ben robison

Why I Don’t Like Outlook

Or, one reason that I don’t like Outlook.

So you know already, that when your computer boots up, there are lots of processes that have to start, programs that have to run etc. This process consumes a lot of processing power, so after typing in my password on my work computer, I usually find something else to do for the next couple minutes until my computer is actually useable (this is only a slight exxageration, the process takes well over 60 seconds).

Then since email has become a major form of communication where I work, I wait for all the processes to run and die down and then I open Outlook and log onto the Exchange server. Starting where the first spike hits halfway up, this picture shows what Outlook was doing to my computer while it checked my mail. Outlook was unresponsive the entire time (except that brief drop in the middle).

What on earth is going on? Is there any reason that Outlook should be maxing my CPU for that amount of time? A spike or two sure, but 100% for over a minute? “I must have a lot of work to do,” I thought to myself, “if there’s that much mail coming in.”

No. There wasn’t. Only 3.

And people wonder why I prefer Apple Mail.