Re: News Reader...

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

From: Vanguard (see_signature)
Date: 01/10/05 

Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2005 10:46:43 -0600

"Dave A" <dave@sigmasolutionsdonotspamme.com.au> wrote in message
news:%23aURIDx9EHA.3336@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
> Tell me if I am going out on a limb but.... why isn't an NNTP news
> reader incorporated into Outlook? I know there is a link to News but
> it opens Outlook Express.
>
> I know there are some third party ones out there but it really should
> be part of the product.

And how much MORE are you willing to pay to Microsoft to add more bloat
to Outlook? If Microsoft sold a version of Outlook without the
newsreader functionality and another version with the newsreader
functionality for, say, $30 more, do you really think that Microsoft
will generate enough revenue to continue marketing that more expensive
but far less used version of their product just so they could lose money
to placate a few non-business-use users? It's not that you want more
bloat in Outlook. It's that you want it for free. You've already got
that with OE. If you really absolutely had a need to view newsgroups
inside of Outlook, I believe there are products that do that as add-ons,
like Newslook ($32), MAPIlabs NNTP for Outlook ($25), and Newsgator
($29). Oops, I forgot, you don't want to pay for it. So what do you do
for work that you give away for free? You're still using Outlook
Express because you're too cheap to go buy a better newsreader. Me,
too. If Microsoft added NNTP support into Outlook and upped the price
by $30 for EVERYONE then a hell of a lot of users would bitch about
paying for functionality they don't need and which is already provided
free via OE. Do any of the PIM (Personal Information Managers), like
Act and others, actually incorporate newsgroups?

Outlook is a PIM that happens to include e-mail because that has become
a viable *business* communications channel. You really think
participating in newsgroups is a primary business activity? I use it
for research and help at work but it is definitely not used when
communicating to Development, Sales, or other departments within my
company and it is definitely not used when communicating to our
customers, suppliers, or anyone else involved with our business. It's
bad enough to get the occasional e-mail with a virus but you want to
worsen the situation by bringing in newsgroups that are rife with
viruses, spyware, and other malware. Outlook is geared for business use
(but which does not preclude for personal use, but the personal-use
market is not where Outlook is being primarily marketed). Newgroups is
for personal use and why you see it in a product geared towards the
personal-use market.

Why does a Geo Metro have a radio/CD player with front & rear speakers
but a Formula 1 race car does not? One was designed for personal
transportation and the other is not. Microsoft couldn't give squat
about the measly sales it might engender, if any, by personal-use buyers
that purchase their Outlook product. They are interested in corporate
sales and so they tailor the product for use in that market as a
business solution. I suppose if a convincing enough case could be
presented that business are in dire need of newsgroups then Microsoft
would reconsider and simply go buy or contract an add-on to add NNTP
support. Yet, I still see corporations *restricting* access to
newsgroups because they do NOT want their employees wasting time there
and because of the security risks.

Yet another case where Microsoft's bad decision to rename Internet Mail
& News to Outlook Express has confused end users simply because a couple
of their products share a common word in their product title. "it really
should be part of the product". Yeah, yet another user who wants more
bloatware while the rest of us want a stable product that does want it
was designed to do.

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