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Infinity Data Systems has released another public beta build of the Odysseus for the Mac - version 0.9.0b, which offers a number of improvements and refinements over the previous public beta 0.8.2:
- Resets the trial period for individuals who have previously installed and used Odysseus.
- Adds Address Book menu
- Fixes crash when Replying, Forwarding, or Redirecting a message that had been imported
- Improved formatting of the Attachments list at bottom of messages
- Fixed issue where menus disappear after deleting mailbox
- Fixed issue where Stationery Name and Stationery Body would not be saved
- Minor improvement to Signature and Stationery handling when creating new message
IDS still emphasizes that this is a beta, and they recommend using this build for anything other than testing. because it is not ready at this stage of development to be used in a mission-critical environment.
If you're a Eudora user and fan, you're probably aware that in late 2006 Qualcomm terminated development of the venerable program last year, and handed of the Eudora name to the Mozilla organization, developers of the Open Source Thunderbird email client. Since then, Mozilla's "Penelope" project has been working on, and periodically releasing public betas of a new, Open Source "Eudora" (version 8) email client based on the Thunderbird engine.
IDS says Odysseus will share the same advantages as Eudora, and is designed to have the same features, options, and capabilities that users have come to rely on. Compared to Eudora, Odysseus has the advantage of being under active development by a software company claiming dedication to making Odysseus the best email client in existence. This includes improving on areas where Eudora had started to lag behind, such as integration with the individual operating systems that it runs on."
Odysseus is not based on the Eudora code base, since, as IDS notes, as the license holder for that code, Qualcomm was not in a position to simply hand that code over to anyone else which is why even Mozilla's Thunderbird/Eudora 8 effort isn't based on the original code base, but is instead an attempt to modify a copy of the Thunderbird code base to mimic Eudora. On the other hand, IDS says that if there is a particular feature you like in classic Eudora, it will probably be present in Odysseus 1.1, which will be focused on replicating the Eudora experience that fans know and love, with more refinement and advanced features to be added in subsequent versions as development progresses.
Features Currently Operational in Version 0.9.0b are:
- Receiving Email
- Sending Email
- Downloading Attachments
- Multiple Accounts
- Built-in Address Book
- Transferring Email Across Mailboxes
- Replying, Forwarding, Redirecting
- Basic Email Filtering (set default mailbox for each account if desired)
- Basic Attachment Filtering (can define specific Attachment folder per email account)
- HTML Rendering (via the File Menu. A future build will allow this to be enabled as On or Off by default)
- Importing Eudora Email
Still Not Operational (In many cases, the features below are already implemented to some degree, but are simply not accessible via the interface)
- IMAP (This has actually been implemented for a couple of builds but intentionally disabled in this build
- Signatures (This is largely done but disabled)
- Stationery (This is largely done but disabled)
- OS X Address Book Integration (This is largely done but disabled)
- Sending Attachments (In progress)
- Spelling
- Gmail Support (In progress - this has been long-standing issue dating back to the Private Betas that they are addressing)
- Advanced Features (Most are already in various states of completion)
- Documentation
Installing Odysseus was simplicity itself. I just decompressed the downloaded Zip file and there it was, ready to go.
The registration screen was standard and straightforward, and the program can be used in demo mode for 21 days.
Another screen lets you select your interface preference, either for the Classic Eudora-style mailbox-based interface, or for the now-customary three-box interface motif. I chose Classic, since the interface is one of the things I love most about Eudora.
The program now opens, displaying an account setup dialog, again pretty standard and intuitive. You can also configure accounts in the Odysseus Preferences (analogous to Eudora Settings) and the preferences interface is very much like the Eudora Settings interface, although most of the categories other than accounts are not yet implemented.
There is also a mailboxes window
The open mailbox and toolbar should make Eudora veterans feel right at home, but IMHO the tool bar icons are more attractive-looking than any ever used with Eudora itself.
The Compose Mail window is likewise comfortably Eudora-esque.
So does the Preferences (Settings) window:
So how does it work? Well, mixed reviews on that score. I found that Odysseus downloaded the several initial test messages I threw at it very quickly and efficiently. The Task Progress window contains a simple progress bar, and not the other information conveyed by Eudora's Task Progress window, but I hope that's something they will be working on. Provisionally, though two-thumbs-up for download performance.
In summary, in the context of its early-days status it's an understatement to say I'm delighted with Odysseus so far, and looking forward to testing future builds and of course the final release.
Odysseus will be commercial software (as Qualcomm's Eudora was) and not open source, and will sell for $39.95, about the same price point as classic Eudora. The program is being developed with support for Mac OS X and Windows, with Linux compatibility being looked at for the future. Version upgrade prices, anticipated roughly annually, are projected to be$19.95, and if a full version number upgrade occurs in under a year's time, it will be free for users of the previous version.
The Odysseus 0.9.0b public beta can be downloaded here:
http://www.infinitydatasystems.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=407
Charles W. Moore
Tags: Hot Topics ď Reviews ď Internet Reviews ď
I’ve tried every which way to stay as close as possible to the original Eudora which I’ve been using for years. Have tried some “replacements” but nothing has come close and most even wouldn’t properly import my Eudora mailboxes of which I have hundreds.
So I’ve stuck with Eudora 6.2.4 (Mac OS 10.4.11) and haven’t even dared update my system for fear of losing the use of my beloved Eudora. It is as close to perfect as any email application I’ve ever seen.
For me, the main thing is that the original Eudora mailbox structure be respected by Odysseus, or at least importable without glitches into Odysseus. This structure is extremely easy to back up every day which is a vital consideration. IT also allows me to use Eudora on different machines at home and office and just transfer the office mailboxes over to home and vice-versa on a USB key. Never seen an email program that allows that with so much ease as the classic Eudora does.
My only criticisms of the old Eudora were (in order):
-the sorting of the mailbox menu. I would have liked the option of having mailboxes sorted by alphabetical order rather than putting mailboxes at the top and folders underneath in the menu
- inadequate treatment of URLS sent in emails. They weren’t clickable to my PC colleagues.
- inadequate HTML support
But even if Odysseus doesn’t correct those, count me in if it can use or at least efficiently import, Eudora mailboxes, some of which I started more than a decade ago (or so it seems).