4539 It's been a month or so since the release of the last Odysseus beta, but version 1.0 beta 3, which was released Thursday, represents a major refinement of the program, and brings it tantalizingly close to being ready for prime time use.

Eagerly-anticipated (at least by Eudora fans) Odysseus is a new email client that Infinity Data Systems has been developing since late 2007, designed to be a real replacement for the classic Eudora application we know and love has been released in a 1.0b1 beta build, with many improvements, but still a way to goUpdate: Shortly after I posted this review today, Infinity Data Systems released Odysseus version 1.0b2. I will report on it in the near future, but in the meantine, here are the changes in this build.

When compared with other existing email applications, Odysseus will share the same advantages as Eudora. It's designed to have the same features, options, and capabilities that users have come to rely on... features that simply don't exist in other email applications or, if they do exist, are not implemented as elegantly. Compared to Eudora, Odysseus has the advantage of being under active development by a software company dedicated to making Odysseus the best email client in existence. This includes improving on areas where classic Eudora had started to lag behind... such as integration with the individual operating systems that it runs on.

IDS says the 1.0 Beta 3 build of Odysseus is close to being complete, but cautions that it is still beta software. Therefore, the usual precautions should be taken, such as backing up your email before importing into Odysseus, etc.

Also, this build implements the ability to delete messages after retrieval, so make sure to check your "Checking Mail" Preferences to ensure the settings are appropriate for your needs.

New , refined, or fixed in Odysseus 1.0b3:

• Preferences now include:
Accounts
Checking Mail
Sending Mail
Replying
Attachments
Junk Mail
Fonts & Display
Mailbox Display
Notifications
Address Book
Spell Checking
Interface & Toolbars

• Improved Importing
Fixed an issue that could cause Odysseus to crash when importing
Odysseus now imports entire Eudora Mail Folder, preserving mailbox hierarchy

• Timed Checking
• Timed Sending (Hold down the Option/Alt key when clicking Send button)
• Ability to Toggle Manual Checking
• Leave on Server Settings
• Reply to All
• Ability to Set Junk Filter Strictness (Off, Low, Medium, High)
• Ability to Reset Junk Filters
• Display, List, and Print Fonts
• Ability to Set HMTL vs Plain Text Display Preference
• Cosmetic Mailbox Display Additions
• Ability to Turn On or Off Mailbox Preview
• Ability to Set "Read Delay"
Messages will automatically be marked "Read" if opened in new window

• Sound Notifications Can Be Turned Off
• Support for French, German, Italian, and Spanish Spell Checking
• Interface Enhancements

Interface Tweals:
In Classic Mode Odysseus will now remember the size and position of every individual mail window
In both Modes, the Message Window Splitter can be collapsed so as to completely hide the Message Preview. The Splitter will remember its position for each window.

• New Icon

Whats left to do? IDS says here are a couple of features left to implement... although in comparison to whats been do so far, theyre relatively minor features. These include Printing, Eudora Nickname importing, and Address Book improvements. Aside from that however, the majority of the remaining time will be spent fixing bugs, improving performance, and generally enhancing the application as much as possible.

One I'm personally waiting for is the ability to check each separate email account separately. I have 22 email accounts configured in Eudora, and a blanket check is neither practical or desirable, especially on a dial-up connection. IDS's Matt Milano tells me that feature is coming with the next build.

Speaking oif which, if a feature youre accustomed to from Eudora doesnt appear to be making it into Odysseus 1.0, Matt says: not to worry. So if a particular feature isnt in 1.0b3... look for it in 1.0.1. If its not in 1.0.1... look for it in 1.0.2. If its not in... well you get the idea. With Odysseus under active development, if something you like is missing, its only a matter of time before we get it added in. And more often than not, itll be added in sooner rather than later.

At present, there are also two things to remember about IMAP in this build...

1 When setting up an IMAP account, Odysseus will (like most IMAP clients) create a local copy of whatever mailboxes are residing on the server. Once the email has been retrieved, there is no way to manually move a message out of those mailboxes, whether it be into another IMAP mailbox, or a local non-IMAP mailbox. This ability will be enabled in Beta 2.
2 Although there is no way to manually move a message out of an IMAP mailbox, if you have a filter setup to do it, Odysseus will successfully move the message in question to the assigned mailbox. Per the IMAP specification, Odysseus will then REMOVE the message from the ONLINE IMAP MAILBOX. This is in stark contrast to how Odysseus currently handles POP3 email, as Odysseus NEVER deletes email that it has retrieved from a POP3 account... and will not even feature that option until 1.0 final. Unfortunately, due to the inherent differences between POP3 and IMAP, it was necessary to build this functionality in from this stage.

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? Pretty well. Account configuration is easy, and the three accounts I have configured in Odysseus all work fine, The program even automatically configures Gmail server information. Once the separate check feature is implemented, I'll consider migrating from Eudora.

Odysseus is commercial software (as Qualcomm's Eudora was) and not open source, and sells 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.

The Odysseus 1.0b3 public beta can be downloaded here:
http://www.infinitydatasystems.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=442

Charles W. Moore

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