Yes, it is so sad.
"Outlook" used to be just that a great way to have a full "Outlook" at ones life with the integration to Exchange.
I keep checking back here to see if there have been some updates on the Alpha code ;o)
I wish I could be on the testing team and be privy to what they are trying to achieve. At the moment I am totally confused by their apparent direction.
At the moment there is no indication of what they have in mind. The last time I looked at the development schedule there was nothing to indicate putting functionality back to where it was.
Back in 2000, I was the CIO for a National Company Downunder in Australia and I implemented Exchange Server and Office. We had around 4,500 employees right across Australia and New Zealand and it worked brilliantly. This current "New Outlook" version would not even get close to my shortlist!
Cheers