Comments on: Spolsky, Lookout and when Better is actually Worse http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/ Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:17:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: jeroen http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/#comment-37330 jeroen Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:19:52 +0000 http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/#comment-37330 Mike, no clue on how much influence you have at the MS people, but just some thoughts; I have a number of PST files covering 8 years of business and private e-mails, a total of over 300k messages. Lookout has been the only program that was able to index it and perform when searching and accessing found e-mails. The only rather ok alternative is Lookeen, but although once indexed search is quite fast, actually opening a result takes a hell of a lot of time + there is no option to search in other files. For me e-mail search is so very important that I can't do without and to take any alternative that is taking too much time just is a nono. I saw a lot of other people complaining, so I'm not the only one. Only thing (except downgrading again to OL2003) I can do is just request anyone with a little influence to get MS so far that they - apart from the existing solutions - just create an option that can make their users be able to choose for either Lookout itself or something very very similar. Hereby. Mike, no clue on how much influence you have at the MS people, but just some thoughts; I have a number of PST files covering 8 years of business and private e-mails, a total of over 300k messages. Lookout has been the only program that was able to index it and perform when searching and accessing found e-mails. The only rather ok alternative is Lookeen, but although once indexed search is quite fast, actually opening a result takes a hell of a lot of time + there is no option to search in other files. For me e-mail search is so very important that I can’t do without and to take any alternative that is taking too much time just is a nono. I saw a lot of other people complaining, so I’m not the only one. Only thing (except downgrading again to OL2003) I can do is just request anyone with a little influence to get MS so far that they - apart from the existing solutions - just create an option that can make their users be able to choose for either Lookout itself or something very very similar. Hereby.

]]> By: Mark F http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/#comment-17529 Mark F Wed, 07 Nov 2007 03:53:18 +0000 http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/#comment-17529 Can Microsoft Desktop Search index my pst if I'm not in Corporate/Workgroup mode? No? Then it sucks. Pure, plain and simple. Google Desktp Search can, Copernic can. Microsoft Desktop Search WON'T--not can't. Spare us your anti-conspiracy theories. Microsoft won't do anything that doesn't fit with its corporate plan for world software domination. That's a fact. Microsoft could be part of the solution. They could be part of pushing the technology forward. Instead, they watch their bottom line. That's a fact that none of your apologist bullshit can deny. Microsoft watches out for Microsoft. By the way, I got a free copy of Office 2007 at a New Day event. I really tried to like it (I gave it three months). It sucks. I just plain totally sucks. I uninstalled it and reverted to Office 2000. Microsoft has lost its way. Can Microsoft Desktop Search index my pst if I’m not in Corporate/Workgroup mode? No? Then it sucks. Pure, plain and simple. Google Desktp Search can, Copernic can. Microsoft Desktop Search WON’T–not can’t. Spare us your anti-conspiracy theories. Microsoft won’t do anything that doesn’t fit with its corporate plan for world software domination. That’s a fact. Microsoft could be part of the solution. They could be part of pushing the technology forward. Instead, they watch their bottom line. That’s a fact that none of your apologist bullshit can deny. Microsoft watches out for Microsoft.

By the way, I got a free copy of Office 2007 at a New Day event. I really tried to like it (I gave it three months). It sucks. I just plain totally sucks. I uninstalled it and reverted to Office 2000. Microsoft has lost its way.

]]> By: mike http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/#comment-6552 mike Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:36:34 +0000 http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/#comment-6552 I'm pretty sure Lookout is still running fine in OL2003. Microsoft isn't out to get you :-) As for OL2007, though, Microsoft wants everyone using a single indexer (so they can support you better), so they want you to use theirs. I don't have a workaround other than to suggest using OL2003 instead. Sorry! I’m pretty sure Lookout is still running fine in OL2003. Microsoft isn’t out to get you :-) As for OL2007, though, Microsoft wants everyone using a single indexer (so they can support you better), so they want you to use theirs. I don’t have a workaround other than to suggest using OL2003 instead. Sorry!

]]> By: Kay http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/#comment-6277 Kay Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:38:57 +0000 http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/#comment-6277 I installed outlook 2007 and what a pig it is! I have disabled a bunch of stuff and it is running faster, but. . . . I am lost without LOOKOUT! I don't know what MS did to your fabulous search engine but I'd gladly pay to have it back. I did install the outlook patch mentioned above, but it did not make any difference. Is there a way to uninstall MS's outlook search function and reattach yours? Thank you very much. I installed outlook 2007 and what a pig it is! I have disabled a bunch of stuff and it is running faster, but. . . . I am lost without LOOKOUT! I don’t know what MS did to your fabulous search engine but I’d gladly pay to have it back. I did install the outlook patch mentioned above, but it did not make any difference. Is there a way to uninstall MS’s outlook search function and reattach yours? Thank you very much.

]]> By: Michael McGown http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/#comment-5223 Michael McGown Sun, 03 Jun 2007 22:15:02 +0000 http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/#comment-5223 I have a copy of the Lookout v1.30 install file if anyone wants it. However....... Recently, I noticed that my Lookout toolbar was missing from Outlook 2003. I tried repair, uninstall and reinstall, and nothing worked. I became suspicious of Microsoft. Then I read this quote from Joel "When Outlook 2007 runs, it checks to see if Lookout was running and disabled it if it was." I began to think Microsoft might have also decided to disable Lookout from Outlook 2003 in one of its recent "security updates." Of course, I can't prove it, and since I don't know what they might have done, I don't know how to undo it. If anyone has any ideas that might help, I'd appreciate hearing about it. Lookout was perfect for me; it did its job when required and did its work behind the scenes. I don't need full-time, real-time, all-the-time search capabilities that slow my computer down to a crawl. I just want Lookout back! I have a copy of the Lookout v1.30 install file if anyone wants it. However…….

Recently, I noticed that my Lookout toolbar was missing from Outlook 2003. I tried repair, uninstall and reinstall, and nothing worked. I became suspicious of Microsoft. Then I read this quote from Joel “When Outlook 2007 runs, it checks to see if Lookout was running and disabled it if it was.” I began to think Microsoft might have also decided to disable Lookout from Outlook 2003 in one of its recent “security updates.” Of course, I can’t prove it, and since I don’t know what they might have done, I don’t know how to undo it.

If anyone has any ideas that might help, I’d appreciate hearing about it. Lookout was perfect for me; it did its job when required and did its work behind the scenes. I don’t need full-time, real-time, all-the-time search capabilities that slow my computer down to a crawl. I just want Lookout back!

]]> By: mike http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/#comment-4703 mike Tue, 22 May 2007 15:57:42 +0000 http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/#comment-4703 I don't have a link anymore. Joel's article was about what happened in 2004. Sometime after I left Microsoft, Lookout was removed from the site. I don’t have a link anymore. Joel’s article was about what happened in 2004.

Sometime after I left Microsoft, Lookout was removed from the site.

]]> By: Rinzwind http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/#comment-4677 Rinzwind Mon, 21 May 2007 17:48:19 +0000 http://www.belshe.com/2007/04/19/spolsky-lookout-and-when-better-is-actually-worse/#comment-4677 [quote]Second, Joel wrote that “Microsoft finally put Lookout up for download…”. He makes it sound like it was down for a long time; I think the total down period was between 4-7 days. [/quote] Could you provide the Microsoft download link for Lookout. I certainly can't find it on their site! [quote]Second, Joel wrote that “Microsoft finally put Lookout up for download…”. He makes it sound like it was down for a long time; I think the total down period was between 4-7 days. [/quote]
Could you provide the Microsoft download link for Lookout. I certainly can’t find it on their site!

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