"IMM" wrote in message
...
snip
So having a final release of OE is not likely to inconvenience most
users
and should be viable for at least 10 years.

No big deal then :-)

The big deal is that OE is the target for viruses. When and if Outlook
has
a news server function, then this will become the target. So little
change,
or have M$ written some real tight code to prevent/minimise idiots playing
out with it? For such a large company with a bottomless pit of money, I
find it inconceivable that they can't write secure software.

Why should software written by a committee of maintenance programmers be
more functional and secure than software written by a small group of
dedicated enthusiasts?

I find it (almost) inconceivable that a large(ish) Government with
(relatively) bottomless pits of money can produce so much crap software over
budget and late. However, they are pretty consistent. Large projects and
large companies do not generally produce excellence because the drag factor
of all the workplace politicians and niche cloggers destroys most true
innovation.

As suggested elswhere M$ recognise this, and buy in innovative ideas.

However once they get their hands on them the committee strikes!

The main problem with OE (as with many other M$ products) is the shoehorning
in of interfaces to other M$ products.
Giving loads of APIs to a product then opens it up to (gasp) access by
external programs.
Not surprising that not all external programs are friendly.

The best way to fix the M$ mess is to break the software up into chunks
which have to compete with outside innovators for market share.
Not difficult to predict the result, which is why M$ are so against the
idea.

But then I'm just a cynic :-)
Dave R