In the recommended 800x600 resolution it looks less crowded but still complicated. Turning with some trepidation to the help file, I was relieved to find it in plain English, well laid out with none of those silly cascading book icons most Windows software has. NetcGold is not something you can just load up and start using, and is totally unsuitable for anyone new to the concept of Internet mail and news. However, time spent with the Help and configuration menus is richly rewarded in the most configurable, flexible and feature rich communications package I have ever used. Multiple users, each with their own ISP and preferences are managed with ease.
Security is excellent - PGP encryption is built in and login passwords are available for each user.
There is not just one address book but as many as you like and with plenty of room for data, giving you a personal Information manager built into the mail software. The right mouse click has a menu system all of its own. Screen appearance, fonts, colours, even which folder sent mail goes into are all totally customizable. It offers to be your default mail if you want it to be, it offers to load straight into one users configuration at startup, then offers a drop down menu to change to a different user. It has built in BBS functionality, unlimited mail folders, endless address books and newsgroups, sophisticated mail filtering and powerful news kill files options.