He can walk and chew gum at the same time.

This damning with faint praise is applied to those whom we suspect may have limited intelligence or abilities.

In the context of computers, those who have experience with a variety of operating systems are wont to similarly describe the various incarnations of Windows (or "Windoze," as Microsoft's cash cow is often not-so-affectionately labeled). I have long cursed Windows' multitasking limitations. And, at least in the area of e-mail operations, it seems I was wrong.

"There's man all over for you," says Didi to Gogo in Beckett's Waiting for Godot, "blaming on his shoes the faults of his feet." I fell prey to this all-too-human propensity in blaming Windows for the faults of Eudora Pro, the popular e-mail program. I was, and am, frustrated by Eudora's insistence on focusing exclusively on sending or receiving, preventing my reading of newly received messages while others are downloading or being sent.

The point of computers, after all, and especially of modern multitasking operating systems, is to empower, not limit the user. If one must do tasks serially one might as well be using a typewriter and calculator, if not a quill, ink bottle and blotter.

As I have now learned by trying a new e-mail application, Calypso, the limitation is apparently Eudora's, not Windows'. My 1st test demonstrated that Calypso freed me from Eudora's single-task chains, allowing me to read messages as they arrived, while new ones continued to download. (I'm using Eudora Pro 3.x, so don't know if this is improved in version 4.)

Calypso easily imported my Eudora address book, and could also import its entire message base, if I chose. It also natively imports MS Exchange data, while others can be imported in comma-delimited format.

The key feature of Eudora for me (and for the increasing number of users with multiple e-mail addresses), is its Personality module, allowing easy management of several e-mail accounts in one place. I tried Pegasus, the excellent freeware e-mail app, but its multiple account handling was too complicated. Calypso is optimized for just such duties, with an even easier account selection facility than Eudora.

If there are multiple users on one PC Calypso permits password-protecting each account, so that one user cannot access another's e-mail.

I was initially irritated by Calypso's "splash screen." When the program opens it insists on making one choose between creating a new mailbox or opening or searching for an existing one. The way around this annoyance turned out to be simple, if not intuitive: create a shortcut for your e-mail account, which then opens the program directly. The option to do this is presented during the install process, or it can be done later via the mailbox status tab of your account's properties.

There are too many useful features to cover in detail, such as an auto-responder to reply to messages when you're on vacation; and JunkYard, which automatically deletes messages from unwanted sources.

I downloaded a trial version from www.mcsdallas.com, with 30 days to decide if Eudora's practical boots cramp my style sufficiently to warrant spending $24.95 to slip into Calypso's comfortable open-toed sandals.

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