Since the roll-out of the new Windows Live Hotmail, there has been an enormous reaction of the users, mostly negative, as we see on the amount of comments to various blog posts on Windows Live Wire. Finally, it seems as if Microsoft was listening to their users and working on better compatibility and more usability. Windows Live Hotmail program manager Ellie Powers states:
We’re reading all of your comments, and we’re working on fixing many of the issues that we’re hearing matter most to you. […] we are working on fixing the problems you are reporting just as quickly as we can.
While the Live Hotmail team is addressing the issues, Ellie suggests a few temporary workarounds to access Hotmail nevertheless:
- Try Windows Live Mail, a program you can install on your computer from http://get.live.com/wlmail. This is free, it works on Windows XP or Vista, and it will let you access your Windows Live Hotmail and contacts, plus you can add other e-mail accounts and view them all in one place.
- Try the Outlook Connector to read your Hotmail if you already use Microsoft Office Outlook. You can download the Outlook Connector for free to access your Windows Live Hotmail, contacts, and calendar.
- If you are a Linux user, or if you need to access Hotmail from the web, try the mobile version of Hotmail on the web at http://mobile.live.com/hm. It doesn’t have all of the features of regular Hotmail, but it may help you get to your inbox and other folders.
The next weeks will show which of the many issues with the new Live Hotmail will actually get fixed, or at least changed in a way so Microsoft won’t lock out their own users.
What do you think about the new Hotmail?