The Many Flavors of E-mail and Outlook from Microsoft

October 25, 2012

I don’t know about you, but my head has been spinning in the last months as I consider all the different Microsoft offered e-mail programs, and how they relate to Outlook and Exchange. I watch these because MYN/1MTD is often closely tied to Outlook, and as new e-mail program variants come out, we all start to wonder which we can use with MYN/1MTD.

First, let me list all the various mail programs from Microsoft that I am aware of—it’s quite a list! You’ve got the many versions of desktop Outlook (usually part of the desktop Office suites that include Outlook). You’ve got Outlook Web Access/App (OWA). You’ve got Windows Mail in Vista. You’ve got the Mail portion of Windows Live, Windows Live Essentials, Windows Essentials (and Windows Live Mail). You’ve got the mail portion of the new web-based Office 365. You’ve got the new Outlook.com. You’ve got the new Mail app in Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 RT. You have Hotmail. And a while ago you may have had Outlook Express. Did I miss anything?

Only One for MYN/1MTD

Now, let me try to simplify things, especially for MYN/1MTD users. Out of all of the above, only one has tasks support for MYN/1MTD, and that’s desktop Outlook (all versions from 2000 to 2013). Only desktop Outlook is supported because it’s the only software that fully implements the Outlook Tasks module—and that’s what we need for MYN/1MTD, the full Outlook Tasks module. If you cannot use desktop Outlook, then, no matter which other e-mail program you use for mail, you will need something else for tasks (in that case, I recommend you use Toodledo for tasks for MYN/1MTD).

All the Other Microsoft Mail Programs

What about all the other mail programs above? How do they relate to MYN/1MTD? How do they relate to my daily business mail?

What follows are some FAQs that may help.

Q: Which of the above can be used with my business Exchange e-mail account?

A: Desktop Outlook, OWA, Office 365, and the Mail apps in Windows 8 Pro and RT are the business mail apps you will be looking at since they work with Exchange. As a side note, apparently there are also ways to get Windows Live Mail to work with IMAP features of Exchange. But again, only desktop Outlook works with MYN and 1MTD tasks.

Q: What about the Tasks module in OWA and Office 365? Why can’t I use those with MYN/1MTD?

A: Well, the Tasks module in OWA and Office 365 can access your Exchange tasks, but since you cannot create the MYN views that you need to really manage your tasks in those apps, they are not really suitable.

Q: What’s the deal about the new Outlook.com—is that related to my Outlook mail somehow?

A: No, this is not really Outlook. Rather, it’s a rebranding and redesign of Hotmail, so it’s web-based and has no tasks or Exchange access.

Q: What about the ever-name-changing Windows Live, Windows Live Essentials, Windows Essentials, and Windows Live Mail.  Are these a factor for me and my business?

A: These are all evolutions of the same product suite designed for non- or low- business use. I’ve never used any of them so cannot comment much, but my take is the latest iteration (Windows Essentials/Windows Live Mail) is still a viable mail client option, but mostly for home users. No tasks support and not to be considered for MYN/1MTD.

Q: What about Outlook Express?

A: Outlook Express has been dead for a long time. It was replaced by Windows Mail (Vista) and then Windows Live Mail (Windows Essentials).

Hope that helps a bit!

Michael

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

5 Responses to The Many Flavors of E-mail and Outlook from Microsoft

  1. Peter Forman says:

    So, besides Outlook (client), what other programs are there, if any, that offer a robust, integrated email, cal, contacts, notes, and task environment like Outlook?
    (And preferably one that handles tasks a bit better than Outlook).
    For either Windows or Mac.
    Thanks
    Peter

  2. Richard Rubin says:

    I am a Mac user but just today was saying that I don’t like Mac mail (plus I can’t use your system at home). If I get Microsoft Office for Mac, will that have the needed Outlook functionality?

    • Michael Linenberger says:

      Richard, I’d upgrade no matter what, just for the better mail client. And you can sort of use the Mac version of Outlook for MYN tasks—I have it all covered in the Outlook Book (Ed 3), how to do it. I also tell folks who use Outlook Mac to consider using Toodledo for tasks; they work together fine.
      Michael

  3. best think complete knowledge in this blog thanks
    can use this link – Windows Live Mail Support

Leave a Reply to peater parker Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.