Ask Paul: September 7 (Premium)

Happy Friday and Happy September everyone. Here's another round of questions and answers to kick off the new month.
Outlook, oh I have questions
johnlavey asks:
Paul, can you explain the differences between The Outlook which is part of Office 365, Outook.com, Outlook.live.com on the Web, etc. etc. etc. Right now I am using Outlook.live.com in Beta version, which I love, yet occasionally the Outlook that comes with Office 365 pops up which I don't love. I probably also failed to mention a few other versions.
Microsoft uses the Outlook name on a lot of different products and services, most of which are actually different from each other technologically. Among them:

Outlook.com. This is the successor to Hotmail and is Microsoft's consumer service for email, calendar, and contacts (and tasks), and is tied to your Microsoft account. (Outlook.live.com and Outlook.com are the same thing.) It's gone through at least three major user interface design changes since Microsoft first used the Outlook.com brand, but as far as its technological underpinning go, this is currently unclear with regards to how it compares to...

Outlook on the Web. This is the successor to Exchange Online and it Microsoft's business/commercial solution for email, calendar, and contacts (and tasks). In other words, it is to Office 365 commercial what Outlook.com is to consumers (and to Office 365 Personal and Home). Outlook on the Web and Outlook.com seem to be on similar trajectories from a design perspective, and this service has been likewise updated, UX-wise, several times over the years. But, again, it's not clear how much of the technical underpinnings of Outlook.com and Outlook on the Web are similar/identical. Given their histories, I'd guess not much.

Outlook 2016/2019 for Windows. The "flagship" Outlook client has been around in desktop app form since 1997, though a previous application, called Schedule+ predates that (and didn't offer email capabilities). This is what I think of when I hear the word "Outlook," and this client is big, powerful, and complex.

Outlook 2016/2019 for Mac. The Mac desktop version of Outlook has gotten more similar to its Windows counterpart in recent years but it is, in fact, a very different application. Same theory, though: Full-featured functionality for the desktop in native application form.

Outlook Mobile. The Android and iOS versions of Outlook were originally created by a company called Accompli, which Microsoft purchased in 2014. Outlook Mobile is kind of a unique mobile app in that it provides email and calendar management in a single app (rather than in two separate apps), and I think that was part of the appeal for Microsoft: It worked much like Outlook on the desktop. (It also integrates with third-party apps and services, which furthers this comparison.)

Microsoft Mail and Calendar (and People) in Windows 10. These mobile apps ship with Windows 10 and while they lack the Outlook brand, they started life ...

Gain unlimited access to Premium articles.

With technology shaping our everyday lives, how could we not dig deeper?

Thurrott Premium delivers an honest and thorough perspective about the technologies we use and rely on everyday. Discover deeper content as a Premium member.

Tagged with

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC