Have you heard the rumors? Outlook Express has kicked the bucket and has been replaced by Microsoft Windows Live Mail. Should we throw a tantrum or have a party? If you’re happy with Outlook Express and it’s still working for you, you don’t have to rush out and do anything but keep in mind that Microsoft is less likely to issue security fixes should something go wrong with their older products. Going with the current editions of your operating system utilities and products is usually a smarter choice.
If you’ve seen Windows Live Mail in action, you may be anxious to upgrade and join the fun. After all, Windows Live Mail brings with it plenty of new, and useful, features such as a built-in RSS feed reader, photo emails which allow you to send high resolution images without filling up your friends’ inboxes, and the ability to manage multiple e-mail accounts (including web accounts like Yahoo mail) in one place.
Not sure you want to give up on OE and jump on board the Windows Live Mail bandwagon? Unlike upgrading from one version of Outlook Express to the next, when you upgrade to Windows Live Mail, you aren’t actually replacing OE; instead, you are adding a second, standalone program. This means that you can run both and decide for yourself which one you prefer!
But what about all of your contacts, messages, account settings and so forth? No worries, when you install Windows Live Mail, it begins importing your Outlook Express data. One annoyance involves the way Windows Live Mail imports the contacts. If you have contacts with multiple e-mail addresses such as a default e-mail address and several auxiliary ones, Windows Live Mail assigns the various addresses to different e-mail types such as personal e-mail, work e-mail, etc. Double check to be sure that you agree with the way these addresses were assigned. Otherwise, the new default may be the wrong (or even an obsolete) e-mail address.
Another consideration if you run Windows Live Mail alongside Outlook Express (or Windows Mail the Vista version of OE) is that you now have two separate programs handling your messages. If you download a message into Windows Live Mail one day and decide to use Outlook Express the next day, your downloaded message from the day before won’t automatically appear in Outlook Express. Because of the possibility of scattering your messages between the two programs, you should make your decision fairly fast. Going back and forth between programs isn’t ideal.
The rumors are true: Outlook Express is out. Upgrading to Microsoft Windows Live Mail is easy, it’s free, it has a lot of cool new features, and you may even like it.
