My trial resulted into total desaster!

Xobni inflated the memory footprint of Outlook from a regular 25MB to 190MB, moreover Outlook itself came in 1-2% cpu usuage to 50%, and it made the system process csrss.exe totally freaking out eating up the remaining CPU power.

This was AFTER all the indexing done, and after serveral restarts which were TOTALLY slow, on Outlook 2003+XP SP2 on a Parallels VM

Bern

As an alternative to Xobni, you should also check out Nelson Email Organizer (NEO). [www.caelo.com]
In my opinion, NEO does everything Xobni does, but better. The only downside is that the Pro version is not free ($35).

While Xobni integrates into the Outlook interface, NEO replaces it. I prefer not having to see Outlook at all, but this is obviously a matter of taste.

NEO hasn't been updated for 2 1/2 years, but I received an email today that a new version will be released in a couple of weeks, so it's not completely dead.

kln66

I was an early adopter of Xobni in its private beta days, as were a number of my colleagues. At the time, I was running 2003, and once I installed Xobni, Outlook consistently monopolized a full core of my dual-core machine, as well as almost 300Mb of memory or more. In short, I had to uninstall it, just to be able to use my machine.
With that said, I recently upgraded to 2007 and the same version of Xobni has been working flawlessly ever since.
Initial startup is slower, but I find the searching to be as fast or faster than Google Desktop or Copernic. What really cinches it is the listing of attachments for each contact. Just that feature alone has made the difference for me.

knightfilm

Really neat program but what the hell is it doing with all my memory? Fast search doesn't do me much good if it leaves the entire computer unresponsive. Way too resource heavy. Just because RAM is cheap these days doesn't mean developers should give up on baking efficiency into their products. Baleeted.

Troy F.

I have been lurking forever, but registered to comment on this one. It really works great. I have TONS of emails and deal with a lot of attachments. Make it so easy to use. Some useless eye candy, but there are actually many useful features.

Searching is very useful.

No speed problems so far.

serialportme

I've been in touch with the Xobni support team about suddenly needing to use cached mode, and the guy who responded said they are aware that's an issue for people, and are working to resolve it, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, I can't use the plug-in anymore (since I can't operate in cached mode for a variety of reasons), so I'm a-waitin'...

Photojen

Update on my side... searching with Xobni isn't as smooth as MDS 3.1 is in the sense that you can't sort as easily as you'd like.

That said, the speed on my computer is just fine...

linsalad

@jmontana: i use it with google desktop, on both outlook 2003 and 2007, vista and xp respectively with no problems.

TechTalk WRLR 98.3FM

I've been using it for a few months thanks to Lifehacker. It's been the greatest thing since sliced bread until they required cached mode three days ago.

On a possibly related note: I've been hearing conflicting reports. Did Microsoft buy Xobni?

NavinJ

@Mandar Vaze: I switched to MDS a little while ago and use that in conjunction with the Three Folders (Followup, Hold, and Archive) approach.

I'd love to hear what you think of Xobni's search capabilities compared (esp. vis-a-vis an archive pst) to MDS!

Thanks!

linsalad

My thoughts on it are here:
[www.themightysquid.com]

I've been using it for a couple of weeks. Although it's been hard to get in the habit of using it Xobni does have some neat and slick features.

I've found Xobni search faster the Google Desktop which is really saying something.

mighty_squid

Does anybody know if this app can manage/pull data from messages in PST (Archive) files as well as your main mailbox?

Darren W.

@splendidmike: ,@zarathustra:
My TB uses on an average 70-80mb while running even when minimized and for some reason if I leave it minimized for a day it reaches ~90-100mb sometimes. I suspect a memory leak somewhere.

Outlook 2007 uses about ~100-120mb while open and ~20mb while minimized. But Outlook has calendar etc. built in as well so its heavier in features. Sunbird just doesn't cut it for calendar needs.

I was a hardcore supporter of TB but I just might switch to Outlook 2007. Xobni has made a big difference when it comes to efficiency and outlook 2007 doesn't look all that bad. Now if I could just find equivalents of all TB extensions that I have. :)

@Mattb7:
Good oberservation!

Nikhil Kumar

Downloading Xobni now ..

By the way, those who are impressed by xobni's search capabilities should try WDS 3.01 I use it all the time, mostly to search my emails. It has almost always found what I was looking for. Before WDS I used to use LookOut, a third party search plugin for Outlook. This was eventually taken over by MS and (I presume) the technology was incorporated into WDS

Mandar Vaze

I've been using this for awhile. one comment. I love it!

qrius

I see they put a straight line over the O in Xobni. Doesn't that make it a long O sound, as in boat?

gfrobe

Hmm. Cool idea. Doesn't work for me at all. Installed it, and it simply doesn't show up in Outlook. No errors, just no Xobni menu. I followed all the steps on their FAQ, but nothing works. I can't even find the log file they said it should create. Guess that's why it's still beta.

jmontana

Very very nice utility. Works great on my HP tablet with Outlook 2007. If you are constantly looking for some references in your messages, then this is a must have tool

iwekani

I use LookOut search in Outlook 2003. A wonderful tool for searches, easy and simple. That was before M$ purchased LookOut and pull it out of the net. I'm wondering if this is the equivalent of look for Vista?
This source indicates that LookOut still lives: [www.vinodlive.com]

zaxl

great if you don't need to sync stuff ie, blackberry or Google calendar

mleger

@Photojen: Yes, they just updated it two days ago : "* Disabling Xobni if not running in Cached Exchange Mode".

@all: I started using Xobni two months ago, and I agree with sonar_un: it takes 3-4 more seconds to launch Outlook, but I also keep it open all day long. Note that it waits for Outlook to be completely loaded before loading.

AlvinMaker

@Duckamuk again - Okay, today when I started up Outlook it told me Xobni wouldn't work unless Outlook was in cached mode! Never used to function like that previously... I wonder if they changed it when they made it public? Weird.

Photojen

Would be nice if there was something like this for Lotus Notes.

vahju

Is anyone using this with Google Desktop? I'm wondering if there are any conflicts between the two.

jmontana

Did anyone else notice that the name is "inbox" spelled backwards?

Mattb7

@Nikhil Kumar: Yes, I just ditched Outlook for TB, but Xobni was pretty neat. I'd love to have a LIGHTWEIGHT version of it for TB. Xobni slowed down my machine substantially.

splendidmike

@Photojen: I concur - I've had it installed for several months now and noticed it slow down during the loadtime, but OK afterwards. I also commonly use my outlook + Xobni via a VPN connection with no problems.

Most useful feature for me is the fact that it keeps record of all files exchanged between participants. now when someone says 'remember that quote we sent you 6 months ago?' I don't have to go digging; I just find the most recent email from that person and ALL files we've passed back and forth are right there easy to grab.

Xobni really takes Outlook a step closer to being a true relationship management tool than it ever has been. Too bad about MS and Xobni not getting it together; that saddens me far more than the micro-hoo deali-no.

TechTalk WRLR 98.3FM

I've been using Xobni for a while now and absolutely love it! I have no idea what I would do without the searching abilities of Xobni. Finally Outlook is actually not a pain to use!

I leave Outlook open all day, so it isn't that bad using Xobni. The initial launch of Outlook takes a few more seconds, but completely worth it.

sonar_un

@Duckamuk - I haven't found that I need Outlook in Exchange Cached Mode, and yes I do connect to an Exchange server...

Photojen

My only complaint with the plug-in is that when connected to an Exchange server you must run Outlook in Exchange Cached Mode. Cached mode means Outlook will download your entire mailbox to the local hard drive. Not a real crisis I suppose, but for those of us with with huge Gmail-esque mailboxes, this can take a while.

Duckamuk

I would love to use this but only have Outlook 2002. I probably need to purchase a newer version but it is generally too expensive for home use.

I do like Outlook better than webmail options. Would also be nice to get this at work. Maybe the fact that MS is trying to buy them will add some pull with the IT dept.

ErikH

I am running it and have been since the invite-only beta, thanks to some super kind Lifehackers who shared an invite. I'm running Outlook 2003 on Vista Ultimate, and, although I haven't tested it scientifically, I think it does sometimes slow Outlook down a bit when loading. After that, it's fine. I really like the threaded conversation views, and the search feature does a MUCH better job than the built-in Outlook one. Analytics are cool to look at but not horribly useful. I generally don't get daily use out of Xobni, but the times when I have needed it, it has been a lifesaver.

Photojen

OK, just loaded in on my vista machine running outlook 2003 with GMail IMAP....

should be interesting....

-SPK

Ok, sarcasm aside, some features look - possibly - interesting. However I am very interested as to the possible slow-downs and system resources. Anyone here running this yet? Outlook is slow enough sometimes as it is...does this grind it to a halt?

zarathustra

That would be cool, if Outlook wasn't so crappy.
Come on Mozilla, make me a Xobni!

dapezboy

@Webran61 - haha, nearly bit! Didn't know it was sarcasm till I notice "intrusive" which I had previously read as "intuitive" haha. Personally I would benefit from my clients emailing me "vampire bit ninja fighting" attachments. :(

zarathustra

I love this. It brings a more intrusive Facebook-like element to Outlook that is sure to make the workplace more efficient for everyone who uses it. Xobni should add a "Poke Co-workers" feature just to make things fun.

Webran61

@eighty82: I've always found that befriending the IT guy /girl is very helpful. Bribery works too.

ross.m

Very nice, if I could only get my job to let me use this life would be great.

eighty82

This looks pretty impressive, trying it now with Outlook 2007.

However, I primarily use thunderbird for emailing needs. Is there an equivalent addon for TB? I don't xobni will be supporting TB anytime soon.

Nikhil Kumar

Just installed, the program looks great, and Its exactly what I need. I`ll follow up in a few days with my review.

the3rdguy

Cool LH posts @ 10:12PM on a Sunday night.

If I was still using Outlook, and I "had" to for years (work) - this plugin looks like it would be insanely helpful. Gmail, are you paying attention? :)

ross.m