Walt's Corner

Note: original document had images. They have been removed.

Not so much of a review as it is a record of what kept me from fully trying it. Let’s go back to the beginning.

I heard of this new email client, and I love email clients. Especially great ones. With the plethora of workable clients available, one has to be superb in order for me to buy it. But that’s exactly what I did early on. My first paid for client was Eudora 3.x for the Mac. Then MS came out with their new Outlook Express 5 for Mac. I loved it. Loved it so much that I used both it and my Eudora (since I paid for it). I would use one for a while, then switch to the other because I missed it.

Outlook Express eventually evolved into what is now Entourage. And yes, I paid for it. Much more than I paid for Eudora. And that was the first one for the classic Mac OS. Then I upgraded it to the v.X, 2003, and finally, 2008. But I don’t use it. Why? I love the default email client that comes free with my Mac – Mail.

After I read about this Outspring Mail, I went to the website to see what it looked like. Nothing. No screenshots. I saw they had documentation for all their programs. So I went to their docs library to check it out. Everything but Outspring Mail. So I fired off an email to their info address telling them that I had attempted to see what it looked like but they had no screenshots to tempt me into downloading their trial. I have to give them kudos on their response. I had an email that day telling me that they had posted a screenshot. So I went back to look at it. It still didn’t look very appealing, but what the heck. I downloaded it last night (yes, the updated version).

First let’s talk about the aesthetics. Yes, it has that Leopard look, but the buttons are lines and scribbles. Check it out.

Those have to go. Give me something that has a more real, or at least virtually real look. Lines don’t cut it. That’s so etch-a-sketch. Maybe if I shake my screen they’ll go away? Compare that to Mail’s:

Second, let’s talk about importing my other email into it. Didn’t happen. I’ve got 4 main email accounts:
.Mac (IMAP) – my main email account
BasilWeb (IMAP) – my own domain mail server
AKO (IMAP) – my work email
Roadrunner (POP3) – my ISP meager email offering that I don’t use except to receive two emails per month; telling my bill is ready, and giving me my confirmation that I paid my monthly bill.

You can see them here, in my favorite email client, Mail, when I expand my “Inbox.”

See them all? Outspring Mail offered to import 3 of them, along with my local folders. Outspring Mail totally ignored my .Mac account. But I went ahead and allowed it to import the 3 accounts and the local folders. The result was pretty ugly. I had one email in my .Mac inbox, and of course it wasn’t there because Outspring Mail didn’t import that one. So you can see in the following screenshot that Outspring Mail’s inbox is empty.

I thought, no problem, I’ll just go ahead and check out the rest of my IMAP folders. I knew from the start that since it didn’t offer to import my .Mac account, I shouldn’t expect to see that email in there. But there were none. So I checked the rest of my accounts – nothing. I assumed this could be fixed by setting my IMAP path prefix to “INBOX” like I do in Mail and on my iPhone, but when I went searching for that preference, it wasn’t anywhere to be found. A quick search through it’s help menu brought up some troubleshooting tips – for Apple’s Mail.

So there you go. Color me unimpressed, which I’m told is a darker shade of black. Is there any other? And all this failure for the low price of around $95. Ouch. I guess it may find a small following. I suppose it has a nice feature that I would like to have: the ability to automatically file my mail for me. I’m a very organized person. Email from family gets filed into Saved > Family. Email from the wife gets filed into Saved > Family > Wife. The two emails a month I get from Time Warner for my bill get filed under Saved > Finances > Time Warner. See where I’m going with this? That feature would definitely be handy. But there are some other basic features that I don’t see that I really need. LIke when my wife sends me a class update or something from her Outlook. She invites me. My Apple Mail passes it to my iCal, and it puts it in my schedule for me and notifies her of my acceptance of her invite. I’m not giving that feature of for some automatic filing. And that etch-a-sketch look. I could never get over that. Talk about two steps backward. Then there’s the whole $95 entrance fee. Get with the times Outspring! Not the going price for even an advanced email client. Even Microsoft has the decency to throw in a couple more applications with Entourage for that price. Maybe you’ve heard of them? Word. Excel. Student/Teacher version runs around $100 and anyone can get that price in a brick and mortar store without being a student. I take my email seriously but Outspring Mail doesn’t seem to be for me.

I expect them to add features and lower the price if they want to remain competitive.