Existing users, 
Cheeky developer notes notwithstanding, I really want to like Eudora. I just can't. Eudora never made a very graceful transition to Mac OS 8.5, and it seems clunkier and clunkier as the Mac OS progresses. I'm sad to say that after using Eudora since version 1.5 Light, I've switched over to Mail. Here is my laundry list of complaints against Eudora (most of them old).
- Poor attachment handling: Unless I'm mistaken, Eudora STILL types attached files based on a proprietary database stored in the application's resource fork as EuIM resources. (I'm assuming that "Under OSX, use system helpers by default" means protocol helpers and not file helpers). I begged and pleaded with them to use Internet Config/Internet control panel in Mac OS 8.5 but they decided not to. In Mac OS X it might be more appropriate to use Launch Services, but IC would still be better than the current system.
- Limited IMAP support: Deleting IMAP messages has always been weird. Unless I'm doing something wrong, you get one of the two behaviors. You either just get a delete icon next to the message, or it goes into a Trash mailbox folder in the server which ONLY gets emptied if it's the frontmost window when you select Empty Trash. Also, you can only use incomming mailboxes on the IMAP server. Outgoing and sent mail still must be stored locally in the global Out mailbox. That's not very useful to me. (I haven't gotten to test this behavior out yet; my IMAP server is behind and firewall and I'm not; maybe I'll test this tomorrow. I don't see anything in the Read Me to indicate that IMAP functionality has changed though).
- No system Address Book support: I know this is a new thing in Mac OS X 10.2, but it would be wonderful if Eudora (and other similar apps) would have an option to use the system address book instead of its own customized address book.
- Poor directory support: Yes you can do directory searches (Finger, Ph, LDAP) in Eudora, but you have to bring up a whole new window to do so. I like the way Apple Mail automatically searches preconfigured LDAP servers for you and autocomplets the entries as you type in the To or CC name and/or address in a new message. Furthermore, I think Eudora only supports one LDAP server at a time, and the format you have to specify your server in is a little raw for me. Not to mention the search results aren't the prettiest.
- Poor interface implementation: I like the DESIGN of Eudora's interface. A non-intrusive global toolbar with multiple windows is nice. But the implementation is just plain lousy. The various windows and dialogs are not spaced according to the new Aqua Human Interface Guidelines and look "funny". The graphics in the dialogs (especially the New Mail and No New Mail dialogs) are just terrible. The icons for the buttons and other in-program interface elements are a little flat. The application and file icons used in the Finder are very flat and (in my opinion) ugly. There are several drawing bugs in the interface. One of the most glaring bugs is in the Address Book. Try clicking on a different address book tab but releasing the mouse outside of that tab. It just makes a MESS out of all of the text on the screen.
- Poor MHTML support: MHTML messages don't render correctly in Eudora. Also I think Eudora produces some questionable tags in the MHTML messages it generates.
- Questionable assignemt of paid features: Mail gives you a LOT more features for free than Eudora does. While I won't argue with the ad-based/paid model that Eudora uses, I think they need to evaluate which features are free, and which ones should be paid for. In other words, only make people pay for "pro" features defined as features that other free mail clients (i.e. Apple Mail) don't have.
- Antiquated Help menu: Eudora would benefit from revamping their Help menu. It should have Help Center content like every other app. The PDF manual is quite good and very detailed though.
- Limited authentication methods: As far as I can tell, you cannot authenticate using the MD5 Challenge-Response or Kerberos 5 methods.
All and all I'm just disappointed in Eudora. It used to be so cool...
Point by Point - Jeff Mincey
I'm not sure I fully understand your first point. In my experience, under OS X all file type and creator (or "Open with") data is preserved (where it exists in the first place) in all attachments I receive via Eudora. Or are you talking about preserving the path or link to the file from within the message window to the directory where its located?As for point two, I agree wholeheartedly. In addition to the points you raise, from some IMAP servers new or incoming mail will not appear in the inbox and I must force a downward scroll to bring the messages into view. This does not happen under POP3 servers.
I agree also with point three. Address book support would be great -- or, failing that, at least more robust import and export options with other mail clients. Eudora is woefully lacking in this area -- and this is odd inasmuch as this would be one thing which would encourage switchers to come to Eudora.
I'm not sure of your specific complain on directory support. Eudora does auto- complete any address in the TO or CC field if the addressee is already part of the Eudora address book or e-mail history. But if you refer to the ability to query a remote LDAP database of users and to auto-complete those names as well, I suppose this would be a good feature, but it's hardly pass/fail for me.
I strongly take issue with your point five. The design of Eudora's UI is severely lacking. Many features in the app are not available at all to the user except via the arcane URL method -- which is ridiculous. And other features are buried under too many mouse clicks or pull-right menus and the like. Settings are not grouped together logically enough, and there is not enough in the way of user- customization of the interface. I don't want to shuffle through a deck of cards and layers of windows for access to things. Just as the new Finder supports a single- window option, (while also allowing the option of multiple windows), I advocate that Eudora do the same. Finally, there is the question of aesthetics -- which is important in an app you look at all day. Eudora falls short here as well. It doesn't seem to support text smoothing or other graphics features of the Quartz/Aqua API.
As for your remaining points, I won't harp on the question of HTML support because Eudora has been showing significant improvement in this area and I assume the developer will continue to add further improvements. And I do agree that the online help is pretty abysmal. So on balance, I think you make good points. I hope Qualcomm is listening. (Of course, you can continue to voice your concerns and opinions to Qualcomm directly.)
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Wednesday, May 07 2003 @ 03:57 PM PDT