Microsoft Outlook is the application I use (BY FAR) the most every day. I probably spend 40-50% of my time sending and responding to emails. So I have a great interest in what we're doing to make Outlook even better in the 2007 version.
Recently, I sat down to talk to Jessica Arnold, who is the Product Manager for Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. In this prodcast, she gives an overview of how the world of work is changing and how email is adapting to that change. She highlights the new features in Outlook 2007 such as the new user interface, integrated RSS feeds and the instant search capabilities. Jessica also details how Infopath forms can now be hosted inside of Outlook 2007, so users can fill out forms right in their email client.
Since Outlook works best when there's a Microsoft Exchange server on the backend, I asked Jessica to comment on new features that are turned on once you have Exchange. She indicates that Outlook 2007 definitely works better with Exchange "12", now officially known as Exchange 2007. Jessica mentions that there are many new scheduling improvements, such as resource scheduling and "smart schedules." Smart schedules are when Outlook 2007 tells you that the best time for a meeting is when 4 out of the 5 people can meet and the next best time where all 5 people can meet. See screenshot for a better picture of this.
If you're like me and use Outlook heavily, listen to this prodcast and get excited about the changes we're making in Outlook 2007.
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For more information on Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, please visit the Microsoft website.