I missed this one but it’s an important one.

Outlook 2007 uses Word as the HTML/CSS rendering engine instead of Internet Explorer.

This is possibly semi-smart for Microsoft to help them deal deal with security in a uniform manner, but it really sucks for the web developer since Word is more crippled than Internet Explorer which is now the the hardest browser to develop for.

[More arguments after the jump]

The reason Microsoft gave

According to the article the purpose was because the Word HTML engine is used for composing e-mails and has inconsistencies with Explorer for rendering them. If this really is such an issue, why not standardize Word to use Explorer as the rendering engine. I thought that was the purpose of bundling the browser with the operating system, Microsoft?

Besides, the heaviest users of HTML e-mail are commercial sites.

“E-mail is for text”

Next thing you’ll be telling me that the HTTP is only for HTML.

This is the biggest red-herring snob-shit that I’ve heard. Anyone who has run a commercial website knows that e-mail always forms a vital component of their system. Anyone who has had to send e-mail knows that HTML e-mail gets read more.

Practical reality is knocking.