V.T. Eric Layton Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Microsoft is retiring a brand that has been with it since 1997 - free web-based email service Hotmail - and folding it in under the familiar name 'Outlook'. Hotmail was one of the earliest popular web mail services, but in its time it has had to face off competition from Yahoo, AOL, and, of course, Google's Gmail. What this looks like is an attempt to consolidate its consumer and workplace brands - Hotmail was once an all powerful force on the web, and while there are still many active users, Redmond is aiming for the simplistic approach in Windows 8 and will want to bring both brands in under one name. Read the rest of the article --> http://news.techeye.net/internet/microsoft-ditches-hotmail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Yeah I signed up and replaced my Hotmail account with an Outlook one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 As long as I can still access it with Thunderbird, I'll be happy. I'm even told that I can keep my @hotmail.com domain. That would be convenient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrine Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Can you say "marketing"? The only difference between Outlook.com and Hotmail is the future addition of Skype integration. Otherwise, Outlook.com is just a Plain Jane version of Hotmail. Anyone remember Mojave? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Since I don't have a hotmail account, I signed up for the latest email offering by MS. I hope they keep the name for awhile. I briefly had a hotmail account but my notes said I had to log in every 30 days to keep it active. I must not have done that (these were the days of dialup computing) because I think that's how the account got killed off. Must you log in every so often or does MS kill off the email address? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tushman Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 (edited) Must you log in every so often or does MS kill off the email address? Yes, 30 days is the limit - but I also think that depends on the type of account you have. I have an old email address (back when they offered msn.com domains) and that one is still alive after all these years. Strangely enough, that is still valid even though I haven't logged into it in quite some time. (I log into every once in a while - but definitely not every 30 days... there have been stretches of 3 or 4 months with no log-in activity). However, one of the newer ones that I created about 2 years ago is definitely long gone. I haven't logged into that second one in a while so I guess the 30 day rule applies for all the newer accounts. I think by contrast Yahoo mail is 60 or 90 days. It's been a while since I checked that so it's possible Yahoo has changed their policy since then. Edited August 2, 2012 by Tushman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tushman Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Microsoft is retiring a brand that has been with it since 1997 - free web-based email service Hotmail - and folding it in under the familiar name 'Outlook'. Talk about a dumb name. All it's going to do is cause confusion as people will think they really have Outlook (MS Outlook) installed on their computer when in reality all they have is just another web based email. I mean if you're going to get rid of Hotmail and rebadge it under a different name/title that is similar to something that already exists - what's the point? Talk about an exercise in futility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrine Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Shall I say it again -- "marketing". Note, also, Tushman, that the introduction was made via the Outlook Blog from the Office blogs area: Outlook Blog - Introducing Outlook.com - Modern Email for the Next Billion Mailboxes. Seems to be an attempt to further separate from "Windows Live". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 As long as I can still access it with Thunderbird, I'll be happy. I'm even told that I can keep my @hotmail.com domain. That would be convenient. It works fine with Thunderbird. I just had to change my server settings to reflect the outlook email address. hotmail.com changed to outlook.com 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tushman Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Shall I say it again -- "marketing". Note, also, Tushman, that the introduction was made via the Outlook Blog from the Office blogs area: Outlook Blog - Introducing Outlook.com - Modern Email for the Next Billion Mailboxes. Seems to be an attempt to further separate from "Windows Live". Thanks for the link to the blog post. Reading that it's entirety helps me to understand Microsoft's motive for this change - but I still don't agree with the idiotic naming scheme they've chosen. Yes, it is purely marketing and time will only tell how long the new name will stick around. I don't understand how a giant corporation like Microsoft can't get their head wrapped around this. They come up with new names like "Windows Live" or "Outlook.com" - personally, i think they're trying to be too cute with this. Email is email - the new names do nothing to convey the capabilties of the software/web app in question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Actually, when I sign into my Hotmail Account using Outlook.com, I get the new 'metro' .... errrrr, Windows 8 Style UI (they are supposed to think up a new name for Metro Style maybe as soon as this weekend, apparently, so no more metroized apps, eh?) so it does look different than the old HoTMaiL or even Windows LiveMail webmail interface. New Windows 8 Style UI (click the image to see larger image): Open Email in Outlook.com: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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