We ran into an issue with a user who’s Exchange mailbox had grown to a size that was very large, too large in fact. We needed to find a way to shrink it and usually this means to archive a significant portion of the messages. But as we were about to find out, this wasn’t going to be as easy as we thought.

Outlook users have many options when it comes to managing email archives and even ExMerge can run fairly selective archive routines, but this person was an Entourage user. Those other programs all have one thing in common, they output in PST, of which Entourage cannot handle natively. Yes there were other options, I could export to PST and then import to Thunderbird and then export to mbox format and then import to Entourage. What I would have been left with is a heap of ugly plain text email that wasn’t easily searchable nor sortable. I could also try and just move everything manually using click/drag but the folder structure was too complex and there was just too much mail.

What I really needed for this user was a way to have their somewhat complex email structure replicated in their local Entourage folders. Then we could move messages that were older than say, 6 months, into those corresponding locations. After a short and frustrating effort to do this manually, I spent some more time looking for a script that could possibly automate the action. I didn’t find a script but what I did end up finding was a program called the Entourage Exchange Accounts Optimizer. I know, the name could use some work but the program is brilliant.

For just $15 It does exactly what I needed it to do. Replicates the Exchange folder structure onto the local machine, moves the email that is older than the date specified, and is able to be scheduled to run daily. Why MS decided to leave this out, I can only guess but this program is certainly the bee’s knees.

It seems like everyday were finding new opportunities to make use of a tool called Google Documents and Spreadsheets. Here’s a cool video that shows just how useful this tool can be.

I came in this morning craving a steak served black and blue style and although this dosen’t exactly meet the definition, this custom sandwich sure did satisfy the craving. Big thanks to the Deli sandwich line! Beef brisket, beautifully grilled onions and melted blue cheese served on a BH hoagie roll.

1. Would someone’s bonsai go missing.. 2. does the owner make a such a nice little poster for it.

No, not Ann Arbor Tobacco and Firearms but rather the Ann Arbor Tortilla Factory of which I recently was able to sample some of their stone ground corn tortilla chips and fresh salsa. The salsa, a mish of fresh produce, closely resembles pico di gallo and included a few non-standard ingredients like radish and lime. The tortilla chips looked home made and each chip had seemingly been packaged with love and attention. Both products had an ingredient list that could be counted on one hand but best of all they were incredibly scrumptious. I can’t wait to try some of their other products.

http://www.a2tortilla.com/

Apple has released a cool new aluminum cased laptop today, the Macbook Air. It’s considered an ultra portable laptop, weighing 3lbs with a maximum height of just .75 inches when closed. The Air will be available in two configurations, both of which with will come with the maximum 2GB of ram. The base model has a custom-made Intel Core Duo processor that’s operating at 1.6ghz and includes an 80gb IDE hard drive. The top tier model will come with the same custom Intel chip but the clock speed is bumped to 1.8 GHz. The top model will also include something that has never been seen in an Apple computer, a 64 gb solid state hard drive or SSHD.

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Apple Computer and Zingerman’s: It’s All About the Customer

“…Zingerman’s has grown in a deliberate but purposeful way, expanding in areas where it can control the customer experience. It doesn’t franchise. It doesn’t lend its name to stuff that is not home-grown. It treats its brand like a rare and valuable jewel, pulling it out and sharing it only when its safe and only at appropriate times. It now has a thriving mail-order business. It can control how items are packaged, the presentation, and the consistency of quality of the items delivered. It also opened a restaurant in Ann Arbor, again a venue where they can control the customer experience front-to-back. I am a stickler for customer service. I am willing to pay a premium for excellent service, and get very, very irritated if I am asked to pay a premium price but the service doesn’t hold up its end. When I walk into Zingerman’s I always have a smile on my face because I know that I will get first-class, friendly, intelligent and informed service, every time. Zero variation…”

More here: “Information Arbitrage: Apple Computer and Zingerman’s: It’s All About the Customer”

NYTimes article: “A Corner Deli With International Appeal”