com. Their email program, Evolution is just as good as Outlook. I'm amazed it is a free product.

[tictoc]

In OE, Tools >> Options >> Security, remove the checkmark that says saving of file attachments is not permitted.

[kevkrom]

Nevertheless, I suspect the site that was hacked was not running IIS.

It was (and is) Linux/Apache, but the exploit was executed by someone with physical access to the machine, not from a network attack.

No computer is safe from people with physical access.

[js1138]

Someone who had access at the time of the hack, or someone who had left the project?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks!

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[PLMerite]

"what improvements does this app need?"

They need to fix what their latest patch broke for no damn reason.