I wasn’t planning to, but I have gone back to using Outlook for my email. I have used many email clients over the years. A year ago at the end of 2005, I was using Microsoft Outlook 2002. Even before then, I had toyed with the 2003 version, but didn’t use it by default. I eventually quit using Outlook and started using Mozilla Thunderbird.

I do like Thunderbird and I have been satisfied over the past year since I started using it. Recently, I have been feeling impatient with it. Creating new messages seems to take an extra second or two when drawing the composition window. The program feels slow. The awesome Firefox browser is sleek and super fast. Thunderbird doesn’t share its snappiness. Also, despite always upgrading to the newest version, Thunderbird still has a few glitches that bother me. A few examples:

1. When I am looking at messages in the preview pane and click the down arrow to display all of the recipients for that message, a bunch of extra space is left over, pushing the message body too far down.
2. After switching message folders, the message text of the last message previewed still shows on the lower half of the screen. Why am I still seeing that message when I am now in a different mailbox?
3. The command to empty the trash folder is listed under the File menu. But emptying the junk mail folder is found under the Tools menu. Why? And emptying the junk folder simply moves them to the trash folder.

After having to do a total system reinstall recently, I decided to install my copy of Outlook 2003. This time, I started a new file from scratch. I set up my calendar, contacts, messages, accounts, etc. I remember how much loved the “Outlook Today” page with my to-do list in the corner. The reading pane is very cool and the junk mail filter works great. I also love how the messages are automatically sorted by Today, Yesterday, Last Week, etc. The 2003 version of Outlook is so much better than the previous versions. If you want to use Outlook and don’t have the 2003 version, then you probably shouldn’t bother, since you’ll be missing out on the coolest features.

Now for some negative. One big dissatisfaction that I have with Outlook is that pictures attached to a message are not previewed in the message window. This annoys me. If they are embedded photos, then you will see them inline, but not if they are attached. There should be an option for this. Another annoyance is the strict security limitations that Microsoft has placed on what file extensions will be allowed in your incoming email. It is worth the time to go in and edit the Windows registry to change this behavior. You’ll have to look that up yourself, as I won’t go into that here.

If you use Outlook Express (heaven forbid!) then you’d be much better off using Thunderbird. But if you have Outlook 2003, you are doing yourself a disservice if you are not actually using this program. I found myself very surprised at how fast the program runs on my slow computer and how instant its actions are. I can’t understand why a program as mammoth as Outlook can run faster and use less memory on my computer than a program as basic as Thunderbird? Granted, the sheer size of my mailbox files may contribute to Thunderbird’s hesitation. I adore the open-source movement and I honestly hate to concede anything to the Microsoft monopoly, but Outlook is unbeatable.