This from Diane Ross - dated 09-01-03 12.16 am: >> Boy, I wish those MS *******s had done this a year ago. > > You could say the same thing if you just bought a new computer. It's > guaranteed that they come out with faster and cheaper as soon as you > purchase.
With respect, Diane, balderdash. I _could_ say the same thing if I just bought a bag of fries that was only available bundled with a triple burger and 20oz soft drink, then found the fries on sale separately at a fraction of the price. The 'faster & cheaper' argument doesn't apply here. Thing is, Outlook Express was one of the most kickass pieces of freeware ever bestowed upon the Mac community, and those, like myself who came to rely on it found that there was nothing remotely comparable (in the same price bracket) for OS X. After dabbling disconsolately with the alternatives for a few months, I caved in and bought Office because that was the only way to get Entourage. It doesn't take a conspiracy theorist to come up with the idea that the policy of only selling E'rage as part of Office (despite the loud and constant clamouring for a standalone version) offered a way to maximise revenue streams. Sure, I could have carried on using OE via classic, but by the same token, I could still be wearing flares and cheesecloth shirts. Choosing not to is a personal decision, and not one I begrudge. Now that 'Mail' is somewhat improved over its original version, and more integrated with Address Book and iCal, the E'rage advantage is becoming less clear, and may no longer be enough to tempt X newcomers to shell out for the whole Office deal, so it makes perfect commercial sense to unbundle it and flog it cheap. I don't really begrudge that, either, but permit me a small whimper of pain on behalf of all those thousands of OS X early adopters who now have the full version of Office installed, but never need Excel and PowerPoint, or do any word-processing more complex than writing a begging letter to the bank. I'm not a habitual MS knocker, although your response suggests that's all you think my comments amounted to. If I was really burned up about this, I'd have been referring to 'MS ************s', not *******s. So, er, no offence. Nick -- To unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> archives: <http://www.mail-archive.com/entourage-talk%40lists.letterrip.com/> old-archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/entourage-talk%40lists.boingo.com/>
