At the outset, let me state that this is not going to be a technical review in any way, as I am the farthest thing from a "techie" that there is:). Rather, this is a review of things that I as a "lay tech" (is this a word? it is now!) enjoy using in Outlook Express--its bells and whistles. And for me, there are plenty of them.

First of all, there is the humongous inbox. It holds the equivalent of a snail-mail blue and red mail collection box's contents. I mean, on a typical Monday morning, I will have 573 messages in my inbox--on ONE account name!!
(I generally take the weekend off the computer, due to myriad musical responsibilities, and so I have a pileup of email on Mondays.) And as I'm downloading those 573, more will be incoming--plop, plop, plop, right through the mail slot (as it were), just like clockwork. My husband and I have five email accounts between us, and the OE inbox has no trouble whatsoever accommodating all of it.

Another thing I like is that you can delete everything in the Deleted Items folder at one fell swoop. You just right-click on the Deleted Items folder, and a warning box comes up: "Are you sure you want to delete everything in the Deleted Items folder?" complete with box to check for "yes", "no", or "cancel". Click on "yes", a little hourglass pops up, and a few seconds later all that trash is carried to the curb:). Presto, your mail is moving a lot more quickly!

But my favorite feature, by far, is the ability to create and import email stationery to Outlook Express. OE comes with a few rather typical stationery pieces--like twining ivy, for example--but you don't have to use these if you'd rather not. There is a feature within the OE stationery box that allows you to create your own stationery--complete with designs, background colors, and fonts. As you get more comfortable with the whole stationery creation concept, you may choose to go further afield online to support your "habit". (It took me only a short while to get to the point of trolling for stationery sites for an hour or so every night, and to thus amass a large collection of great pieces!) Here's a tip: use the sites that promote "self-installing" stationery, as these are very easy to transfer to your OE.

Import whatever your little heart desires to the OE stationery box, click on the title, and you will then be shown a preview in the box to the right. If this is the stationery you want to use for your email, click "OK". The stationery then comes up in your "new message" email, all ready to have your scintillating wit sprawled across the page--in living color.

I know I mentioned the fonts above, but you can import as many of those as you like as well--which is another great feature OE affords. (However, as my husband wryly remarks, it IS possible to have so many that you forget sometimes which ones you downloaded, and can thus actually USE.) At last count, I have about 200 fonts which I enjoy mixing and matching with different stationeries. Outlook Express allows me to express my feelings and thoughts on any given day, at any hour, via its extensive (and expandable!) stationery "playground", and to also brighten the feelings of the folks I send my email to. This is a very enjoyable way to encourage friends and family--for them, and for myself too!

I've used several other email clients, and they were ok, but Outlook Express is the cream of the crop as far as I'm concerned. It is crampacked with many "extras" that make email a real pleasure. If you have creative instincts that are begging to come out and play, I strongly recommend that you get Outlook Express and start slingin' paint. My guess is that you'll get so wrapped up in it that you won't want to go inside for lunch:).


Recommended: Yes