Review: Windows Live Hotmail
But, things are looking up. Hotmail has been re-thought, re-tooled, re-launched and even re-branded. It's now called Windows Live Hotmail.
The new interface is much cleaner and easier on the eyes. Users can customize their new Hotmail experience with several themes to choose from. Though the themes amount to little more than changing the color of the header and borders, this is a level of customization not available from Gmail without downloading browser add-ons. The new Hotmail also whips Gmail's butt on pure speed. The Gmail interface is fast and smooth, but Hotmail is faster, opening most emails in under two seconds -- even those loaded with graphics.
New features have been added that also make using Hotmail more intuitive, such as the preview pane (which can be moved to the right or bottom, resized or turned off completely) and the "add contact" button next to a sender's e-mail address. But, it's the use of simple keyboard input that really makes the new Hotmail a more pleasant experience. Just like in Outlook, you can select multiple e-mails with the shift key, move them to a folder or sentence them to death using the delete key.
The makeover goes beyond simple appearances, too. Hotmail now comes with two gigabytes of storage. That's less than Gmail's nearly three gigabytes or Yahoo!'s unlimited storage, but it should be more than adequate for the average user. The spam filter has been greatly improved (though is still not as good as Gmail's) and by checking e-mails against blacklists and preventing potentially dangerous content from loading, Hotmail now boasts better protection against phishing scams.
That said, it's not perfect. Your inbox still does not automatically refresh like Gmail's inbox does, and we've noticed some bugs where the inbox doesn't repopulate properly after deleting emails, or fails to render properly at all.
Hotmail's contacts manager and calendar received updates, but the changes are primarily cosmetic. The calendar lacks user-definable categories, a one-click quick add feature and the ability to subscribe to calendars other than those shared by other Hotmail users (this means no easy-to-use holiday calendars).Verdict: Windows Live Hotmail is an undeniably huge improvement over its predecessor and will certainly be appreciated by Hotmail's millions of users. However, it's not enough to get us to switch from Gmail or Yahoo! Mail.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Michael @ Aug 6th 2007 3:11AM
I updated awhile ago, but I received an e-mail from communications_msn_enus@cimail15.msn.com, but I don't know if it's really the Hotmail Member Service. Can you confirm this?
Dimitris @ Oct 16th 2007 3:39AM
I got a similar email from the same domain too
(communications_msn_elgr@cimail15.msn.com) , prompting me to download new emoticons. Well, first its an executable named.. autosearch.exe..
(i saved it under a limited account ofcourse) and checking the properties i found that the publisher is UNKNOWN! I doubt ms would have an executable with no publisher information. Deleted!
Shawn @ Nov 8th 2007 11:32AM
I got the same message today. However, I am having a hard time locating any information one way or the other as to it's validity. I can't even find a way to send it to MSN for verification (i.e. for reporting potential eBay scams you forward it to spoof@ebay.com).
I too updated to Windows Live Hotmail a while ago, and yet they occasionally send me reminders to update. So, who knows. I'd just sign in to your email and look through the options, instead of clicking an email link. Always be wary of links in emails, don't click them if you can avoid it. Instead navigate to the site yourself. Also, you can right-click and 'copy link location', then paste into a search engine and see what you find.
Ollaz @ Nov 20th 2007 1:26PM
From: Windows Live Team (communications_msn_cs_etee@microsoft.msn.com)
Got this ad too, but from the email pasted before. And the executable was autosearch.exe and publisher Microsoft Corporation. It wasn't a scam, i got my emoticons, hello, goodbye etc. were in my lang. Used anti-virus and spyware scanners, my PC is clean. So it's not a scam.
Roukos @ Jan 17th 2008 2:54AM
So if it's not a scan why does this autosearch.exe installs a toolbar in my firefox and changed the homepage ??
Another question....HOW CAN I UNINSTALL IT ???
I believe that ANY PROGRAM that installs on my pc (TOOLBAR IS A PROGRAM) must be able to be uninstalled...