Works Like You Do

Another BAD Microsoft post, but it works in Windows (what did you expect?)

I use my email like a filing cabinet. I store almost everything there. I have attachments. I use gigabyte of storage for my email files. So that my email doesn’t take 10 minutes to load and doesn’t crash, I use more than one Outlook .pst file. That’s the container file where your email, calendar, tasks, contacts and notes all live. I started doing this by archiving. I extended it to a separate files for calendar, notes and contacts so I could easily update my home and work PCs.

Entourage doesn’t allow more than one email container file for a user. The MAC expert explained that a new version is due out in Q2 2007 that should bridge the four-year gap between Outlook and Entourage. Maybe they should rename it to Outrage.

My solution is not pretty but seems to be working.

I set up Thunderbird on my home PC and the MAC. Every so often it refuses to close on the MAC. I suspect it’s related to the sleep mode problem but I haven’t lost anything so I’m OK with it. I leave emails on the server for work and on the server for home from the MAC. I download my personal email only at home.
For my calendar, I am using Outlook in Parallels and nothing at home. I intend to move it all to Sunbird but I haven’t been able to export successfully yet.

I have a fair number of Notes files. I’m planning to migrate the important ones to KeePass Password Safe and leave it in Parallels with a back up at home.

Contacts moved with my email to Thunderbird. It’s not quite right but I haven;t had time to re-import them.

This is an are where I needed better tools and options. I’m getting by but it is frustrating me more and more.