Win7 after 2 years of trying an iMac

[Lainey]

And I'm regretting that I came back to Windows lol! Nothing is easy. I should've stayed with my Windows XP!

But I'm glad I was referred to this forum. Hope to find some solutions.

 

[clifford_cooley]

Hi Lainey - Welcome aboard

I hope we can resolve all of your issues with Windows 7. Windows 7 is truly much easier to work with once you get used to the new layout.

 

[Lainey]

Thanks Clifford for the welcome.

It's not the new layout that's driving me up the wall. It's that simple things like trying to delete an email in Outlook are difficult. I routinely get an "Outlook is not responding" message. After 2 - 3 minutes, the screen unfreezes and the email(s) finally disappear.

My plugins are not functioning in Paint Shop Pro X2 although I've installed proggies and dlls that are recommended to make the problems go away.

Enough whining for now!

 

[Nibiru2012]

Outlook is a poor piece of software in my opinion. If you must use an email client then the Mozilla Thunderbird is better.

 

[catilley1092]

Lainey, welcome to the forum! Being that you were an XP user, as I was for almost eight years (still am on my notebook), Windows 7 will be a breeze to learn. At first, I was afraid to take the leap myself, being that I skipped Vista.

Then I joined this forum, as you have, and have never regretted moving forward to Windows 7, as well as 64 bit computing. You'll get used to things faster than with XP. And, if you use your computer for your job or school, you'll be more productive in both.

BTW, I came close to being a Mac user myself a while back, but the salesperson, apparently inexperienced, used his presentation to bash what I had, rather than seize the opportunity to close on a sale. Looking back on it, he probably done me a favor.

I hope that you find this forum a good place to learn. There's plenty of friendly, professional support here. As well as tutorials & the newly created Free Software Database, many useful, essential & easy to use apps covering almost every need, at no cost to you.

Best of Luck,
Cat

 

[Lainey]

Nibiru - My employer used Windows XP Professional for years and I was very comfortable with Outlook. It could handle anything. But Win7 Outlook has been a disappointment.

Cat - thanks for the encouragement. I got an iMac because I refused to go with Vista when my 2002 XP maxed out. Then when there were so many positive Win7 reviews, I decided I'd try Windows again. I do hope I find solutions to my issues.

 

[Nibiru2012]

Yes Windows 7 Outlook is a disappointment to many users out there.

Personally, I for one don't use email clients due to potential security issues. I just use my browser instead, more security that way.

I am not sure of how many here do use an email client, Outlook in particular.

I'm sure you'll find Windows 7 everything you hoped it to be. If you need assistance we'll be glad to help ya.

 

[Lainey]

Thanks Nibiru!

 

[Core]

What exactly is the "Windows 7 Outlook"?

 

[Nibiru2012]

It's the email client that used to be known as Outlook Express. It's no longer bundled with the software but available as a separate download.

Go to Windows 7 and Outlook and you can read more about it.

 

[TrainableMan]

Outlook Express was the stripped-down free version of Microsoft's POP3 email program (mail is maintained on your HD) that has been discontinued and Microsoft recommended moving to web-based mail with Microsoft Live instead.

Microsoft Outlook is the full blown version of their email program and comes with Microsoft Office. I use hotmail but very few other features of live and I use Microsoft Outlook 2007 for my pop3 email with no issues whatsoever.

There is some talk that web-based mail is less risky virus-wise but personally knowing my mail is under my control and backup is worth more than that risk. If you fail to logon to hotmail every 30 days then your mail may be deleted. I have also seen at least one post where they claim Microsoft has accidentally deleted all their mail (neither has ever happened to me and I can't be sure it wasn't user error in the second situation but I prefer it be within my control).

 

[Core]

Windows Live Mail isn't really my cup of tea. I didn't like Outlook Express either, but that's just because it was too...featureless.

I haven't had any major issues with Outlook (the full version, not Live Mail or Express). 2007 was much better than 2003, and 2010 is a huge improvement over 2007. I quite like Outlook 2010 x64 - it's fast, responsive, and has a lot of features. The only thing I wish for is 64-bit 2-way sync with Google's Calendar and email, but that's up to Google, not Microsoft.

In my personal experience Thunderbird is inferior to Outlook, but superior to Outlook Express or Live Mail. On the flip side, if you don't already have Office, and don't need its other programs, then purchasing Outlook just for the purpose of having an email client isn't really worth it IMO - Thunderbird isn't a bad option in that case.

I am one of those odd ducks who prefer a real email client to web-based email solutions. I used webmail for about a year, and my email use dropped about 80%. I am much less likely to respond to people's emails when I have to do it in a clunky webmail interface.

 

[Lainey]

fyi - The version I have is Outlook 2010.