Windows Live Mail (desktop) Blog Entry - 5/7/07

[StephenB]

I just read this blog entry from Tanja and think it is a very interesting
development. No date announced yet...
-steve

http://morethanmail.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!B7DD1FF3F141F9A1!3301.entry


Today is an incredibly exciting day for our team as we finally get to talk about
what we've been working on and to let you know about some of the future plans
for our product, especially as Windows Live Hotmail just launched.
In just a few short weeks, a beta release of our new consumer email client -
Windows Live Mail - will be available for download! No longer will there be any
such thing as WLMd - that's all in the past! Time to look forward… :
I know many of you have been wondering what the team has been up to since we
haven't posted on the Blog or provided a new Beta build to you for a number of
months… Well, hopefully this post will help answer some of those questions for
you. Here's a small glimpse into what you can expect from the upcoming Windows
Live Mail builds…
Name Change
I'm sure one of the first things you're going to notice is the new name. But,
it's more than a name - it's a step forward. We're bringing in features from
OE, Windows Mail AND Windows Live Mail desktop.
I know some of you saw this coming after WL Hotmail announced their name change
from WL Mail. Back then I couldn't comment on what the new name would be, but
now we can talk a little more openly with you. The WL Mail team is very psyched
about this new name - if for no other reason than it's just a lot less wordy.
;-)
What You Can Expect
If you're wondering whether or not all this time we've been keeping quiet was
just due to the pending name change, I can assure you it's not. We have been
working hard and the upcoming release will contain a number of new features, as
well as some updates to the ones that already existed.
Windows Live Mail will include all the great features that were available to you
in WLMd, plus:
-New and improved UI: Cleaner design, and now with Aero support!
-Setup and account migration improvements: Smoother experience overall - you
will now have fewer steps in order to get started with the client.
-More parity with OE and Windows Mail: S/MIME and LDAP support are just two of
the features that we've been working on for WLM which will bring us more parity
with our other free Mail clients.
-Performance and stability: The new product will be faster and more robust than
WLMd.
-No Ads: Yes, it's true - there will be no graphical ads in the WLM beta build.
Availability
After all this build-up I bet you're wondering when you can get it and how… The
download will be available in another few weeks - but it's not too far off on
the horizon!
I can still give a few specific details though so you will know where to go when
the build actually is ready…
-WLM downloads will be available from http://get.live.com/betas.
-Just like WLMd, we will support install on XPSP2 and Windows Vista.
That's all folks!
I guess that's about it for this Blog post! Keep your eyes peeled for install
info. You won't have to wait very long, and once I have more details for you I
will be sure to send out an update…
We are really excited to be getting back out there with a new product and can't
wait to hear what you think! We have re-enabled "comments" on this blog, so
tell us what you think!
See the press release for Windows Live Hotmail which also mentions Windows Live
Mail: WL Hotmail Press Release.
Bye for now!
--Tanja

 

[mj]

notice they said no graphical ads. nothing about the active
search sidebar...

 

[Milhouse Van Houten]

Right, but it says here in this preview that you can toggle it off:
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winlive_hotmail.asp

notice they said no graphical ads. nothing about the active search
sidebar...

 

[mj]

Right, but it says here in this preview that you can toggle it
off:
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winlive_hotmail.asp

right but that was when there were graphical ads. My guess is
they said "graphical" for a very specific reason.

 

[Milhouse Van Houten]

right but that was when there were graphical ads. My guess is they said
"graphical" for a very specific reason.

I don't know it seems pretty clear in that it can be toggled off and that
they're satisfied making money by selling Office and showing ads on Hotmail:

Though the ad-filled Active Search pane from the private beta will continue,
you can now toggle it off. Halleluiah.

Windows Live Mail will requires Windows XP SP2 or newer. Did I mention it
was free? Why is it free? "We want people to consider Hotmail as their
primary personal email account," Richardson said. "We can monetize Hotmail
via ads in the Web service, but also via the Outlook Connector, because
people have to buy Office or Outlook to utilize that. Plus, people who use
Hotmail with a desktop client are typically more active email users: They
are more likely to buy Windows Live Hotmail Plus." (See below.)

 

[mabster]

This screenshot:

http://www.winsupersite.com/images/reviews/wlhotmail_03.jpg

.... shows a small ad in the bottom left of the window.

If WLMd introduced a small ad at the bottom of the leftmost pane, I could
live with that. That's wasted space for most users I would wager.

 

[mj]

Right, but it says here in this preview that you can toggle it
off:
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winlive_hotmail.asp

you know that is a review of hotmail right? and you can toggle
a/s off. you get a very annoying picture if you toggle it off.
active search is not all that annoying I can live with it. But
they said "graphical
". why would you say graphical if you could just say no ads
period?

 

[DGuess]

you know that is a review of hotmail right? and you can toggle a/s off.
you get a very annoying picture if you toggle it off. active search is not
all that annoying I can live with it. But they said "graphical
". why would you say graphical if you could just say no ads period?

Ever seen a magician?

Did he have something up his sleeve?????

Ok, here's another one. You're playing poker, you don't show you hand
before betting do you???

A lot of speculation is going to be going on till they bring something out.

I'm going out of a limb and say it's not going to be able to use a 25 round
banana clip.

Air conditioning will not be an add-on.

Can't put Mickey Thompson N50's on it.

It is not fuel injected.

 

[StephenB]

Ever seen a magician?

Did he have something up his sleeve?????

Ok, here's another one. You're playing poker, you don't show you hand
before betting do you???

A lot of speculation is going to be going on till they bring something out.

I'm going out of a limb and say it's not going to be able to use a 25 round
banana clip.

Air conditioning will not be an add-on.

Can't put Mickey Thompson N50's on it.

It is not fuel injected.

LOL!
Yes, we'll need to wait a few weeks, apparently, to see what the product
*really* bringso the table. The post by Tanja was a welcome surprise yesterday.
-steve

 

[Vasu]

yes the new ver. of Windows Live mail (client) will be released in late MAY
according to the NEW Windows Live Mail (client) Support Team Space, have you
checked this ?
http://wlmailclient.spaces.live.com/

Thanks & regards

 

[Spocks Buddy]

This is exactly what I told them to do!!! lol I cant believe it!

I told them to ditch WLMD altogether because it had a very bad GUI design,
and to redesign it from scratch! and they did!
I told them to get rid of the advertisements and they did!
I told them that they had removed some very convenient things from OE and to
bring them back! And they did!

WOW.... If this is true then I guess then my constant complaints backed with
advice on what to change did reach some ears.... Or perhaps they saw these
problem themselves.. I remember however I did talk with someone from MS,
and gave them very detailed feedback. I am sure I am only a drop in the
ocean ... but perhaps more people said the same things to them...

Back then I even nominated WMLD as the worse application of the century! But
I am sure that they will get things right this
time around!

Thanks Microsoft.. now if they could only do that with vista... lol.....(boy
does that need improvments)

 

[DGuess]

LOL!
Yes, we'll need to wait a few weeks, apparently, to see what the product
*really* bringso the table. The post by Tanja was a welcome surprise
yesterday.

The missing fax module!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT

 

[DGuess]

yes the new ver. of Windows Live mail (client) will be released in late
MAY according to the NEW Windows Live Mail (client) Support Team Space,
have you checked this ?
http://wlmailclient.spaces.live.com/

Released for the rest of the world anyway.

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

The missing fax module!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT

I hear you. One of these days when I feel ambitious I want to try
copying the fax files from my Vista Ultimate machine to my Vista
Home Premium machine. I'm surprised nobody has tried this yet.

 

[DGuess]

I hear you. One of these days when I feel ambitious I want to try
copying the fax files from my Vista Ultimate machine to my Vista
Home Premium machine. I'm surprised nobody has tried this yet.

I'm figuring someone is........but they had to stop for a bit. And I see, I
mean hear, they're working on sOmEthing else but time isn't permitting a lot
of work atht emoment.

 

[Hal9000]

I feel a little concerned and skeptical...
I LOVE WLMD, although there is room for improvements... reading the new blog
post i understand they started working on the client from scratch, putting
in features from oe, wm and wlmd... so this means that not all features from
wlmd will be kept. damn.
btw, what about the integration with live calendar?
hal