I'm wearing software handcuffs in the form of the Eudora Internet email package. And I'm increasingly searching for a way to cut loose.
For about 10 years I've been using and recommending Qualcomm's Eudora Internet email package. I've reviewed or recommended the product in PC Magazine, Windows Sources, PC Computing, and other magazines come and gone, not to mention this newsletter and others I've authored. As the years passed, Eudora has not kept pace with the needs of the marketplace. New features in recent years have been glitzy, not substantial (such as "Mood Watch"), and the software has become less reliable -- especially under Windows XP. The best thing that Eudora has to recommend it is that it's one of the more powerful email programs on the planet, and there's nothing out there that betters it.
Before you dash off to write me a message asking whether I've tried ... Pegasus Mail, The Bat!, PocoMail, Becky, Courier, Netscape, Outlook Express, Microsoft Outlook 2003, ThunderBird, or any of at least half a dozen other grass-roots competitors ... please don't. I have! I've tried them all at one time or another. Most more than once, and several very recently.
I have also written in great depth about alternative email packages. It's a regularly recurring topic in this newsletter and Windows Insider before Scot's Newsletter. What I've learned about this product category is that -- even more than Web browsers -- the selection of an email package is a matter of supreme personal preference. Features, functionality, and user interface all go into that decision. Also, because so many email programs are free or come bundled on the PCs we buy, cost is another huge factor.
Web browsing is supposed to have been the premier "killer app" of the Internet. But that's never been the truth; browsing is number 2. The most important Internet application is email. Sadly, Microsoft sat on this marketplace even harder than it did on the browser marketplace, but no one seems to have noticed. Outlook Express is one of the most unreliable, non-portable emailers out there. But every Windows user already has it because it's bundled with Windows. And to top it off, Outlook Express's interface is admittedly among the very best. The program also includes some high-end features only found in a handful of other email programs.
Microsoft couldn't care less about Outlook Express though. The product hasn't been significantly updated since about 1998. It doesn't have a marketing team, or even a dedicated, separate development team. Outlook Express is a scarecrow. Its sole purpose seems to be to keep small Internet email software makers away from this category so Microsoft can continue to make gobs of money with its Microsoft Outlook corporate email program.
Back to Eudora
That's part of the reason why I've been a huge
supporter of the comparatively independent Eudora emailer for so many years. But
Qualcomm has another problem, it's not really a software company. And the Eudora
camp within Qualcomm has yet another problem: It's Mac focused and highly
insular. Every major new version of Eudora has a completely new temporary
marketing "team." There's very little contact with the press or end users.
Basically, the Eudora development team feels that it already knows what's best
for end users. And with recent releases of the program in particular, they've
proved that that's simply not the case.
What's wrong with Eudora 6.0? The same things that were wrong with Eudora 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0. Qualcomm isn't listening and apparently doesn't care about the fact that, for example, most new users give up on the program within a week or two. I have personally convinced dozens of people to try this product. My success rate at getting people to stick with it beyond a month is under 10 percent.
Like many companies that have come up against Microsoft in the past (WordPerfect and Lotus spring immediately to mind), the Eudora team appears to have given up. Microsoft is not unbeatable just because it can bundle software in Windows. Does that make it tougher? Sure. Should Microsoft be allowed to compete this way? Absolutely not. But does that mean that Eudora (and Netscape Mail, for that matter), have been in a no-win situation? I don't think so. I don't think either company really tried. Call me Quixotic or an eternal optimist -- but I would pay $50 for an email program that ran rings around Outlook Express. While I realize that casual Internet users probably wouldn't pony up any cash at all, I'd like to believe a lot of people who use email daily for important matters would pay too. When I look at the email offerings out there, none of them does a good job in all the areas necessary.
The problems in all the previous versions of Eudora may be summed up in a few sentences (because otherwise I'm going to write a book about them). Eudora has an abysmal user interface that is loaded with inconsistencies. It breaks almost every interface rule in the book, probably because of the perceived need to be multiplatform compatible (Windows and Mac) while remaining relatively simple under the hood. In fact, Eudora is for all intents and purposes built with a 16-bit orientation to Windows. Most of the files that it creates or that control it are text files, right down to two large .INI files. Many of its processes are modal (meaning that they are designed to operate serially or within bounds). Eudora's address book is overly simple, out of date, not very configurable, and lacks many of the power features of the competition. The error messages contain inane jokes that the programmers apparently still find funny years later even though the rest of us are rolling our eyes.
One of Eudora's biggest problems is that it's far more powerful than people realize, but feature discoverability is extremely poor. Options and settings are all over the place in the most disorganized fashion. The entire Options area might as well be labeled "Miscellaneous." Eudora is in need of clean-sheet redesign that focuses wholly on the Windows platform (Linux could use Eudora too, by the way). But this is unlikely to happen so long as Qualcomm continues to own the product team.
Eudora 6.0
On the face of the latest version of Eudora, it's a
better product than 5.x version that preceded it. The biggest addition is the
wholly Bayesian-based spam filter called SpamWatch. This tool works quite well,
and the interface is both extremely simple and very usable. I find it a better
spam-fighting tool than Spamnix 1.2 beta for Eudora, which also uses Bayesian
technology. It has fewer false positives and misses fewer spams than Spamnix.
The downside is that Eudora has not committed to significantly updating it in
the future, so it might not be a long-term spam solution. You also have to pay
for the Pro version of Eudora 6 to get SpamWatch. It's not available in
sponsored mode.
The next most important addition is left out of many of the Eudora marketing materials. It's called Dual SMTP Authorization, and its purpose is to allow Eudora to interoperate with the increasing restrictions ISPs are placing on sending and forwarding mail. The rest of what's new, contextual filing, the "Content Concentrator," and "Format Painter" are bells and whistles with only slightly better utility than the useless Mood Watch "flame meter" feature introduced by an earlier version of Eudora.
I've been using Eudora 6.0 since early September when it was first released. There are no other significant changes to the product that aren't cosmetic. In other words, all the downsides continue.
The kicker for me is that Eudora 6.0 continues to have a problem that began with earlier versions in October of 2001. Eudora does not run well under Windows XP. The problem is unexplained program crashes. The product stops operating. It also has a tendency to hesitate, or freeze, for a second or two periodically. You can say a lot of things about Windows XP. It isn't a perfect operating system. But the one thing I find that it does well is manage applications. All except for Eudora. [Editor's note: How about Quicken? It's not great either. --Cyndy.]
I will continue to wear my Eudora software handcuffs because I have yet to find a program that has all the power features I require (which admittedly is a longer list for me than most people) and is fully reliable under Windows XP. I need stability. I also strongly prefer a Bayesian-spam filter that is built into my email program's interface.
Of all the competing products out there, the three Eudora competitors that come closest to what I call a real contender are PocoMail, The Bat!, and Pegasus Mail. All three have solid message-filtering tools that equal or better Eudora's. Last I heard, none of them had any sort of built-in Bayesian spam filter. But if, like me, you're looking around for something new -- they're a good bet.
Give Eudora 6 a miss. Unless you're stuck with it for the moment like I am. And be advised, the free sponsor-mode version of Eudora incorporates adware.
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