M$ to replace Entourage with Outlook

[SteveO]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/2009081...3SV82.html

REDMOND, Wash. (AP) - Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it will include Outlook, a popular e-mail and calendar program that's ubiquitous on its Windows computers, in the next version of its Office suite for Apple Inc.'s Mac computers.

The current Mac version of Office includes Entourage, a program for sending e-mail and organizing appointments and contacts. The new version, which will be available in time for the holidays in 2010, will replace Entourage with Outlook.

Microsoft's Mac unit is building the software from scratch, so Outlook will work with the Mac's backup and hard-drive search features.

I am a big Entourage fan as it remains pretty close to what Claris Emailer was in the '90s. I hope they keep the same function/look. Anybody know if Outlook is similar to Entourage for Mac? I'm real curious.

[AAA]

I am sitting here using Outlook on my PC.
It's 'similar enough'.
Plenty of info on the web, I'm sure you can find screenshots and videos.

But, nothing drastically different.

[Mac1337]

All email clients look alike now.

[cbelt3]

.. but will it include the lack of security features that caused 'Outlook" in its earlier versions to be called

"LOOKOUT !!!"

[tuqqer]

All joking aside, if they really do make Entourage as powerful as Outlook, this could be a very, very good thing. Just guessing, but it could make the Mac Outlook the most powerful email client out there. It'd certainly beat Mac Mail.

[lazydays]

Maybe it will light a fire under apple's butt to make the whole mail/ical/addressbook combination better.

[DeusxMac]

They're touting it primarily as behaving better with Exchange servers, but the consensus around my office is that it's merely Microsoft's hurried response to Snow Leopard's out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange” which had already been announced for roll out in September.
http://www.apple.com/macosx/exchange.html

:zzz:

[tuqqer]

I wondered that as well. If I were MS, I'd be nervous, too. Already I'm hearing further Vista-like grumblings about Windows 7. I'd guess that many more switchers will happen.

DeusxMac wrote:
They're touting it primarily as behaving better with Exchange servers, but the consensus around my office is that it's merely Microsoft's hurried response to Snow Leopard's out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange” which had already been announced for roll out in September.
http://www.apple.com/macosx/exchange.html

:zzz:

[deckeda]

lazydays wrote:
Maybe it will light a fire under apple's butt to make the whole mail/ical/addressbook combination better.

Sure, and the deeper connection here (in a competitive sense) would be Apple's ecosystem of Leopard Server/LDAP/Directory Services.

There's an app in your Utilities folder called Directory that interfaces with all of that and provides the same sort of on-the-fly lookup of co-worker's email address, calendaring and other info as does do the Outlook/Exchange and Lotus Notes/Domino worlds.

[Doc]

MS does not have a good track record here. Previous versions of Outlook for Mac have been the computing equivalent of SARS.