This month my Real World column will begin with a Real World comment from a Real World customer who dropped into our Real World shop towards the end of 2023. “Why have they made two different apps with the same name?” Before I had a chance to comment on Microsoft’s latest attempt to confuse the masses, he chirped back in, “…and these clowns want us to use AI when they’re clearly as thick as s**t”. Clearly a passionately expressed sentiment, but from his side of the counter, Microsoft had caused mayhem with its rollout of New Outlook. He wasn’t alone. We received many calls from panicked people who couldn’t understand why their email had become unrecognisable. Most times normality was quickly restored, but once the customers were placated, most of them concurred that Microsoft’s latest improvement lacked coherence.
If you don’t use Microsoft’s email platform, then you may not have encountered New Outlook. It’s the long overdue replacement for Windows Mail, which dates from Windows 8 and was built for seamless email synchronicity between Windows PCs and Windows Phones. Although it has been patched into something that is now capable of transmitting email (an intermittent function of early versions), its features languish behind Microsoft’s web-offering found at outlook.com.
“From his side of the counter, Microsoft had caused mayhem with its rollout of New Outlook”
Four months ago (), I mentioned that Outlook for
