Microsoft Outlook 2003 review:3 stars (Outlook is good but it is not for everybody!) - Outlook is a very powerful program that can do a lot of stuff but most users do not use more than 10% of Outlooks functionality. If you are one of these users I suggest not getting Outlook but look at some alternatives. For instance try Mozilla's Thunderbird email program. It is a very good email program with a lot of functionality and great spam protection. The best part about an alternative email program like Thunderbird is that it's free! Since Thunderbird is open source software anyone who wants to help work on it can. Thunderbird is worked on by millions of programmers around the world who want to use a better email program. It's user friendly and easy to install. Find it by doing a Web search for Mozilla Thunderbird.2 stars (Still Looking For A Better Mouse Trap!) - I have always given Outlook a second chance every time Microsoft comes out with a new version and some reason or another I end up switching back to something else.

I really like the concepts of having an "all-in-one" package for email, contacts, appointments, etc; But Microsoft needs to start paying more attention to detail on email functionality.

After using Outlook 2003 for about a year now, here are some annoyances that are driving me away from this product.

1.) Cannot add my own email filters and filter rules. This feature should be a given and my biggest complaint. Why do I need to rely on Microsoft to update Junk Email filters for me? Other email clients (Such as Netscape) allow me to add a filter for certain key words and an action such as "send to trash" if it encounters those key words.

2.) Junk Email features are a joke. Again, anchored on my 1st complaint, if junk email arrives in my inbox, I have to add the sender to the block senders list. This is fine if the sender always uses the same return address, but as you know with spammers, this is never the case. Also, Outlook waits to inform me that the email is junk AFTER I've opened the email.

3.) Too much security, and no control. Is there such thing as too much security? I believe there is if I can't control what I want enabled and disabled without a bunch of registry hacks.
Instead of Microsoft making the decision for me of what I can view or cannot view as an attachment, I would prefer to make that decision for myself.

4.) Favorite Email Folders is a stupid and useless feature and you can't get rid it. This window is just useless clutter, but yet again, we have no control of what's displayed in the outlook window. Enough said.

5.) Forwarded messages arrive as attachments, no way to change this. Another big complaint of mine. If a message was forwarded 3,4 or more times, I have keep drilling down through the attachments for each time the message was forwarded just to get to the original message. Ultimately you end up with x number of useless windows open cluttering up your taskbar and x number of windows I have to close once I'm done reading the original message. If a message was forwarded 4 times before it got to me, that's 4 times I have to double click an attachment and 4 extra windows open. It would be nice to have the option to have all forwarded messages contained within the same message body instead as an attachment.3 stars (Not for people on dial-up) - I think that this version of Outlook would be perfect if I weren't on dial-up: Outlook seems to be incapable of doing anything relating to your HTTP or IMAP email folders without checking the server, to the point that you can't even access them offline. The fact that Outlook has to check the server almost evrey time you do anything to your email can really be grating on dial-up. Maybe there's a way to stop the constant reference to the server, but I haven't found it.

It also has an annoying habit of locally replacing one of my two Hotmail accounts with the other, necessitating that I remove and recreate the "corrupt" account.

Seeing as how I don't use many of Outlook's other bells and whistles, I can't comment on the broader program, but apart from that signficant headache, it works fairly well.
Microsoft Outlook 2003 Features:
Computer software (programs)
Schedule Management (Scheduling)
Email e-mail electronic client programs software
CD
New Navigation Pane easily accesses Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Folders, Shortcuts and Journal
Access, send, and receive e-mail messages from multiple accounts -- including work, personal or Web-based accounts
Outlook 2003's Reading Pane, now on the right side of the screen, displays twice as much content, with reduced scrolling
Group messages by date, size, conversation, subject, importance or other criteria for easy retrieval
Quick Flags let you flag messages by priority or time sensitivity

Microsoft Outlook 2003 is the CD-ROM version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 89.99USD.