OE Classic is an email and Usenet reader designed to look and feel like the classic Outlook Express.

We were huge fans of Outlook Express because it had plenty of features and was simple to use. Over the years, we have moved on to Thunderbird, but that took some time, so this is nice to see.

Once started, you immediately notice a familiar feel. You have big, colorful buttons across the top with access to the most commonly used features, including create, reply, reply all, forward, print, delete, send receive, address book, and find.

The left side has access to your folders as well as contacts. It was here that we noticed a lack of a spam folder. Checking all the options and settings confirmed there is no spam filter built-in. While we appreciate the attention to detail in OE Classic, some things about the classic Outlook are not missed, and the lack of a decent spam filter is a big one.

You have a list of emails to the right, and the message can be displayed below those. A brief look at File, Edit, Tools, View, Message, and Help shows you the same options you remember.

OE Classic nails the classic Outlook Express look and feel as intended. All that's missing now is the "You've Got Mail" sound clip!

Oh, and a spam filter.

OE ClassicFeatures:

Easy to use user interface (similar to Outlook Express)
Fast and quick to start
HTML editor with stationary support (compatible with existing Outlook Express stationery)
Identities support
Address book similar to Windows Address Book (WAB) (built-in)
Easy to use wizard for adding email and news accounts
Importing emails/folders/accounts/contacts from Outlook Express (near perfect)
Importing contacts from other programs or webmail
Single Inbox for multiple accounts
Editing properties of accounts, removing, setting default
Secure POP3 and SMTP (supports Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and many others) with logging
Secure newsreader with yEnc, multipart and 64-bit article index support
Secure message display (can block scripts, external tracking images and other malicious content)

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