Microsoft Office Outlook 2003

there are several important new features in office outlook 2003. The most important is to do with how html e-mail is rendered. By default, scripts do not run and external content such as images stored on the internet are not downloaded. This makes outlook more secure as well as improving performance. If you know the e-mail is safe, you can choose to show all the content. Outlook’s layout has changed, so that e-mails are previewed in a vertical pane. The narrower column is easier to read than before, and it makes better use of available space. Those using exchange server benefit from a new offline cache, designed to improve performance, especially over slow internet connections.

this is the best outlook yet, although the product still suffers from hidden complexities. It makes good sense as a personal information manager, especially when synchronised with a pocket pc or palm pda, but as a pure e-mail client it is unnecessarily heavyweight. Full marks to microsoft though for the improved layout and much better e-mail security. --tim anderson