Outlook/Exchange
Free, web-based email systems have more storage than you can use. They have powerful, accurate, swift search systems. They have clean interfaces, with threaded conversations and sane attachment management.
Then there's Microsoft's Outlook. Things have been getting better for those whose corporate upgrade strategy allows it, but with major updates happening every four years or so that's a long time to be looking at a non-threaded, licence-restricted storage- squeezed, treacle-slow-searching email system. Especially while the online services get better and better, and doubly so now that email is the single most important business application ever created.
6%
1%
Do they realize it.
Do they realize that I no longer EVER use Outlook, Real Player, Reader, Itunes, Quicktime (not that it ever works properly anyhow), that I've "tamed the web" so that I can unclick Yahoo Toolbar install with my eyes shut, that no Symantec or Norton software ever gets near my machine, that most software updates are set to manual and the firewall stops any of the big ones "phoning home" without telling me.
Or that I've realised that my free browser, email, virus checker, firewall, image program, media player etc etc actually WORK BETTER than the paid for stuff.
Mabe they don't care, coz most computer users are idiots - well they like me will end up learning soon enough.
Good article, well put!