Bruce hears rumors about Outlook Express
Hi! from Australia, I hear whispers of OUTLOOK EXPRESS being done away with in the future, is this true? if so what other email client could i use that i can send gif's and your fabulous products with my emails? Will THUNDERBIRD do the same things? Thanks BRUCE

Our Answer
Hi Bruce. Yes we've been hearing these same rumors too. In fact, a couple of weeks ago we published (in this very newsletter) a comment from a Microsoft spokeswoman that was so enigmatic we really didn't know what she was trying to say.

But, we've been snooping around and from what we know right now, we'll go out on a limb and say this: We don't think Microsoft is going to replace Outlook Express and Windows Mail with Windows Live Mail Desktop. However, from what we've learned, IF you download and install Windows Live Mail Desktop, it will replace Outlook Express (on Windows 98/ME/XP computers) and Windows Mail (on Windows Vista computers) and you won't be able to go back to Outlook Express/Windows Mail. (Actually, if you decide soon enough you could always do a System Restore back to before you downloaded Windows Live Mail Desktop and that would restore Outlook Express/Windows Mail however you'd probably lose all the emails that you received while Live Mail Desktop was your email client).

We've seen all sorts of rumors - including the one that said that Microsoft will include Windows Live Mail Desktop in one of its Automatic Updates and, if that happens, you won't have any choice in the matter, it will just replace Outlook Express/Windows Mail and that is that. We don't believe that will happen. But we can tell you that if you want to keep Outlook Express/Windows Mail then DO NOT DOWNLOAD WINDOWS LIVE MAIL DESKTOP. Because we may be guessing about Microsoft's intentions about the future of Outlook Express/Windows Mail, but we're certain if you download Windows Live Mail Desktop it will replace your Outlook Express/Windows Mail.

Thunderbird is an "OK" email client. It's not very "multi-media friendly" and you can only use certain kinds of stationery with it - for instance - full background stationery - without margins. Since Thunderbird does not render CSS (style sheets) property setting margins with CSS doesn't work. So your options as far as stationery goes are very limited. Smileycons works great in many email programs including Thunderbird. But, I'll tell you what, I don't know about EB, but as for me, if Microsoft scratches Outlook Express and Windows Mail, and tries to force me to use Windows Live Mail Desktop I'd be very tempted to use Thunderbird or something else. I just don't like Windows Live Mail Desktop; I don't even like the concept of it. It's too open and too vulnerable to all sorts of things most of us don't want including the possibility that advertisements could be injected into personal emails coming from personal computers. And that's not right. It's one thing for Hotmail to stick ads in email I send from their servers -because when I write an email using Hotmail, I'm a guest of Microsoft, and I'm on their property. But when someone sticks ads in my personal email that I'm composing on my own computer on my own property and using my own bandwidth (Internet connection) it becomes an intrusion. And Windows Live Mail Desktop does open the doors for that kind of behavior - whether or not it ever happens remains to be seen.