REDMOND, Wash., April 29, 2003 — Ever hit
“send”
too soon? Or embarrassed yourself by clicking on
“reply all”
when that snide remark was only intended for a few people to see? You’re not alone.
According to a recent survey commissioned by Microsoft Corp.’s Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU), makers of award-winning Microsoft®
Office v. X for Mac featuring personal information manager (PIM) Entourage (TM) X, people have many habits and styles when it comes to what goes in and out of their inbox.
Among the findings, released today and highlighted on MacBU’s Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/mac/, are a universal inability to get attached (at least where attachments are concerned); an electronically advanced baby boomer generation; and a passionate love of self (particularly in pictures).
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Oops! When it comes to attachments, the most common reason people say
“oops”
after sending e-mail is because they forgot to include one. Almost half of survey respondents said that forgetting to include their document attachment was their most common e-mail faux pas. Other frequent goofs included misspelling words and replying to all instead of to the sender only; each of these gained almost a third of the votes. And while the younger set may be quicker on their feet, Generation Y respondents forgot to include attachments almost three times as often as their older e-mailing counterparts. -
Baby boomers lead the paperless revolution. Mom and Dad might be hipper to technology than you think: More than 40 percent of those who keep track of their addresses in an electronic address book are of the boomer generation. Survey results also revealed that nearly one-third of total respondents who use e-mail consult electronic address books, such as the one found in Entourage X, when connecting with family and friends.
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Say cheese! What kinds of digital photos do most people pass along via e-mail? Results show the majority of those surveyed like to stroke their electronic egos by sharing pictures of themselves or their families. Also popular was passing on giggle-worthy shots. And when it comes to platform differences, users of Mac are more likely than PC users to distribute random shots that they feel are interesting.
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Mars could actually be composed of multimedia attachments. If men truly are from Mars, the Red Planet could conceivably be composed of e-mail attachments. Survey results show that men send multimedia attachments, such as video and digital photos, almost twice as often as women do.
“If I had a dollar for every time I’ve forgotten to attach a file to an e-mail message, I’d be rich,”
said Jessica Sommer, product manager for Entourage X in the MacBU at Microsoft.
“It’s good to see I’m not alone and that Entourage X is really on track with what people need. It’s a snap to send multimedia attachments: Either drag and drop them right in your mail or add them with a click. There are no more excuses for forgetting them. We’ve also simplified how you find and personalize contact information and keep track of your busy schedule, so everything you need is right at your fingertips.”
Entourage X, available as a stand-alone application for $99,* allows users to add photos to contact cards and insert fields for friends’ significant others, anniversaries, birthdays — even astrological signs. The easy-to-use calendar allows users to see appointments by day, week or month, and even schedule travel time for appointments. Entourage X also allows users to get driving directions to locations in their address book with one quick click of the mouse.
Entourage X also is available as part of the Office v. X productivity suite featuring Word X, Excel X and PowerPoint®
X.
The survey comprised more than 1,000 randomly selected adults of varying ages and races and from different regions.
About Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit
The Macintosh Business Unit at Microsoft is a leading developer of software and online products for the Macintosh platform. With the largest Mac-focused development team outside Apple Computer Inc., the MacBU comprises approximately 150 full-time Mac product experts. Committed to the Macintosh platform since 1997, the MacBU delivers award-winning products developed to meet the unique needs of Mac users. Current products include Microsoft Office v. X for Mac, a productivity suite that includes the e-mail application and personal information manager Entourage X, Word X, Excel X and PowerPoint X; Internet Explorer 5.2 for Mac; MSN®
Messenger Service 3.0 for Mac; and Virtual PC 6.0 for Mac. More information about the MacBU and Microsoft Macintosh products is available at http://www.microsoft.com/mac/.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
* Estimated retail prices. Reseller prices may vary.
Microsoft, Entourage, PowerPoint and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.asp.
