Microsoft is turning Outlook into a web app that runs on both Windows and Mac. It replaces the Windows mail and calendar apps and is called One Outlook. It’s a terrible idea.

Software developers love web apps because they can write one application and have it run on any computer. That’s because they essentially run in a custom web browser. Users, on the other hand, hate them because they never look or feel right, they’re often slow, and they’re bloated in design. Mac users especially prefer apps that are designed to use all of the computer’s built-in features.

"I think OS-native advantages are less important on Windows," software engineer and technical CTO Martin Algesten told Lifewire via Twitter. "Microsoft doesn't have the tight hardware integration that delivers Apple's trackpad fluidity, inertial scrolling, audio routing, power savings, etc. The difference for a Windows user won't be as significant."

Microsoft turning Outlook into an Electron-like app is a big deal. It’s an operating system vendor, and it says that OS-dependent apps don’t matter. Electron is a programming platform where apps essentially run in a web browser on your computer.