is Outlook free on new Win7 machines

[MikeS]

A friend of mine has a dying XP machine and he's considering what to
buy. If he buys a new Win7 box will Outlook come with it, or will he
have to purchase Office to get it?

 

[Bruce Hagen]

A friend of mine has a dying XP machine and he's considering what to buy.
If he buys a new Win7 box will Outlook come with it, or will he have to
purchase Office to get it?

He will have to purchase Office. Office/Outlook has never been included in
any Windows version. If he has the CD for Office 2003 or later, that is
compatible with Win7.

 

[Ken Blake]

A friend of mine has a dying XP machine and he's considering what to
buy. If he buys a new Win7 box will Outlook come with it, or will he
have to purchase Office to get it?

Several points:

1. In my view, he certainly should get Windows 7. It makes no sense to
get an old obsolescent version of Windows.

2. Outlook does not come with Windows 7, not has it ever come with
*any* version of Windows (although Outlook Express, a very different
program, came with Windows XP).

3. Microsoft Office *may* come, not with Windows, but with the
computer, as something that the manufacturer bundles with the computer
he sells. However, be aware that most copies of Office that come with
computers these days are just trial versions, so if your friend gets
such a machine, he should make sure he knows whether what he's getting
is just a trial version.

4. If he wants Outlook, he can buy it, either by itself or as part of
Microsoft Office.

5. Windows 7 comes with *no* e-mail or newsgroup program. Although
many people object to this, I think it's a step in the right
direction, since it leaves everyone more free to choose whatever
program(s) he likes best. There are many choices available, both from
Microsoft and from third-parties. Some are free and some are for sale.
Microsoft has Windows Live Mail (which is essentially also a newer
version of Outlook Express/Windows Mail, with still another new name)
available for download for free and Outlook (a different program from
outlook express) available for sale, either alone or as part of
Microsoft Office.

Some people will tell you to use Windows Live Mail; others will tell
you to use Thunderbird; still others may have other recommendations.
My advice is to ignore all such recommendations. I personally use
Microsoft Outlook for e-mail and Forté Agent for newsgroups, but you
should try several and choose what *you* like best, rather than make
your decision based on what I, or anyone else, likes best (or even
what Microsoft suggests).


Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

5. Windows 7 comes with *no* e-mail or newsgroup program. Although
many people object to this, I think it's a step in the right
direction, since it leaves everyone more free to choose whatever
program(s) he likes best.

That's bull. People have ALWAYS been able to choose the mail client they
like best. My choice was always Outlook Express, and that choice has now
been taken from me.

 

[Bruce Hagen]

That's bull. People have ALWAYS been able to choose the mail client they
like best. My choice was always Outlook Express, and that choice has now
been taken from me.

There are many people that liked OE, including myself. But the problem is
that all production of Outlook Express ended in June 2006.

 

[bettablue]

A friend of mine has a dying XP machine and he's considering what to buy.
If he buys a new Win7 box will Outlook come with it, or will he have to
purchase Office to get it?

Ken is correct. And, to add my own comments, I would definitely go with
Windows 7. As good as XP was/is, Windows 7 is so much better; especially
for networking. Now to answer your question, Outlook does not come as part
of any version of Windows unless it was included as part of the
manufacturers software bundle. If a computer does come with Outlook, or MS
Office, it is usually a trial version that will either give you limited
functionality, or it will time out so you only have a set amount of time,
usually 30 or 90 days.

I personally use Windows Live Mail for my mail and Usenet needs at home,
even though I also have Microsoft Office 2003 and will be upgrading to 2010
shortly. At work, I use Outlook. Windows Live Mail works best for me at
home because it supports Usenet by default and I have no need for Usenet at
my office. Why Outlook doesn't support Usenet has been a question I have
asked Microsoft numerous times. Although Outlook does not natively support
Usenet, there are several third party programs/plug-ins that will allow you
to add Usenet functionality, for a cost starting at something like $69.95.
Another thing to consider, Microsoft is ending their support of their Usenet
groups, and because of that, many cable companies are following suit and
ending their own Usenet access. Cox is following suit and ending their
Usenet access this month forcing their customers to find alternatives.

Now to get back on topic, Windows Live Mail has functionality that previous
versions of Outlook Express and Windows Mail have either had and later
removed, or have never supported. One of these is the ability to add mail
accounts from web based mail such as Hotmail and Gmail. WLM also allows for
adding other Usenet accounts as well, like eternal-september.org and
AIOE.org. Neither of these can be added into Outlook without the for
mentioned third party program/plug-in.

 

[Gordon]

That's bull. People have ALWAYS been able to choose the mail client they
like best.

Bull yourself. What do the MAJORITY do? "Choose" what's dished up to them on
a plate.

 

[Gordon]

Why Outlook doesn't support Usenet has been a question I have asked
Microsoft numerous times.

Because by far and away the VAST majority of Outlook installations are in a
corporate environment where usenet is either not required or is specifically
banned....and in an Exchange environment if access IS required to some
newsgroups for technical matters then Exchange can be configured to use
Public Folders as newsgroups. Thus there has been no incentive for MS to add
usenet capability to Outlook..

 

[Death]

It doesn't have spell check, junk filters and can explode if the message
store gets too big. Backing it up is a pain and so is restoring it. It's
nick name is Outhouse Distress. The only thing good about it is the
multiple sig feature. You can, however, choose OE if you run Win 7 Pro or
Ultimate with the virtual XP trip so it really hasn't been taken away from
you.

Aiyeeee ... its gonna explode.
Mine has got spelll chek enabled.

 

[Nil]

Another thing to consider, Microsoft is ending their support of
their Usenet groups, and because of that, many cable companies are
following suit and ending their own Usenet access. Cox is
following suit and ending their Usenet access this month forcing
their customers to find alternatives.

You've got that kind of backward. ISPs dropping their own usenet
service has been going on for the past few years, long before
Microsoft decided to end their service. If Cox is ending their
service now, it's a coincidence that has nothing to do with
Microsoft's decision.

 

[Agent_C]

A friend of mine has a dying XP machine and he's considering what to
buy. If he buys a new Win7 box will Outlook come with it, or will he
have to purchase Office to get it?

If you're referring to Outlook [Express]; essentially yes, it's still
free, but it's now called Windows Live Mail.

It doesn't come packaged with W7, it's a separate free download.

http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mail

A_C

 

[Bob]

Win7 does not come with MS Office.


The Open source (free) office suite www.openoffice.org does not include an
integrated email client, but otherwise it will do practically everything MS
Office does.

 

[Ken Blake]

That's bull.

You are always free to disagree with anything I say, but as far as I'm
concerned, you are not free to do it insultingly with a phrase like
that. I won't killfile you yet, but if that continues, I will.

People have ALWAYS been able to choose the mail client they
like best.

Absolutely. And I didn't say otherwise. Note that I said "it leaves
everyone *more* free." My point was although there was always freedom,
only few people exercised that freedom when an e-mail program came
with Windows. Without any included program, everyone is forced to make
a choice, and that is *more* freedom.

My choice was always Outlook Express, and that choice has now
been taken from me.

That has nothing to do with Windows 7. Outlook Express has been gone
since Windows Vista.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003

 

[Ken Blake]

Another thing to consider, Microsoft is ending their support of their Usenet
groups, and because of that, many cable companies are following suit and
ending their own Usenet access. Cox is following suit and ending their
Usenet access this month forcing their customers to find alternatives.

What cable companies (and other ISPs) have been doing really has
nothing to do with Microsoft's dropping their news servers. Note the
following three points:

1. The ISPs are not really "following suit." Many ISPs dropped their
news servers *way* before Microsoft did.

2. There are over 100,000 newsgroups out there. The Microsoft
newsgroups were only a very small percentage of what was available.

3. With regard to the Microsoft newsgroups, because they have always
been echoed to thousands of other news servers all over the world,
what Microsoft does really doesn't mean that they cease to exist. And
if the many ISPs that have had news servers still had them, they would
be helping to keep those Microsoft newsgroups alive.


Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003

 

[Ken Blake]

Why Outlook doesn't support Usenet has been a question I have
asked Microsoft numerous times.

In my view there's no reason why it should. An E-mail client is one
kind of application and a newsreader is another. Although there have
been, and still are, many programs that do both, there's no reason why
they should be packaged together.

In fact, I think separate programs are better, since it leaves us more
free to make the choice that suits us better for an e-mail client and
a different choice that also suits us better for a newsreader. So I
like Outlook for e-mail, but FortÊ Agent for a newsreader; even though
Agent can also do e-mail, I don't use it for that, because I prefer
Outlook for that purpose.

I feel similarly about suites, and almost always avoid them. I want to
make an individual choice concerning each type of program that a suite
may contain. As I single example, I like Corel WordPerfect better than
Microsoft Word, but Microsoft Excel better than Corel Quattro
Professional.

Please note in all the above that I am not trying to convince anyone
that my preferences (Outlook, Agent, WordPerfect, Excel, etc.) are
what they should choose. I am only pointing out that having the
ability to choose which product is best for you is valuable, so any
kind of package of applications, such as a suite, is usually good to
stay away from.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003

 

[milt]

Another thing to consider, Microsoft is ending their support of their Usenet
groups, and because of that, many cable companies are following suit and
ending their own Usenet access. Cox is following suit and ending their
Usenet access this month forcing their customers to find alternatives.

Actually, MS discontinuing their usenet server has nothing to do with
cable companies dropping usenet access. They have been doing that for a
couple of years now, decreasing the service you get but still charging
you the same price, yet another way cable companies are ripping people
off, less service for the same price and sometimes they RAISE the price!
How is that any good for the consumer? Getting less for more...

Honestly, its all a way to cut costs and make more money while bending
the consumer over. As for why MS is doing it, most of their users these
days think the Internet IS the web! It's very sad.

 

[SC Tom]

A friend of mine has a dying XP machine and he's considering what to
buy. If he buys a new Win7 box will Outlook come with it, or will he
have to purchase Office to get it?

If you're referring to Outlook [Express]; essentially yes, it's still
free, but it's now called Windows Live Mail.

It doesn't come packaged with W7, it's a separate free download.

http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mail

A_C

Windows Live Mail is not Outlook Express renamed. Even though the look is
similar, it's an entirely different program.

 

[Ken Blake]

A friend of mine has a dying XP machine and he's considering what to
buy. If he buys a new Win7 box will Outlook come with it, or will he
have to purchase Office to get it?

If you're referring to Outlook [Express]; essentially yes, it's still
free, but it's now called Windows Live Mail.

It doesn't come packaged with W7, it's a separate free download.

http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mail

A_C

Windows Live Mail is not Outlook Express renamed. Even though the look is
similar, it's an entirely different program.

In one sense, you are right of course. But in another sense, it's not
*renamed* Outlook Express, but it is a later version of Outlook
Express. Windows Mail was a later version, and now Windows Live Mail
is a still later version.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003

 

[Agent_C]

Windows Live Mail is not Outlook Express renamed. Even though the look is
similar, it's an entirely different program.

It really doesn't matter... At the end of the day the question is
simply whether Windows still comes with a free email client or not.

A_C

 

[Tattoo Vampire]

It really doesn't matter... At the end of the day the question is
simply whether Windows still comes with a free email client or not.

And the answer is no, since you have to download and install Windows Live
Mail.

--
Regards,
[tv]
Owner/proprietor, Trollus Amongus, LLC

....I'll have one brain on drugs with bacon, toast and juice.