Thunderbirds are Go! (without Outlook 2007)
I’ve ditched Outlook 2007and moved to Mozilla Thunderbird. Why? My Outlook 2007 is running like a dog; a three legged dog!
Now it might not be Outlook’s fault. My .pst is over 1GB, I have one or two add-ins.
However, would I recommend Outlook 2007 to an Outlook 2003 user? Nope! I can’t work out the difference other than the ribbon in composing emails, and coloured squares for categories (you can’t even colour in the whole line!). The “Ribbon” - isn’t it about time someone said the Emperor Has No Clothes. It’s just an expanded tool bar that is so thick it enables more functionality to be visible. Big Deal!! And you can’t find some of the things that you used to use! So it’s swings and roundabouts.
I can’t fully explain it, but Outlook 2007 seems very slow to load and use, just like the other Office 2007 products. Ok, I don’t have the latest processor, and I have 500MB of RAM, but that’s a reasonable configuration isn’t it? Maybe I should archive much of my email in Outlook, but why should I? I want it immediately accessible and searchable.
And Thunderbird ain’t no carnival. It’s a bit clunky with weird defaults, and I can’t work out if what I see is is what I’m sending, from a font size perspective. However, do you know how wonderful it feels to have Thunderbird load in 5secs, instead of the 2mins+ that Outlook is taking, plus another minute to populate the preview pane of an email I click on!!
I don’t use Outlook Calendar, being a SOHO, but I do use Outlook Tasks, so I’ve transferred my tasks over to my MindManager mindmap. Now what’s amazing is the lumpiness of having my tasks on my mindmap, have made it easier to actually do actions, rather then see line after line of uniform things to do.
So here’s the thing….if I’m no longer using Outlook, MindManager isn’t lumpy enough in organic feel and interface options, and I’m starting to think about OpenOffice, whilst I’m in the mood……what’s stopping me from moving to a……Mac!!!
July 19th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Google for the domain and throw in some Google apps for a little spice. Add the Gnotebook and you are all done. I pitched Microsoft in June and I have yet to look back.
I keep thinking Apple also but I need my kidney and can not afford to sell it on eBay.
July 22nd, 2007 at 1:59 am
Interesting read. I’ve just attempted to ween myself from Outlook via Thunderbird and a collection of other disparate applications for calendar, task etc. but with reliance on several add-ons in Outlook, life became even more complicated so I cleaned out Outlook and went back!
Thunderbird is a great email application but also has its quirks. I rely on Plaxo a lot to keep details up to date, but couldn’t find a way to keep that data in sync. As painful as it is, there is no application that brings it all together like Outlook, particularly if you need to access any of your data while off-line.
July 23rd, 2007 at 8:56 am
I believe that I read somewhere that it was recommended that you have at least 1GB of RAM to run MS Outlook 2007. I know, it’s crazy. I’m still using Outlook 2003 + Netcentrics GTD plugin.
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:12 pm
500MB of RAM is not a great config for Vista, or so Dell tells me. They recommended 1GIG as a minimum.
Your pst file should never be over 1GIG, so archive your oldest stuff already, you can still search it.
Outlook 2007 has more features than 2003, if you haven’t found them, one is RSS support, so make sure you check those out before you dump it.
Also remember to detach your attachments in any mail program, it’s email, not a file storage system.
Save them to an Outlook File folder on your HD and edit your email to remove the original file and add a marker for the saved file name eg. [ExcelFile1], it’ll save you heaps of space.
September 12th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
if you are using thunderbird you may want to
try out the nostalgy plugin. It gives you keyboard shortcuts to save to folders if that is part of
your process. Has sped up my email archiving greatly.
October 6th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Hey guys long time listener just coming back after your 9 month break - I am an EA to 2 execs so productivity is not just for me but getting and keeping them on track - its a daily chore so keep the tips flowing..
cheers ws
October 19th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Hi Guys,
Time for a new show!! I’m new to TPN and have caught up on the entire history of this show over the past fortnight.
Keep up the great work.