SB, I avoid M$ software whenever possible, which fortunately means the only M$ program on my Macs is Flip4Mac and Windows media Player.
As xABD alluded to, and if I'm not mistaken, a major problem with Entourage is its use of one large database to store all e-mail messages. I also tend to avoid software that uses large databases since the possibility of data corruption (and the loss of that data...) is more likely than when data is stored in smaller, individual files.
xABD, there is a discussion at the IDS forum regarding certain structural changes that they are contemplating while developing the new e-mail program. The Eudora code came from several sources, so Qualcomm could not release the Eudora code to other developers due to licensing restrictions. So the new program will attempt to incorporate as many Eudora features as possible but by necessity "Odysseus" is being compiled from the ground-up.
BTW, I just purchased iWorks '08 after giving the 30-day free demo a try. I figured that it was time to upgrade from AppleWorks since Apple has ceased development and support for AW. I am Much Impressed with how easy it is to create projects in Pages compared with AW, and people are posting additional free templates on the Web. I also have read in a number of reviews that "Keynote" is a Power-Point killer, but I haven't had the opportunity to test it yet. So unless a person absolutely needs M$ Office (and doesn't want to try OpenOffice or NeoOffice...) iWork '08 is a very nice alternative indeed.