Hi Ming-Li,
Thursday, August 17, 2000, 3:00:46 PM, you wrote:
>> Perhaps not a need, but a desire to be able to organize, manage,
>> store messages from both sources together.
Ming-Li> I also happen to find newsreader and email client fit quite nicely
Ming-Li> together. Agent became so popular in no small part because it
Ming-Li> incorporates email into newsreading, thought its lack of
Ming-Li> multi-account support proves to be quite devastating for email
Ming-Li> purpose.
However, Agent's position is the opposite of TB!'s. Agent had made an
extraordinary good newsreader - the best commercial one AFAIK - and
probably wanted to add some functionality that made them stand out
against the "others". Subsequentially adding simple but effective
email-functionality isn't an extremely weird choice IMHO. It's rather
simple to do so too: you just make it look and feel like a newsgroup.
It lies differently when having a look at TB!
Firstly, The Bat! is just a kick-ass email-client, so to speak. Users
of TB! use it because of this kick-ass-element. Integrating a
newsreader in TB! would put it beside it's specialism. And, as we all
probably know, widening your range of products way well cause a lack
of all those tiny details that make a product stand out against the
others. As already mentioned, email-functionality for Forte Agent was
such a detail. Integrating a newsreader in TB! isn't a detail at all:
it's doubling your capabilities, your must-haves etcetera.
Latter will probably have it's effect on TB!'s handiness and overview,
too.
Moreover, TB! attracts more experienced users, generally spoken. It
does not need to offer a complete package of all sorts of functions,
as Outlook Express OTOH *does*, since most users already have laid
their hand on some good newsreader as XNews or Agent. At least, that's
what I think.
Ming-Li> Newsgroups are similar to mailing lists in many ways. That's why TB
Ming-Li> has so many features that are designed for mailing lists which are
Ming-Li> of much less use for private email (e.g., threading, mail
Ming-Li> expiration, etc.). While TB is very good, however, I still feel it
Ming-Li> lacking when browsing through mailing lists, compared to Agent or
Ming-Li> XNews. (The lack of "ignore", "watch" and "keep" functionality stand
Ming-Li> out.) If TB (maybe in v2) can improve in mailing list reading, then
Ming-Li> why not using it for news reading?
Because there are a hell of a lot functions you will have to add, that
have nothing to do with email or mailinglists.
You can either choose to add these features or not. If you *do* add them, TB!
will get larger in size, and it's overview and functionality will
suffer. If you do *not* offer the mentioned features, you're stuck with some average
newsreader integrated into a wonderful email-client.
<snip>
Ming-Li> I understand some people are wary about bloatware. I know I do. I
Ming-Li> also agree with many that RIT should make it their first priority to
Ming-Li> strengthen TB's position as an email client. I just hope TB can
Ming-Li> succeed at both. Just a wish.
That would be my wish too - but I doubt it seriously that TB! will be
able to do so.
--
Best Regards,
Arno mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
--------------------------------------------------------------
View the TBUDL archive at http://tbudl.thebat.dutaint.com
To send a message to the list moderation team double click here:
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To Unsubscribe from TBUDL, double click here and send the message:
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
--------------------------------------------------------------
You are subscribed as : archive@jab.org
