Last week, on the day of the new Eudora 4.3 release, I had the pleasure of interviewing David Ross' Senior product manager of Qualcomm's Eudora Products.

CM: How the decision to shift Eudora Pro to an optional ad-supported motif was arrived at?

DR: Eudora had gone through a number of management shifts inside Qualcomm. Several managers came over from the phone group. It was decided that the old business plan, which offered the free Eudora Light and the commercial software sales based Eudora Pro needed revamping. Eighty percent of Eudora users were opting for the free Eudora Light.

CM: How was the new advertising-sponsored mode developed?

DR: We see it as the "dot-coming" of an Internet pioneer. Incidentally, our ad streaming was architected by Eudora's original developer, Steve Dorner, with no distracting animations or intrusion into the working email window. Steve remains passionate about Eudora -- very involved in the design and implementation of it.

CM: Was Microsoft's aggressive promotion of Outlook Express as freeware instrumental to the change of focus for Eudora?

DR: Not really. It was more due to what was perceived as a failing business model. The sales based revenues were not high enough to support the type of development we want to do. I don't know if Outlook Express concerns us. We like to have competition, and welcome the challenge of competing.

Our philosophy for Eudora is in trying to build a powerful communications tool for the future. Email is about communicating -- connecting people. We don't want to own you; we just want you to use the product and let us advertise to you. I guess our new management group, many from the phone group shares a common thread: we were a bit naive in that we didn't know that we shouldn't be competing with Microsoft. Kinda dumb.

CM: What do you see as Eudora's particular strengths compared with other email clients (notably MS OE, but others as well such as Netscape Messenger)?

DR: Our plug-in supporting architecture API is an advantage, and our search function is about ten times faster than the Outlook Express databases. Eudora 4.3 has a new look, some great improvements like the Link History window, new tools that are a lot better and easier to understand. Eudora was able to pass all the security standards scrutiny at NASA with flying colors. We strongly support open Internet standards.

CM: How would he gauge consumer response to the change thus far?

DR: It has been strongly positive, although there are always a few folks that you can never please no matter what you do.

CM Is Apple Computer's decision to bundle their own proprietary email client, MailViewer, in the forthcoming new MacOS X operating system cause for concern?

DR: No. As I said, we welcome competition.

CM: What about ongoing support for the Mac platform?

DR: We see the Mac as the center of passion for our developers. A lot of Eudora's features initially get developed on the Mac, which we see as a platform for creativity. We see the Mac coming back.

CM: Will Eudora Light 3.1.3 continue to be available for Mac users with older machines?

DR: Yes. We will continue tom archive older versions of the software on our Website.

CM: What's in the future for Eudora -- possible new features?

DR: We've been working on Eudora 5.0, which is coming, possibly as soon as late summer or fall, and which will include lots of new ways to reach power features to make them easier to use and more intuitive. We are also looking at things like Linux support.

CM: Will there continue to be public betas of future Eudora versions?

DR: Yes, of course.

CM: Thank you for taking the time out of a very busy day to talk with us.

***

I have now been using Eudora 4.3 for a week. Frankly, the public betas that were released starting around the first of December '99 were so good that I really haven't noticed any differences with the final version. It works well, and I'm delighted with it.

Of course, I'm a long-term Eudora Light user and fan, and Eudora 4.3 is sort of the Eudora Light experience amplified.

For the uninitiated, as Mr. Ross noted in the interview above, Eudora 4.3 represents a watershed change in how Qualcomm markets Steve Dorner's venerable but superb email client. Previously there was Eudora Light, which was chosen by 80 percent of Eudora users, and with good reason. Eudora Light is a wonderful email program, and in many respects it remains my favorite POP 3 email client software. It is fast, intuitive, easy-to-learn, and stable.

However, Eudora Light lacked some things, notably support for multiple accounts and a spell check function. Its search engine is poky, and its filtering features rudimentary.

For users who wanted more, Qualcomm offered the $50 Eudora Pro, which was arguably the most capable email client on the market with multiple account support, a built-in spellchecker, and powerful search and filtering capabilities. However, Microsoft introduced the also very capable Outlook Express as freeware, and Qualcomm needed to somehow get more bang for its development buck, so a new business plan for Eudora was devised.

To wit: Eudora 4.3 release offers three user-selectable modes:

• The sponsored mode provides the full-featured Eudora email program at no charge, and includes free technical support (up to six calls per year). The software displays a series of static onscreen advertisements that do not interfere with the user's email workspace. The advertising does not appear within the body of email messages. The free download of Eudora installs by default in the sponsored mode.

• Users who object to having advertising streamed onto their desktop can still opt for the Paid mode. When this mode is selected, Eudora guides the customer through the payment process, then provides a registration code which can be used to activate the full-featured version of the software without advertising. Qualcomm continues to sell Eudora through major national computer retailers for customers who prefer to purchase the product in a shrinkwrapped box, as well as direct at http://www.eudora.com and through electronic retailers. When a customer purchases the software at retail or via electronic download, Eudora installs in Paid mode and does not display advertising. The suggested retail price is $49.95, less a $10 mail-in rebate (rebate United States/Canada only). The Paid mode of Eudora 4.3 is a free upgrade for Eudora Pro 4.x customers, but according to David Ross, they will have to use their registration code to apply for a new registration code for Eudora 4.3.

Reportedly, Aladdin Systems CEO and Co-Founder Jonathan Kahn is a big Eudora fan, and Eudora Pro 4.2 has been offered for some time on the Aladdin Website at the discounted price of $29.95. This may be continued with Eudora 4.3. For more information, visit this Website, or call 1-800-656-5443 or 1-612-253-8300 to order.

• Light mode. The free download of Eudora 4.3 automatically installs in the Sponsored mode, but users have the option of switching to the Light mode if they prefer. The Light mode is an upgrade for existing Eudora Light users, and does not contain advertising, but includes fewer features and email management tools than the Sponsored and Paid modes. ("Classic" Eudora Light 3.1.3 for Mac continues to be available on the Eudora Website as well.)

Eudora's new Sponsored mode is designed to accommodate advertising without compromising the user experience. Ads appear one at a time in a window outside the main message composition and reading area. Qualcomm has implemented strict guidelines to ensure that the advertising is not unnecessarily distracting. No ads with sound or animation are allowed.

Qualcomm claims that the sponsored mode advertising implementation has been well received. An MSNBC online poll conducted during the first weeks of the 4.3 beta release found that 65 percent of respondents said that they would be willing to accept advertising in return for a free $50 piece of software.

Personally, I find the little ads so inoffensive that I can't imagine why anyone would choose the partly disabled Light mode over the ad-sponsored one. I kind of like the little ad window, with its colorful, changing messages.

Qualcomm is also taking steps to protect the privacy of personal information. Users are not required to provide any up-front profiling information in order to receive the new Eudora. Only a valid email address is needed to register the product. On a purely voluntary basis, users will be asked to profile themselves so that the advertising they receive will be more relevant. This data will only be used for targeting advertising. Users' personal information will not be shared with advertisers. On installation, Eudora defaults to the Sponsored mode, however the user always has the option of switching to the Paid or Light mode.

Research indicates that Eudora users constitute one of the largest online communities in the world, representing more than 20 million users worldwide, and spend significant amounts of time in email every day (42 percent spend 30-60 minutes/day, 25 percent spend 1-2 hours/day, 15 percent spend 2+ hours/day).

Eudora users are also brand loyal; 73 percent have never switched email brands. That pretty much goes for me. I have tried many different email clients over the years -- Claris Emailer; Netscape Messenger, Outlook Express, and others, but none ever enticed me away from Eudora.

On the other hand, the Eudora mystique appears to be lost on some people. For example, my friend Dan Knight, publisher of Low End Mac, is a Claris Emailer fan, and commented: "I've been playing with Eudora 4.3. It seems like such a step backward after using Emailer for 2-3 years."

I beg to differ, but everyone to their own taste. I tried Emailer a couple of years ago, but was underwhelmed, and went back to Eudora Light. Then there's my son, who is usually a hyper-loyal booster of Apple software, but he could never get comfortable with Emailer either, and these days uses PowerMail. That's what's so great about having a broad choice of email clients to choose from.

One of the things I like best about Eudora is its robustness and flexibility. Eudora Light is simply the most stable, dependable, forgiving, and intuitive piece of Macintosh software I have ever used -- period. I even run a moderated email list from a copy of Eudora Light, which might seem to some people like doing page layout with SimpleText, but it has worked flawlessly for this purpose for nearly two years.

To work around Eudora Light's inability to handle multiple email accounts, I've used a simple Res-Edit hack that takes about 30 seconds per copy and makes it possible for multiple copies of Eudora Light to address multiple Eudora Folders containing distinct sets of preferences and mailboxes for my various email accounts. This is not the most efficient system, but it has worked very well for me, and the biggest annoyance is having to start up multiple copies of Eudora Light after every system restart.

I have also dragged my various Eudora folders with their mailboxes containing thousands of email messages from one computer to another, and used them with at least half a dozen different Eudora versions ranging from Eudora Light 1.5.1 to Eudora 4.3.

Eudora's forward and backward compatibility is nothing short of amazing. I can make a copy of the Eudora Folder for one of my copies of Eudora Light 3.1.3 running on this G3 WallStreet PowerBook with MacOS 9, transfer it to my old Mac Plus running Eudora Light 1.5.1 on System 6 or 7, and the message files will open just fine, and vice versa. I haven't tried this yet with the Eudora 4.3 folder, but I have no reason to believe it won't still work fine. Indeed, when I transferred some of my email accounts into Eudora 4.3 from the hacked Eudora Lights, I just renamed the In and Out mailbox documents from the respective Eudora folders and dragged them into the new Eudora 4.3 folder, and they work just fine.

I still find that Eudora Light (Classic) is the slickest, fastest to use email client, but you really can't have minimalist simplicity and the raft of sophisticated features available in Eudora 4.3 at the same time. It is great to be able to check a bunch of email accounts from one application and to transfer message files from one to another. The spell checker is excellent, and seems to exact almost no penalty in speed. You can also manipulate text with plug-in commands for things like case changes and spaces to tabs.

Eudora 4.3 allows you to check all your accounts at once, or selectively, and the operation of message windows, settings preferences, and so on will be comfortably familiar to users upgrading from Eudora Light.

In its Sponsored and Paid modes, Eudora offers powerful email management tools that allow users to:
• Manage messages and eliminate unwanted email easily through extensive filtering;
• Find messages quickly with the powerful search function;
• Address emails quickly and easily with automatic name completion;
• Manage multiple email accounts easily and discretely within the single program;
• Work uninterrupted by sending and receiving email in the background;
• Enjoy the advantages of a word processor with automatic spell checking and the ability to choose numerous font, formatting and color settings;
• Engage in more complete communications through easy handling of attachments and the ability to view html graphics right in the body of a message.

New Features for Eudora Email 4.3 for Macintosh include:
•Recipient History List -- A history list of all recipients of your messages now resides in your address book, located in your nickname list. The history file consists of names and email addresses of people
you have previously sent, forwarded, or replied to messages within Eudora. When you send messages to these people again, their email names and addresses are included in the automatic nickname completion list.
• Link History. Link history tracks and links Internet web sites and ads you clicked in Eudora.
• SMTP Authentication. Eudora can authenticate an SMTP server (sending mail) not only with CRAM-MD5, but also with LOGIN and PLAIN authentication methods.
• HTML only. HTML is now the only text enriched function in Eudora. The old text enriched function has been removed from Eudora because it has become an outdated standard and cannot be used by several newer email software applications.
• Auto-completion allows you to enter a portion of a name in the To:, Cc:, and Bcc: fields, and Eudora automatically completes the name for you. Just start typing and Eudora attempts to complete the name. If multiple recipients match the text you’ve entered, press Command + , (comma) to display a list of names from both your history file and address book. Select the correct name, and the name and email address appear in the field.

Returning features from Eudora Pro 4.2 include:
• An on-the-fly spell checker that highlights misspelled words during message composition or when you paste text in.
• Powerful filtering and mailbox filing capabilities
• Background send and receive while you read or compose messages
• Message color coding and styling to highlight important information
• The ability to view graphics right inside a message
• Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) and Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) support

If you haven't tried Eudora, it won't cost you anything but the download time to check it out.

Eudora 4.3 is available for download at:
http://www.eudora.com and through electronic retailers. Qualcomm plans to localize the new 4.3 release into other languages and introduce the product into Europe and Japan later this year.

A Eudora guide Web-published by the Staffordshire University School of Computing explains all of the functions available under Eudora. The guide can be used as a quick reference by clicking on a particular section of interest, or read like a book by advancing through chapters

The guide is generic and applies to both Windows and Apple Macintosh implementations, although all the screen shots are of the Windows implementation.

Andrew Starr's Unofficial Eudora Site contains many references and links.

Charles W. Moore

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September 07, 2008