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Microsoft Upgrades Hotmail Storage, Features

By BetaNews Staff, BetaNews

August 15, 2007, 12:10 PM

Microsoft this week began rolling out new features to users of its Windows Live Hotmail service, most notably adding increased mail storage of 5GB for free accounts and 10GB for paid subscribers. The company has also add "vacation replies" and the ability to turn off the Today screen.

The updated Hotmail will reach users gradually over the coming weeks, Microsoft says. Other new features coming include better performance, increased mail retention, contacts de-duplication, mail forwarding for combining accounts, meeting requests, and better spam filtering.

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By Kitty_ID

edited Nov 4, 2008 - 5:40 PM

Well all I have to say about the hotmail changes is THEY SUCK!

It won't let me scroll all the way down to see my entire contacts list when trying to add email addresses to a message. When I manually type addresses in they don't always show up in their entirety and the way it is set up you won't notice till you've already sent the message. The color scheme is dreadful and amateurish but I could probably live with that if need be (I'm hoping they will change back to adding a bit more color, it's easier on the eyes). I also noticed that some of my contacts have been either renamed to the full email address (nickname removed) or deleted entirely which made me a bit upset as well. And the list of attachments takes up way too much room now (do we really need a box around each one and have an X by it for remove?) the old way was much more streamlined.
I already have an account with the other major free email provider and I'm strongly considering making it my primary from now on, I don't like this new layout at all. If anything they should have improved on how big of attachments you are allowed to send and what type (yahoo allows the sending of zipped files, hotmail doesn't - I often send winrar files to family and friends containing multiple files, it's just easier that way but I have to use yahoo since hotmail won't allow it).

All I want to know is WHY? Why were these changes necessary and who thought of this horrible layout? I wish they would at least give us the choice to opt out of this new stuff. I will gladly forgo the increase in storage capacity if I can keep the old hotmail.

Score: 0

By TrulyPicky1

edited Aug 17, 2007 - 3:43 AM

Anyone notice a complete slow down of MSN/Windows Live so-called-Hotmail ? Particularly in the last two days or so ?

Anyone require multiple stop / refresh page to get *any kind* of page loading within a reasonalble time span -like within 5 minutes, for instance ? Lol-NOT
Anyone getting an HTTP 403 Forbidden page error message when trying to access settings ? Settings auch as "Change opening page from 'Today" and go directly to Inbox".

It has been a total and unmitigated nuisance as far as I'm concerned.

And "mysteriously", Hotmail - and only Hotmail - is the sole Internet 'page/service' with which I'm having problems.

Score: 0

By SGD

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 9:03 AM

Great 5 gig of space for all the spam on hotmail.

Score: 0

By ingram091

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 4:07 AM

Yea I knew when they grandfathered my Hotmail so it worked in outlook express for free for a 3rd time that it was a desperation move. Now I got a whopping 5gb of Spam to sift through every few months... great.... Just what the world needs... More spam storage.. Sheesh... I think I may actually pay to have my old 20mb storage instead so the spammers get mailbox full more often...

Score: 0

By horsecharles

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 12:06 PM

LOL agreed.

Score: 0

By ZenWarrior

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 12:26 AM

I am using Hotmail again--as a spam magnet. That said, Windows Live Mail is in fact a pretty nice application, something quite rare and unexpected from Micro$oft.

Score: 0

By Tenoq

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 7:28 PM

Your interface sucks, MS. Bring back POP access and I'll start using my account again.

Score: 0

By wincement

edited Aug 15, 2007 - 5:49 PM

The updated Hotmail will reach users gradually over the coming weeks, Microsoft says.

Microsoft also says: "COOOME BAAAACK! Please!?"

What the heck is "contacts de-duplication"?

And "increased mail retention"? So what, you're 20% less likely to delete my mail for no reason? Honestly, what do they mean by that?

Score: 0

By GordieT

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 8:35 AM

What the heck is "contacts de-duplication"?

Will not create duplicate contacts in your address book.

And "increased mail retention"? So what, you're 20% less likely to delete my mail for no reason? Honestly, what do they mean by that?

Many mail providers will configure their server to keep (retain) your email for a given number of days. Then emails older that that will be purged from the server.

Thought this was easy to understand. Maybe not.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 9:16 AM

Many mail providers will configure their server to keep (retain) your email for a given number of days. Then emails older that that will be purged from the server.

Thought this was easy to understand. Maybe not.

This was true years ago. With the advent of 2+GB of storage, this has not been the case. Many people have since forgotten completely (or never even been introduced to) such a beast.

Score: 0

By GordieT

posted Aug 17, 2007 - 8:37 AM

This is still true today. I work for an ISP that offers up to 5GB of storage, yet we still purge old emails. So yes it may be true in some cases but not all, and it does still happen.

Score: 0

By philosopher_dog

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 5:33 PM

Hotmail still sucks. Gmail permits 20 mb attachments. You can use pop, forward mail to non google mail accounts, etc. No contest.

Score: 0

By flake

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 10:23 PM

...and GMail works fully with browsers other than IE.

Surfing hotmail with Opera and getting crap interface *pfft* worthless!

Score: 0

By alphatrigon

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 5:16 PM

dizzang! and I love MS and hotmail! heehee
use what you will, don't use what you hate, yada yada, etc etc. Love yourself ;)

Score: 0

By xapaox

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 3:39 PM

good news...

what about file upload limit? If increased maybe i can use all that storage in a better way :P

Score: 0

By horsecharles

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 7:25 PM

Hear, hear.

Score: 0

By imafurby

edited Aug 15, 2007 - 7:11 PM

Microsoft's email interface is horrible. Don't know what "live" is. I guess it just notifies you that you can log into the aforementioned horrible program to check your email. If anyone from Microsoft reads this, you kids need to update that thing. You can increase the storage to 10 terrabytes for all I care, it won't matter. Take a look at Google mail and go on from there. Less really is more in that case.
btw if you think google is slow compared to hotmail, you're obviously not using gmail. I've used both so I know what I'm talking about

Score: 0

By school1012

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 3:50 PM

That is funny. Google mails UI is slow and very hard to use compaired to Windows Live Hotmail.

Score: 0

By horsecharles

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 7:25 PM

Ahhh... just the opposite for me....

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 3:54 PM

Which is fine. Because if the interface confuses you (which is odd, considering how simple it is), you can always use your favorite POP email client.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Hotmail.

Score: 0

By terminalx

edited Aug 15, 2007 - 4:47 PM

Well you can use windows live desktop, which runs pretty nice on vista, runs kind of funky on XP (well my machine that is)

Google's interface is simple but it is slow and redundant on certain tasks.

Live is nice and last I used it it ran pretty nice been a while though, will have to check it out later.

But yeah your right I believe hotmail can only be used on ms software, no third party.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

edited Aug 15, 2007 - 4:25 PM

Never having used it, I cannot really comment on it's usability.

;)

But with Gmail, I am free to use any client I wish. (And I've become attached to the "conversation" style sorting).

Score: 0

By morriscox

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 10:39 PM

That "conversation" style hooked me. The other features are nice, but this was the "killer feature".

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Aug 16, 2007 - 9:15 AM

Damn straight. I hated it at first. I suppose I could get by without it now, but I cannot even imagine having to go back to the old way.

*shudders*

Score: 0

By horsecharles

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 7:26 PM

Ditto.

Score: 0

By wincement

edited Aug 15, 2007 - 5:44 PM

Also, with GMail, I don't have to check all my accounts in different places. They're all POPed into Gmail, and I get all the nifty Gmail features on those mailboxes now too!

Score: 0

By horsecharles

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 7:26 PM

Exactly....

Score: 0

By kbsoftware

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 1:38 PM

It's good to see Microsoft finally catching up.
There's nothing innovative, but maybe this increase in services which at least in the storage department does better gmail, so now I'm hoping gmail responds :)

As for Hotmail anti-spam features, they have improved from previous but I'll wait and see about what they have done. Gmail is awesome for it's anti-spam which is why I liked it so much.

Score: 0

By amroliwala

posted Aug 15, 2007 - 1:25 PM

Finally! Recently, both Google and Microsoft have slowed down adding new features to their e-mail clients (aside from Hotmail's push to AJAX), and it's nice to know there is some healthy competition and innovation happening in the web e-mail arena.

Score: 0

By merlin666

posted Aug 17, 2007 - 10:30 AM

the only difference I have noticed is that I have to login twice now ... first to live mail and then to hotmail.

Score: 0

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