June 29, 2013
The big news for Windows 8 RT tablets this week is that Outlook RT is out as part of the Windows 8.1 Preview that was just released. Windows 8.1 Preview is a sneak peek at the next big windows release coming later this year. It fixes things like adding back in a start button (sort of) and allowing boot directly to desktop, and a ton of other improvements.
But being the Outlook Productivity Guy, my interest is in the Outlook RT that comes with it. Let’s face it, if you can pick up an iPad-sized tablet that runs a full copy of Outlook for $299, with Outlook included free, that’s important for anyone who relies on Outlook and has been yearning for a cheap tablet to run it on. [In case you are new to my blogs, I feel you really need a full copy of Outlook to do serious task and e-mail management (as we do in my MYN system). So getting the full Outlook application onto a cheap tablet is a big deal .]
Use Caution Installing Windows 8.1
If you are thinking about trying this Preview out, it’s important to point this out: to get this Outlook onto your Surface RT, you must install the Windows 8.1 preview—and this is just a preview—it’s like a beta. In fact, I haven’t loaded it yet as I am a bit leery of what this may do to my Surface RT tablet. Paul Thurrott, in his install instructions, points out that once you install it, you cannot easily go back. And if the install goes bad, like his did, your computer is hosed unless you have a restore CD handy. So use caution.
Is Outlook RT Really a Full Copy of Outlook?
Yes, reportedly the Outlook RT is really a full copy of Outlook, at least almost. It is limited a bit, just like all the other Office products on RT are limited a bit. Mary Jo Foley lists the things that don’t work in this copy of Outlook, at this link:
The only thing in that list that catches my eye as slightly troublesome is that COM add-ins won’t work. So ClearContext will probably not install in this copy of Outlook. But that is really all I see bothering me. But I don’t work on a corporate network—there are a bunch of things also on that list that would negatively impact that as well, so study the list if you hope to plug into your mother ship at work.
If and when I do install this on my Surface RT, I’ll let you know how I like this copy of Outlook RT. But for now, I am trusting the reviews: it works!
By the way, to see the many improvements in Windows 8.1 in the preview released last week, try this link:
Michael
