Microsoft's new email filter Clutter gets thumbs-down

Like most of you, I use Microsoft Outlook for mail. The recent addition of the "Clutter" tool prompted me not only to take a look at that but also to revisit the "Conversation" function — a setting that I had rejected in the past. Accordingly, I tried both of these functions ... for a while. The clutter tool segregates emails that appear to be nonessential into a separate folder named (of course) "Clutter." I already have a spam filter and was curious to see which remaining emails got relegated to second-class status. It turned out that Outlook classifies some institutional emails, such as newsletters or messages from organizations, as clutter. However, there was no obvious differentiation between the mail delivered to the inbox vs. those added to the clutter folder. (More: Microsoft unveils Windows 10, but advisers wait to see about security, features) What I found most inconvenient and potentially dangerous was that I had to remember to periodically check the clutter folder! I could no longer simply glance at my inbox to view emails. To see all of my new emails, I had to proactively click on a separate folder. This would be OK, if only the emails classified as clutter really were. Sorry Microsoft; I have to give a "thumbs-down" to Clutter. SECOND TRY Since I was trying Clutter, I thought I'd give the "Conversation" email grouping another try. The concept of seeing all elements of an email string together seems like a good one. Yet I am still not sure why it is necessary since scrolling down the most recent email will show the string anyway. With the conversation view on, I went about my day without noting any benefits. Unfortunately, when I tried to open an attachment from an older email, I couldn't figure out how to do it from within the conversation group. After trying unsuccessfully for several minutes, I quit my experiment and turned off the conversation setting. (More: How advisers can help clients arm themselves against data theft) Maybe I'm just not technologically proficient (after all, I call myself a "non-techie user of technology"). But I think Microsoft spent too much time coming up with these two functionalities that don't enhance — and actually detract from — my user experience. Sheryl Rowling is chief executive of Total Rebalance Expert and principal at Rowling & Associates. She considers herself a non-techie user of technology.