Windows Mail has been removed from Windows 7, along with several other applications. We'll look at where to find their replacements.
It's true - Outlook Express was replaced by Windows Mail in Windows Vista, but with the release of Windows 7 even that has disappeared, along with Windows Messenger and a few other items.
To be honest, that's good news for small business owners because neither outlook express or windows mail was a good solution for business email.
The official replacements are all now part of Windows Live. For Windows Mail, you can now download its replacement, the free Windows Live Mail. Miss your Windows Messenger? Grab Windows Live Messenger. These applications unblur the line between personal and professional, they are clearly designed from the ground up with "home based email" in mind.
Microsoft has an page specifically directing you to the replacement applications: Finding your applications in Windows 7 for home use.
So the replacements are there; Microsoft has simply removed the years of duplication by making Windows Live the official, single set of tools for family / home / personal communication you can download and use if you like.
The problem, of course, is migration. The Microsoft page above indicates that you can Import directly from Outlook Express and Windows Mail folders stored on your hard disk. I've also seen advice to actually download and convert to Windows Live Mail before upgrading or installing Windows 7. (There's even one hack out there that supposedly allows you to copy the Windows Mail executable from your Windows Vista system, but I don't recommend it.)
The full list of applications "replaced" by downloads from Windows Live includes:
•Outlook Express -> Windows Live Mail
•Windows Address Book -> Windows Live Mail
•Windows Calendar -> Windows Live Mail
•Windows Contacts -> Windows Live Mail
•Windows Mail -> Windows Live Mail
•Windows Messenger -> Windows Live Messenger
•Windows Movie Maker -> Windows Live Movie Maker
•Windows Photo Gallery -> Windows Live Photo Gallery
And as I alluded to earlier, there's no requirement that you download or use any of these replacements. In fact, it might be a fine opportunity to evaluate alternatives.
If you're using your email for business there are two applications I recommend to most all of my clients for small office email. For single stand alone home offices where not a lot of information (calendar, contacts, email) needs to be share internally with other employees Microsoft Outlook is the ideal solution, it comes standard with Microsoft office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) and is great for solo-preneurs.
If you're in a shared environment Microsoft recomends you install an Exchange server allowing you to "exchange" information using, you guessed it, outlook. You can share contacts, calendars, to do items and even peek in on (and help deal with) each others emails! Problem is it's VERY expensive to implement for a small business, think $10,000 the first year and $3,000 in maintenance each year after that! Yikes! But there are more cost effective alternatives, namely HOSTED Microsoft exchange, just like we have others "host" our website, we can ask others to "host" our exchange data / email. The advantage here is a low monthly cost (as little as $10) for full Microsoft Exchange implementation, everything you have in outlook can be shared with coworkes easily regardless of their physical location AND it allows for real time blackberry synchronization (no more plugging in the blackberry cable!)
As a 3rd option for an almost NO cost solution, Google... that's right, Gmail, they'll let you, for a small fee, use their gmail service for your @mycompany.com email address, allowing web based anywhere in the world access to your email AND even offer resource (calendar, contacts etc) sharing with others in your @mycompany.com domain.
Looking for the RIGHT email solution instead of the one that "came with the computer"? Give us a call at The Technology Coach, your very own Small Business Technology Department.
Showing posts with label outlook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label outlook. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Let others know you're not in the office with the Out of Office Auto Reply!
As many of us head off for a week or two for the Holidays we worry a little, perhaps a lot, about others not being able to reach us while we are away.
Being small business owners it's important to be "reachable" when our customers want to ask questions or make a purchase, for that reason it's important to give a realistic expectation of when you will be able to contact or follow up with your customers or potential customers when you area away.
Remember when you take time off this holiday season to change your office and cell phone voice mail messages to let callers know if you're away for the holidays, for how long and whether or not you're checking messages.
Remember as well to not leave details like "the whole family is away in florida and the house is empty" for safety reasons of course!
Rather than coming back to a packed e-mail in-box and a full voice-mail box, spend a few minutes crafting a useful out-of-office message and people will be able to redirect or park tasks appropriately.
"out of office" email reminders are also important, and below you'll find some tips, tricks and step by step instructions for creating a great out of office message in either Outlook or Outlook express.
A good out of office message has four parts:
1. Dates of your absence. Let the contact know when you are out of the office. It helps them decide what their next step is going to be; whether to wait for your return or to direct their request elsewhere.
2. Reason for absence. I like to let my contacts know whether I am on a business trip or vacation. A business trip means I am connected to the office in some way and might be able to respond to a message. If I’m on vacation, I’m out of contact range.
3. Set Expections Let the caller know whether or not you will be returning calls or emails while you are away.
4. Who to contact in your absence. I try and leave contact information for alternate contacts when I am out of the office; a minimum of one up to as many as are needed.
Remember that just because you leave an out-of-office message, it doesn’t mean that you have properly communicated with the sender. There are three things you should keep in mind when composing the message. It should be:
* Complete: give all the detail necessary. Don’t say, “I’m out of the office” or “I’m gone for two weeks.” Make it precise. “I am away from the office starting December 17th and will be back January 2nd.
* Concise: keep it as short as possible while still making it complete. Use short, bulleted phrases. People don’t want to read a novel in your out-of-office reply.
* Clear: make sure it’s easy to understand. Don’t use abbreviations, job titles or internal jargon that will not be understood by everyone sending you a message.
For detailed instructions on how to create an out of office reply see instructions below.
Being small business owners it's important to be "reachable" when our customers want to ask questions or make a purchase, for that reason it's important to give a realistic expectation of when you will be able to contact or follow up with your customers or potential customers when you area away.
Remember when you take time off this holiday season to change your office and cell phone voice mail messages to let callers know if you're away for the holidays, for how long and whether or not you're checking messages.
Remember as well to not leave details like "the whole family is away in florida and the house is empty" for safety reasons of course!
Rather than coming back to a packed e-mail in-box and a full voice-mail box, spend a few minutes crafting a useful out-of-office message and people will be able to redirect or park tasks appropriately.
"out of office" email reminders are also important, and below you'll find some tips, tricks and step by step instructions for creating a great out of office message in either Outlook or Outlook express.
A good out of office message has four parts:
1. Dates of your absence. Let the contact know when you are out of the office. It helps them decide what their next step is going to be; whether to wait for your return or to direct their request elsewhere.
2. Reason for absence. I like to let my contacts know whether I am on a business trip or vacation. A business trip means I am connected to the office in some way and might be able to respond to a message. If I’m on vacation, I’m out of contact range.
3. Set Expections Let the caller know whether or not you will be returning calls or emails while you are away.
4. Who to contact in your absence. I try and leave contact information for alternate contacts when I am out of the office; a minimum of one up to as many as are needed.
Remember that just because you leave an out-of-office message, it doesn’t mean that you have properly communicated with the sender. There are three things you should keep in mind when composing the message. It should be:
* Complete: give all the detail necessary. Don’t say, “I’m out of the office” or “I’m gone for two weeks.” Make it precise. “I am away from the office starting December 17th and will be back January 2nd.
* Concise: keep it as short as possible while still making it complete. Use short, bulleted phrases. People don’t want to read a novel in your out-of-office reply.
* Clear: make sure it’s easy to understand. Don’t use abbreviations, job titles or internal jargon that will not be understood by everyone sending you a message.
For detailed instructions on how to create an out of office reply see instructions below.
- For Microsoft Outlook 2002, 2003 or 2007 in a corporate email server environment click HERE
- For Microsoft Outlook 2000 in a corporate email server environment click HERE
- For Microsoft Outlook in a small office or home office environment you can emulate the out of office assistant normally only available in a corporate environment by following this two step process HERE, remember however that you will need to leave the computer on with outlook open and the internet connected while you are away.
- Lastly if you are using Microsoft Outlook Express you can emulate the out of office message by following the instructions HERE and remember to leave the computer on with outlook express open and the internet connected while you are away.
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