How I Hate Microsoft
Let Me Count The Ways
Welcome back to another installment of Working IT Out! Let me start by saying, I use to be a big fan of Microsoft.
I have had a love hate relationship with them for years but, I’ve always been careful about presenting the best face for Microsoft when I discus it in public.
I have long been of the mindset that everyone uses Microsoft so they have to be the best.
Well, last Monday ended my delusions once and for all.
In this issue:
- How Microsoft has reversed five years of programming progress in one fell swoop.
- How you can be ready and overcome the issues that Microsoft presented for you.
- And much, MUCH more.
The Debacle That Is Outlook 2007
Anyone who is sending out mass e-mails lately has probably run into the issues that Outlook 2007 has so generously supplied us with.
Now, I try my best to keep in the loop but for some reason I completely missed the articles about Outlook 2007 and the problems it has caused.
For me it all started on a bright and sunny Monday morning, 6 days ago to be exact.
I was sitting at my computer feeling pretty good about myself and all the work our team was accomplishing.
Graham had just finished up an e-mail blast that we were going to send to our subscribers …
Now this was no ordinary e-mail blast.
No, no, this e-mail was spectacular!
We had taken the time to create a true piece of technological wonder. We had background images that had notepad backgrounds that not only displayed a great notepad background but, also had a background color that was similar to the notepad so that people didn’t have to download images to get a similar experience.
We also had four testimonial boxes that were neatly spaced throughout the copy that all had nicely formatted divisions so that they stood out.
Then Gates laughed a diabolical laugh as Outlook 2007 received my gorgeous e-mail and promptly destroyed all the formatting.
Graham said to me, “That’s odd because in my Outlook 2003 as well as my web-based browsers from Gmail and Hotmail all display perfectly.”
I sneered a little and replied, “Now Graham why would a new version of Outlook not work correctly? Clearly, you have made an error on your coding because as we know, Microsoft does not make errors …”
So then we poured over the code finding little potential problems, each time saying “Well, this must be the problem, although it really shouldn’t be a problem.”
Finally, after we had pristine code that Steve Jobs himself would be proud of, we said “Clayton, we don’t know what the problem is” to which he promptly responded “I don’t care how just fix it”.
With my reputation on the line, I decided to finally concede defeat and consult the foremost authority on all things, the Internet.
Within in seconds I was able to declare “Look it’s not me and my all-star coding abilities, it’s Outlook and their pathetic rendering abilities.”
In the end Clayton decided to have us destroy our artwork of an e-mail blast and recreate another great, although not as great equivalent.
Now I don’t know about you, but I was always under the impression that one upgrades software in an attempt to fix problems.
With that in mind, why then would Microsoft take four years of development only to set us back five years in quality?
Say it Ain’t So Bill …
To accomplish their glorious new “improvements” they decided that Outlook will now display all of its e-mail using Microsoft Word, instead of using Internet Explorer.
This seems like an odd move because it is. Internet Explorer although a lack luster web browser is vastly superior to Word when it comes to displaying a webpage.
It would be like painting your house with a sandblaster, sure it’s a different color now but, wouldn’t you have had better results if you had used a sprayer?
I’m sure Microsoft’s answer to these seemingly obvious questions are “They’re not bugs, they’re just new “features.”
So let’s run down a few of Outlook 2007’s new “features.”
- Can’t use background images in divs or tables:
Now that’s a great idea, I mean who really uses background images anyways?
Well, apparently no one informed Bill that this is an extremely popular technique used by all html programmers.
This means that no longer can you have an image as a background for forms within your e-mails … oh yeah I forgot … - Can’t use forms:
Now many Internet marketers rely on building their house file by collecting lists and With CAN SPAM laws opt-in e-mails are literally the law, so it stands to reason that one might want to double opt in to their list to ensure a clean list.
Well, no-longer can that be done through a simple e-mail asking your subscribers to re-optin. - Can’t float items to the left or right:
For those of you who aren’t programmers, when you see a block of text wrapped around an item such as a picture or a table, the code used to do this is called “float.”
This is an extremely effective way to display images, divs or tables to left and right of running copy. Also, for those of you who don’t know, in recent years the trend has been to use tables as little as possible and resort to the flexible CSS code when possible.
Well, Bill says no more to flexible CSS, in my day we used tables for everything! If worked five years ago why can’t it work again?! - Another cool “feature” is the way to handle padding and margin code:
Any way we feel like it, sometimes padding is respected and everything displays just fine while other times the same correct code that worked in the last e-mail with just completely break when used in a different spot in the e-mail.
Now these are the biggest problems with Outlook 2007 and the ones that affect us as e-mail marketers the most but, the list of quirkiness comes on and on.
For one thing why eliminate the alt tag for images?
They were designed for reasons of accessibility. If there is no way for us to identify images for assisted reading, the bottom line is we have excluded all blind or otherwise sight-impaired individuals from the overall experience.
It was critical design feature for this and other reasons and Microsoft just said forget about it, we don’t need it.
Now I have to pick up the pieces and move on …
So what are the ramifications to the e-mail marketer for all these changes?
The answer is quite simple, CSS is out, you can longer sit back and assume that most people’s e-mail services will render your CSS e-mail correctly.
This will be a HUGE change for any modern CSS web designer.
Now you may argue that not everyone uses Outlook 2007 so why worry? Well, the simple fact is that enough people do that you can’t justify not programming for it. Even if it’s only 15% (which is probably a low number) if you don’t plan for them you essentially loose 15% of your file.
And let’s face it Office 2007 is expensive so it stands to reason that if someone can afford 07 then they have money to spend so can you really afford to leave them out of your marketing plan?
The sad fact is that Office is wildly popular and as businesses grow and expand they will do so with the newest version of Office, 2007.
So we need to move on and put Bill and his diabolical world domination schemes behind us.
I wasn’t always like this …
8 days ago if you asked me my opinion of Microsoft I would have given a fairly glowing review of them.
Well, thankfully the light has been turned on and no longer will I accept that there is no alternative to Microsoft.
I solemnly swear to foster to my new found love of Firefox and I’ll even stop badgering Mac users about joining the business world.
OK, so I’ll probably keep slamming Mac users but we’ll all know that it’s really a deep down sense of jealously that fuels my anti-Mac stance. Honestly people, stop using Stuff-It! Can’t you just zip your files like a good little Windows user?
So that’s all the rant I have in me for today …
I guess I will just have to hold my breath and pray that the next release of Outlook fixes all these setbacks and then years from now we can all sit back and laugh like we do now about Windows Millennium Edition.
Before I go I want to leave you wit a few gems that our web department found about our favorite new big brother.
Q: How many Microsoft developers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: The light bulb works fine on the system in my office …Q: How many Microsoft vice presidents does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Eight: one to work the bulb and seven to make sure Microsoft gets $2 for every light bulb ever changed anywhere in the world.Q: How many Microsoft engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None, Bill Gates will just redefine Darkness(tm) as the new industry standard.I speak (Micro)softly and carry a big stick(er price) …
Here is a resource from Microsoft for a complete list of issues for Outlook 2007.
Thanks and have a great weekend!
Editor, Working IT Out
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12 Comments »
Join the Discussion!
Let us know what you think. Or ask us anything. Or offer your own sage advice.
The only rule: RESPECT THIS HOUSE! Postings that contain abusive language and/or personal attacks will be cheerfully VAPORIZED. One cross word and – POOF! – your well-thought-out post will be gone in a puff of smoke.
– Clayton
Comment by John C. A. Manley — August 25, 2007 @ 6:25 am
I used to live in Italy, where we\’d literally translate Microsoft into Micromorbido (Morbido being Italian for \”soft\” but sounding much more like \”morbid).
Thanks for the article. A little bit of a downer.
Just when HTML in emails was becoming more acceptable. I\’m always placing a header on my emails that says, \”If you can\’t view this email properly, click here.\” which brings them to the online version.
Comment by Jessalynn Coolbaugh — August 25, 2007 @ 7:40 am
Just started looking into Office 2007 to upgrade my own system. Thanks for the heads-up, David…you just saved me a bundle! (Hmmm…maybe I\’ll switch to Mac :grin )
Comment by Dave Chappelle — August 25, 2007 @ 7:42 am
Welcome, new Firefox user! You\’re in for a world of improvement over Internet Exploder.
You\’ll be all set once you\’ve migrated to Pegasus Mail, the best email client available for those who insist on using Windoze. And it\’s free.
Comment by Mike — August 25, 2007 @ 9:15 am
I don\’t really want masterpieces in my email inbox, I want emails.
If you want to do all that, why don\’t uoi just create an HTML page and link me there…kinda like this newsletter just did ?
Comment by David Dittman — August 25, 2007 @ 10:01 am
Thanks for your comments!
In regards to html emails vs. text emails, there are a couple of factors to consider.
Mike brings up a great point, some people don\’t want html emails.
The problem is that in many markets html emails far outperform text emails, so many people do like html emails.
So the short answer to the problem is - it all depends on your market.
Each different email delivery method has it positives and negatives.
With a short text intro that links to a more in-depth page, you have to consider what you\’re asking of the readers.
1. Get my email.
2. Read my email.
3. Click to read more on a different page.
4. Act on the response device of that different page.
For our purposes of delivering an e-zine it works great because it keeps our emails short and less prone to spam filtering while also providing a single click to read our latest issue. Since we\’re only delivering content and not asking for further action on the part of the reader the process works well.
In a sales email, we would have to consider the potential drop off of response by requiring more action on the part of the potential client.
It all boils down to testing your market and deciding which techniques give you the best response rates.
I hope that helps.
David Dittman
Comment by Douglas Kelly — August 25, 2007 @ 10:54 am
I hate Microsoft Word and Outlook more than the devil himself.
Further, Microsoft can\’t hold a candle to Macintosh. You should really try it. Windows in nothing but a mask for MSDOS which Gates bought for song in the Seventies. Everything in Windows is a patch, a band-aid, or duct tape holding it together.
Get over your thing about Mac. It\’s totally intuitive. It\’s the real thing as opposed to the fake thing of Windows. I would rather use a Mac than a PC but software choices force me to use a PC. Now I can get a Mac with PC capabilities and it will run PC better than Windows itself.
Don\’t be stubborn just because you started on a PC.
There is the difference of night and day between the two.
Mac\’s USP is that it actually works. What is Microsoft\’s USP? We\’re the biggest and dominant software in the marketplace and screw you if you don\’t like it.
Now compare the two USPs. Which would you buy? Which is more appealing for users?
Comment by Duane — August 25, 2007 @ 11:57 am
I\’m a big fan of Firefox. It seems to load faster and be easier to use in general than IE. I\’ve also found Pegasus much more servicable than Outlook Express (I think that\’s what they call the free version.)
It Just ocurred to me. Why not put a warning in emails and on web pages that they might not display correctly In Outlook and/or on IE? This should, of course, be followed by links to Firefox and Pegasus. They\’ve done it to [U]us[/U]for years. Why not start turning the tables?
Duane
Comment by Tony Rich — August 25, 2007 @ 3:23 pm
Great article !
But guys, I\’ve seen it all before, a thousand times.
As they say, would you trust your BMW to a bike mechanic?
Ask yourself, would a major direct-response mail house use outlook?
Personally, I run my entire business, and have done so for 8 years now, on an operating system without any of these hassles, and it ain\’t a MAC…
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I never reboot my system, unless I want to change the hardware, and…
I use a vast set of business software that can read and write microsoft files anyway, and…
The system never crashes, because the software is written properly (my system shows how many months it has been up and running for), and…
I can browse the web, send and receive emails, write letters, write ad copy, print mailing labels, program web pages, display PDF files, look at excel spreadsheets, print anything, load my photos from the digital camera, play mp3\’s, music cd\’s, display wmv, avi movies, preview images, find a file in a fraction of a second anywhere in the system, make notes on screen, check the date and time visually anywhere on the planet, so I know what my international clients are doing (it\’s currently 5:22pm in Chicago) - need I go on?
Oh yeh, I also forgot to mention - I havn\’t paid for an operating system or any software at all for…8 years. I don\’t even remember what windows looks like.
And lastly, a business friend of mine who has used windows all his life just installed the system on his LAPTOP in 2 hours, and will be using this system to handle his business from now on…
Dont\’ believe me? Please yourself, or check it out:
http://www.ubuntu.com
Cheers,
Tony Rich.
Comment by Dean Kennedy — August 26, 2007 @ 1:10 am
I\’ve gotta say I knew what your content would be when I got my Total Package \”preview\” email. I heard that Outlook 2007 had switched to rendering using Word when it was launched.
While we\’re on about Microsoft, try these issues on for size:
Microsoft\’s web software, Expression Web, doesn\’t support PHP. Nor does in let you check compatibility (at time of launch at least – not bothered to look since then) in Firefox or Opera.
And IE7? Why did the File menu and it\’s horizontal neighbors get shoved down to the second row in the layout of the window? Try explaining that usability downturn to new users… why does Microsoft insist in breaking standards?
Haven\’t used Outlook or Outlook Express myself, ever, in 13 years online. Happily using Eudora Pro until Mozilla\’s Penelope is released.
But for mass mailouts, I use dedicated software anyway – I wouldn\’t trust it to Microsoft!!
Can\’t say I\’m surprised! This is one of the main reasons I decided against Office 2007 (let alone Vista).
Comment by Omar — August 26, 2007 @ 2:29 am
Okay, I\’m a Windows user who recently converted to a OS X, but on occasion I resort to Windows (dual boot systems.. gotta love \’em)
And I gotta say… Word 2007 is the most annoying piece of garbage since Microsoft thought it would be a good idea to invent a conversational paperclip.
My biggest beef? Now that I have Word, I somehow seem to have the need for TWO \”start\” menus. One on the taskbar, and the other INSIDE the freaking application!
Finding out where all the menu items went was a HUGE pain in the rear, and please oh please…
Someone tell me what numb-nutted idiot came up with the idea of makeing Word \”colourful\”.
I don\’t want my word processor Blue, thank you very much. I don\’t want it black either. No, not even silver. I don\’t need a special decal in the background that serves only to distract me and SERIOUSLY screw with my mind.
I want a damn word processor that DOES the stuff I ask it to do.
The funniest thing is this… if you go back about ten years… Office 97… that was, to me, the best Office they had created (bearing in mind that I\’m a heavy Word user, and make most of my judgments based on that application\’s usability).
But it looks like I\’ll be giving the new iWork \’08 a shot and seeing what the upgraded applications have to offer me.
(And no, OpenOffice, while decent, doesn\’t quite cut it for me… there are some issues with GUI that need some taking care of…. where Office has evolved into madness, Open Office is still going through its growing pains.)
Comment by Omar — August 26, 2007 @ 2:33 am
I\’ve managed to spell \”making\” as \”makeing\” and who knows what other errors I\’ve made while furiously pounding away at the keyboard in manifestation of my discontent.
Quick! Someone revive that old Mac vs. IBM Big Brother advertisement and superimpose Bill Gate\’s head on the giant screen! (waits for someone on YouTube to take that suggestion seriously)
Comment by steve — August 26, 2007 @ 10:01 pm
Hey David,
As a web developer myself I understand what you\\\’re going through, but the first reports of these problems I saw came out at the beginning of the year in articles like http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/
01/10/microsoft-breaks-html-email-rendering
-in-outlook/ and http://mailchimp.blogs.com/blog/
2007/01/html_email_desi.html and http://www.campaignmonitor.com/
blog/archives/2007/01/microsoft_takes_email_design_b.html and I\\\’d be surprised if Constant Contact who you use to send our your newsletters didn\\\’t mention this as well.
I think MS certainly took plenty of steps backwards here, but this is something that shouldn\\\’t have surprised you that much.
Unfortunately everyone who sends out email newsletters still needs to design to accomodate all kinds of email programs - but I guess we can be happy that things still look pretty good in Hotmail for the time being!
Steve