[Trainer-Talk] New microsoft outlook beta.

Brian Vogel britechguy at gmail.com
Mon Dec 30 19:21:30 UTC 2024


I can't quite agree entirely with Curtis, though I mostly do.

If the intention is to use Outlook (most likely 365, but possibly one of
the more recent standalone versions) in a business setting, then at the
moment the only thing I'd probably deal with is Outlook Classic.

But, and it's an important but, if the student is also using (or has been
using) the Windows Mail app at home, that's going to be replaced with
Outlook for Windows (the free client for mail, calendar, and contacts) if
it's not been already, and the UI for that and New Outlook are virtually
identical.  So you can train on New Outlook and have it apply directly to
Outlook for Windows, and vice versa as things stand as of this date.

New Outlook was an accessibility nightmare in the preview stage, but it
absolutely is not so anymore.  My biggest reservation about New Outlook at
the moment isn't one of accessibility, but of functionality.  If someone is
just wanting to read email, keep track of contacts, and keep a calendar and
is not using the advanced (and I mean really advanced features, like custom
VBA scripts) features of Outlook Classic, then New Outlook would be fine
for them, and they'll be learning the UI that will, eventually, become the
only one.  Outlook Classic is currently slated for end of life in 2029
which, while it seems way, way off, will arrive sooner than most (including
me) think it will.

There are numerous considerations to be taken into account before deciding
which Outlook UI to choose for someone entirely new to Outlook.  Some of
what needs to be considered is whether they already know any version of
Outlook Classic or not and what their long term usage scenario(s) is (are).

Brian


More information about the Trainer-Talk mailing list