Clear Context V4
I started a new job on November 5th. On that day, I received a welcomed email in my inbox; Clear Context V4 had been released unto the masses! It was a joyous day for me. If you have read this blog before, you know I really like Clear Context for managing email. You can checkout my posts on Version 3 and Version 2. I was so impressed at Version 3 that I ended up using Outlook for my email. The Linux guy using Outlook, yikes!
It worked great for my work account. I was downloading my email and sorting through it in no time. Compared to my personal accounts which have somewhere between 2-5k emails in the inbox, my work account rarely got above 50. Clear Context was to thank for that. Now if Outlook were not a complete idiot when it comes to IMAP mail, my personal accounts would enjoy the same fun I am sure. However, since Outlook hates IMAP, Clear Context is not able to effectively handle my IMAP accounts.
Now in my old job, I chose to use Outlook to be able to use Clear Context. Now with my new job, I have to use Outlook. Clear Context makes it so much easier to manage and the happy coincidence of the new version being released on my first day of work makes me a happy man. jeu de la boule casinoslot machine 98bonus gratuites de casinocasino franceall slots flash casino,slots royale casino,casino slotsvideo slot machinejeux casino comwww jeux casino comcoupons bonus casino770www netpartners groupe casino frcasino jeux toulouseat black jackles jeux de casino gratuites ,jeux de casino gratuit,jeux de casino gratuites sans telechargementcraps onlinejeu de video poker gratuitescasino supermarché en lignejeu de poker casinotelecharger video poker gratuitesblack jack und nuttencasino barriere en lignewww casino on netjeu slots casino gratuitescasino machine a sous gratuitscasino 10 bonusblack jack kabel einskeno gamele meilleur casinoslot machine,slot machine jeux fr,slot machine gratuitesplay baccarat onlinejeux casino 10 euro gratuites ,casino en euro,casino eurocasino virtuel,jeux de casino virtuel,meilleur casino virtuelmeilleur casino francaiscasino video pokerblack jack bettingroulette de casinoregole blackjackjeu flash casinojeux de roulette en ligne,roulette russe en ligne,roulette en lignejeux keno en ligne gratuitesonline casino gamescasino on net gratuitesjeux casino gratuitescoupon bonus casino770casino en ligne sans depotroulette gratuitementwww jeu casinowww casino folies combonus gratuites casino770le baccaratcasino island blackjack The newly released Version 4 of the software builds on it’s already solid foundations. In my Version 3 review, I spoke of the minor issues it had with it’s unsubscribe feature. Thankfully, those are all fixed. The one big and one small feature that I wildly enjoy in this release are the new IMS Dashboard and the new Do Not Disturb button.
The Dashboard is a wonderful piece of work. It brings in all of your emails, tasks, and appointments into one area for review. This makes it so much easier to see everything related to big projects you are working on. It also is great for those working on a GTD setup. You can see everything you need. It blows the Outlook’s Outlook Today feature out of the water. I’ve found it’s been a great feature that helps me get on track in the morning and plan out my day.
The small feature that I love is the Do Not Disturb button. Normally if you want to disable the new mail popup in Outlook, it is buried in the badly disorganized Outlook options window. Now to disable it, just press the DND button and you are set to go. If only I had this button when I was a trainer, not as many trainees would have seen my email accidentally popup on the screen. A small, but useful, feature.
Now although I can not imagine working through all my email without Clear Context, there is one sticking point: The Price. When I first got Clear Context, it was a reasonable $30. For the price, it was a great deal. I felt that even at $40, possibly $50 it would still be a great deal. Now the price for a new version has jumped up to $90. If I had not tried Clear Context before, I would have passed on it at this price point. I feel it is a bit too high of a price. Outlook 2007 itself is $87, I don’t think an addon product should be more than the product it enhances. In general, most software over $50-$60 I feel is overpriced unless it is a key need for your work. With Outlook and Clear Context, they are useful, but not 100% essential. I think they both might be able to get more customers with a lower price point. I know a few people at my company that like Clear Context, but are balking at the price. It is useful, but the price point is the deal killer.
Clear Context does help out a bit on price though. With each new version, they offer a reduced cost or free upgrade path. So after the initial investment you could continue to use new versions of the product by getting the free upgrades. This is how I have been upgrading my Clear Context version since v2. This I believe is a novel approach they use and helps get the word out about their product. So there is a balance between the initial purchase and the reduced or no cost upgrade paths. However, if the initial price path continues to increase as it has, I think the balance will tip unfavorably.
Overall, I continue to be impressed with Clear Context. The product is solid, they offer excellent upgrade prices, and have wonderful service and support. However, they do need to keep a close eye on the price.