IMHO New Features Need Preferences, gripes, + a rant

[Samuel Herschbein]

Like most folks, I have many folders of filed mail. In Entourage 2004
all my folders default to the new "Show in Groups" arrangement. What a
PITA. I have to manually go through over 100 folders to get the view I
specifically tailored in the past.

Why do I now have to click a link in every email to see images if the
send isn't in my Address Book? Again, a change from my previous
settings which I wanted. Why isn't there a Preference to turn this off?

Why weren't my Rules, Schedules, and Signatures imported from Entourage
v.X? I copied the Rules & Signature files over, they worked but
required editing because of how folders and categories are done in 2004.
This alone took me over an hour.

Another post tells of my woes with IMAP server root certificates not
working in 2004. Again, the server worked fine in v.X before the
upgrade.


<RANT>
Microsoft needs to learn to stop being so damn arrogant with their
"We'll tell users how to do their work" attitude. Why can so many other
software authors make products that work the way everyone I know does,
yet Microsoft applications are unintuitive, clumsy, and so damn buggy?

Change my settings and then make me manually go through them makes me
waste my time. I bought Microsoft software to make myself productive,
not to have something to spend my time fixing.

I've wasted a total of six hours today trying to get Entourage 2004 to
do what Entourage v.X did immediately before I upgraded. This isn't
productivity, this is shitty software I'm sorry I bought.

I've been a Microsoft user since 1977 (BASIC in ROM on an Ohio
Scientific), but this upgrade is so problematic I'm about ready to jump
ship.

I know this is heresy, I'll probably end up in prison forced to have sex
with other M$ malcontents...
</RANT>

 

[Barry Wainwright]

Like most folks, I have many folders of filed mail. In Entourage 2004
all my folders default to the new "Show in Groups" arrangement. What a
PITA. I have to manually go through over 100 folders to get the view I
specifically tailored in the past.

This is a bit of a problem. They made the feature on by default to 'aid
discovery'. Fortunately, you only have to go through the process of turning
it off once, then the folders will remember your setting.

Alternatively, you may find you like the new arrangements - I have some
custom arrangements set up for different folders and find the new views
very useful.

Why do I now have to click a link in every email to see images if the
send isn't in my Address Book? Again, a change from my previous
settings which I wanted.

Why isn't there a Preference to turn this off?

Yes, this is a new security feature. A huge amount of requests were made for
the old preference to block access to on-line content to be made available
on a message by message basis, since people didn't want spam messages
reporting back to base, but did want the pictures etc in subscribed
newsletters. This was probably one of the 'most requested features', and MS
listened.

If it's a regular sender, add them to the address book. You can then allow
their messages to download the images.

Why weren't my Rules, Schedules, and Signatures imported from Entourage
v.X? I copied the Rules & Signature files over, they worked but
required editing because of how folders and categories are done in 2004.
This alone took me over an hour.

They should have been imported. If they weren't picked up, it is likely
because the import terminated abnormally - most likely due to some database
corruption.

 

[Paul Berkowitz]

They should have been imported. If they weren't picked up, it is likely
because the import terminated abnormally - most likely due to some database
corruption.

Right. It's a very good idea to do a Rebuild of your X identity, in X,
before importing it into 2004. (Even more important if you're coming
directly from 2001 to do it there first.)

--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP Entourage
Entourage FAQ Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/toc.html>
AppleScripts for Entourage: <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/>

Please "Reply To Newsgroup" to reply to this message. Emails will be
ignored.

PLEASE always state which version of Entourage you are using - **2004**, X
or 2001. It's often impossible to answer your questions otherwise.

 

[Samuel Herschbein]

This is a bit of a problem. They made the feature on by default to 'aid
discovery'.

IMO this view doesn't "aid discovery", it disrupts how my eyes have been
scanning text lists for ~50 years. I was happy without it in v.X.

Fortunately, you only have to go through the process of turning
it off once, then the folders will remember your setting.

Having to waste my time to revert to the view I want isn't "fortunate".
The feature should never have been forced upon users without a global
preference. Microsoft needs to quit telling users how to work, just
design software that works the way users do and does what they want &
need.

Please don't go into the "user studies", etc. Ever single user I've
supported over the years (well over 1000) has had more trouble adapting
their work style to Microsoft's applications than for non-Microsoft
products.

Alternatively, you may find you like the new arrangements - I have some
custom arrangements set up for different folders and find the new views
very useful.

I want to do my work, not play with the software. I have an efficient
method of using the old Entourage that works so well I don't use
Mail.app, Address Book, and iCal.

Yes, this is a new security feature. A huge amount of requests were made for
the old preference to block access to on-line content to be made available
on a message by message basis, since people didn't want spam messages
reporting back to base, but did want the pictures etc in subscribed
newsletters. This was probably one of the 'most requested features', and MS
listened.

No, you didn't listen. By your own words, the requests were to BLOCK
access on a message-by-message basis, your feature UNBLOCKs on a
message-by-message basis.

There's a global preference to "Automatically download pictures from my
Address Book contacts", what's the logic in adding that and omitting a
preference to automatically download all pictures?

If it's a regular sender, add them to the address book. You can then allow
their messages to download the images.

Granted, for regulars this is easy, they're already in my address book.
Many legitimate companies send automated messages with fake return
addresses like (e-mail address removed). So now I am
forced to perform another action to read these messages. Forcing me to
interact more with your software does NOT increase my productivity.

They should have been imported. If they weren't picked up, it is likely
because the import terminated abnormally - most likely due to some database
corruption.

The import did not terminate abnormally nor did it give me any error
messages.

And addressing Paul's point in the other post:
Immediately before upgrading, I rebuilt my database, it reported no
errors. Then I immediately quit Entourage v.X before reading any new
messages. Entourage v.X was working fine before the upgrade and has
been working fine since.

And another point: the fact that your databases get corrupted belies bad
programming and/or incorrect algorithms. The database is so fundamental
to Entourage, why hasn't its structure and code been made bulletproof?

I've gone back to Entourage v.X. Can you summarize or point to
Microsoft's return/refund policy?

 

[Dave Cortright]

I want to do my work, not play with the software. I have an efficient
method of using the old Entourage that works so well I don't use
Mail.app, Address Book, and iCal.

If Office v.X worked so well for you, then why did you upgrade?

 

[Barry Wainwright]

No, you didn't listen.

I am not Microsoft. I am not employed by them, paid by them or in any way
bound to them.

MVPs have been described (by MS Executives) as "Microsoft's Most Valuable
Critics".

For a full explanation of what an MVP is, look here:
<http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;mvpfaqs>

 

[Samuel Herschbein]

Sorry, I should have been more careful. To correct that sentence:

No, Microsoft did not listen.

 

[Samuel Herschbein]

If Office v.X worked so well for you, then why did you upgrade?

Entourage works well for me. I have varying opinions about the rest of
the suite. Wanna hear them? Too late...

For anything other than a Microsoft template or a simple memo, Word v.X
takes way more time to create a document that earlier versions. Feature
bloat, bugs, and non-intuitive GUI. Word productivity has been going
down with each upgrade, there are a core group of culprits. First, as
said before, Microsoft needs to stop telling people how to do their
work. Why would anyone turn on auto-formatting of text as the default?
I've seen one user too many nearly have an orgasm when I showed them in
detail how to configure Word so it doesn't make decisions for you.

To me the Gold Standard in all Mac word processors was Word 5.1a. Word
was very good from version 4 to 5. I'd buy it in a second if Microsoft
updated it to carbon (assuming absolutely no changes except to make it
Carbon compatible). In the late 80s I used to take secretarial staff
who had never used a Mac or Word and have them pumping out letters after
an hour of training. That's good software. No-can-do with Word today,
people attend training seminars just to learn how to do a grant
submission to the NSF or NIH.

Excel is the most robust app in the suite. I have no major complaints
nor problems with Excel.

PowerPoint needs a major bug fix update, it is dysfunctional for far too
many people in far too many senarios. Moving simple graphic slide
presentations between platforms is so buggy most people I know have
given up on it.

A good time for a good quite:

"Why is the demand for my opinions never as great as the supply?"

Ashleigh Brilliant (Pot-Shots comic strip artist)