As we reported on last week, Microsoft has been prepping a big refresh for Windows Live Hotmail users. Starting this week, users should begin noticing changes to their interface. microsoft - comments - 30.9.2008
Microsoft is currently cooking Wave 3 of its Windows Live suite of products and services. As of July 30, the Redmond company unveiled Windows Live FrameIt, a new Windows Live service built as an integral part of Wave 3. windows - comments - 1.8.2008
Looks like its open-season on Wave 3 now, with Inky over at Mess.be getting his hands on the Wave 3 Milestone 1 installer for Windows Live Messenger. microsoft - comments - 12.8.2008
The first few details about the next iteration of Microsoft's set of Windows Live software and services, known as Windows Live Wave 4, are beginning to emerge. Two new services, Windows Live Documents and Windows Live Devices, are currently undergoing testing within Microsoft. microsoft - comments - 10.8.2009
New rumors are saying we'll be seeing a beta of Windows Live Wave 4 this week, and the final release in Spring/Summer 2010. microsoft - comments - 5.10.2009
Microsoft is preparing to launch Windows Live Hotmail in the United States by next month, although customers in India and Belgium will begin seeing the updates later this week, the company is expected to announce Tuesday. microsoft - comments - 17.4.2007
As first reported by BetaNews in mid-April, Microsoft is on track to launch Windows Live Hotmail in the United States on Monday, sources are now confirming. microsoft - comments - 5.5.2007
With today's release of Windows Live Movie Maker 14, Microsoft has also released a Quick Fix Engineering (QFE) patch for all Windows Live applications. microsoft - comments - 20.8.2009
Get ready to access the third wave of Windows 7 RTM downloads from Microsoft. Today, August 21, 2009, the Redmond company will make available for download Windows 7 RTM wave 3 for its developer and IT professional audiences, through their respective portals. windows - comments - 21.8.2009
Windows Live Hotmail (previous named Windows Live Mail) testers have received an e-mail from Microsoft with the words "we're getting ready to launch" although there is no notice of a date. microsoft - comments - 2.5.2007
Xbox 360 offers the latest in entertainment options for everyone, from a library of 160 high- definition games expected by holiday to downloadable standard and high-definition TV shows and movies. microsoft - comments - 22.11.2006
Microsoft, will be reaviling a new Windows Live product on 14th August 2006. This new product will be called Windows Live Writer. This new product from Microsoft will allow a user to write documents/blog postings from a downloadable application called Windows Live Writer and post them to a blog (other than Windows Live Spaces). Right know, we have no other known features, except Spell Check, of this product untill Monday the 14th.
download - comments - 13.8.2006
Windows Live Messenger is the next - generation MSN Messenger. It has everything you already love about Messenger, and much more! download - comments - 4.10.2007
The first version of Messenger 8 Beta branded as Windows Live Messenger 8 has been spotted on the internet. Version 8.0.0328 features a lot of graphical improvements, from display picture borders to replacing toast boxes. microsoft - comments -
Less than two months after the final release of Windows Live Messenger, a new build has been released last night. No word on any changes in Windows Live Messenger 8.0.0812. download - comments - 9.8.2006
Maybe it's inappropriate to use the word "leak" in this metaphor, so let's just say some little birdies couldn't hold on to "their precious". Yes, just like we thought this morning it was only a matter of time for the very recent internal build of Windows Live Messenger to hit the public web for your own "previewing" pleasure. download - comments - 18.4.2006
Many users love to have high quality beautiful wallpapers on their desktop and often we get bore with old wallpapers and we need to search and download more wallpapers from internet. It’s not easy to get such high quality wallpapers. download - comments - 21.7.2009
Microsoft has made available for download the July 2008 Community Technology Preview of the Windows Live tools for Visual Studio 2008. download - comments - 29.7.2008
Two new free editions of Windows XP Service Pack 2 are live for download from Microsoft. The offerings are just the latest versions from a series delivered since late 2006, following the release of Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP SP2. download - comments - 20.8.2007
Microsoft Game Studios general manager Shane Kim has been talking to Next Generation about Halo 3, the second wave of Xbox 360 games and lessons learned from the recent platform launch.
We caught up with Shane Kim at the recent DICE summit to talk about the various issues surrounding first and third party Xbox 360 development. Not surprisingly, we wanted to talk about Halo 3, but Kim points out there's a whole lot more going on at Microsoft than that game... microsoft - comments - 22.2.2006
Just on the heels of another great release for the beta (M9), I’d like to share some interesting news to our loyal users. When we launch the mail service worldwide, it will be named Windows Live Hotmail. microsoft - comments - 8.2.2007
Microsoft has begun promoting the "Wave 3" Windows Live Hotmail update, promising a UI and functionality upgrade that will make the Web-based
mail client more like Outlook... betanews.com - 27.08.2008
Less than a week
ago, Microsoft started to roll out Windows Live Hotmail Wave 3 to users of its e-mail service. It didn't take long for those lucky few users
that got the service to realize that they weren't so lucky after all. On the Windows Live Hotmail Technical Support Blog a post entitled "Problem seeing your Hotmail Folders" recently appeared with
the following body...
Windows Live Hotmail Wave 3 will be launched shortly. Whats new !?
Faster than ever. It'll be up to 70 percent faster to sign in and
see your e-mail. Of course, along with more speed, you'll get powerful technology that deflects spam and helps protect you against viruses and
scams. Simpler, cleaner design. We're combining the classic and full versions of Hotmail, so you get access to everything Hotmail has to
offer. The reading pane will let you check out your e-mail without having to open it up.
Put more you in your e-mail. New themes and
colors will let you design the look of your inbox, so your personality can really shine through.
Closer to your contacts. Just start
typing in the "To" line and you'll get a choice of e-mail contacts that most closely match what you've typed. Plus, it'll be even easier
to e-mail groups of people.
A few days ago we announced that Microsoft was finishing up Wave 3 of Windows Live. The Windows Live Hotmail team has announced that it is officially
rolling out the last of the Wave 3 updates to all Hotmail customers. So what's being shipped with these updates? More Storage Customers now start
out with 5GB of storage, but what if you need more? Your storage capacity will automatically increase as you need it. The team hasn't announced
what the maximum capacity will be. More markets get POP3 access Customers in the United States and Brazil will shortly be given access to their
e-mail via POP3.
At an event in the Netherlands yesterday, Darren Huston, Corporate Vice President of COI at Microsoft, revealed that the updated Windows Live Wave 3
RC applications will be released next week. LiveSide bloggers were on hand to get the scoop that the applications will be released next week at
download.live.com. Final versions of Hotmail, Calendar and People are expected in February 2009 too. The Messenger Wave 3 RC will include the new UI
we revealed at PDC and Messenger icon, shown below.
After the release of the Wave 3 version of Windows Live Hotmail last month, many users have been complaining about many of the changes that had been
made. While Microsoft fixed many of these in a
patch later in November, some still remained.
Hotmail users who suffered from these problems and/or changes should now be relieved to
hear that Microsoft has released yet another set of fixes, which include:
- Scrolling now behaves like classic Hotmail when the reading
pane is turned off - After choosing contacts to send a new message to, you can now click outside the box to close it - The issue where
some users couldn't select the last contact in the list has been fixed. - Holding down the Shift key and clicking a message in the inbox now
opens that message in a new window, as it did in the past. - Links in the header at the top match the rest of Windows Live web services
Earlier this week Microsoft updated their Hotmail service to the new Windows Live Wave 3. Though Home and Spaces remained the same. Yesterday however,
those were also updated with new features and gadgets. The New Live Wave 3 which seems to have been rolled out feaures Dynamic themes, updated
Weather forecasts, and the ability to add pictures. The page itself also integrates a number of services. All your messenger contact info is sent to
Windows Live Home, additionally, Office Workspaces has also been integrated to show all files and folders added. Now let's talk about SkyDrive.
SkyDrive got a major boost. Last week you were able to store up to 5GB, now it has been boosted to 25GB.
In an attempt to allay
confusion over its new
AJAX-enabled webmail system,
Microsoft said Thursday that
Windows Live Mail was being
renamed to Windows Live
Hotmail. The decision follows
a recent switch to keep the
classic Hotmail interface for
existing users... betanews.com - 09.02.2007
As we reported on last week, Microsoft
has been prepping a big refresh for Windows Live Hotmail users. Starting this week, users should begin noticing changes to their interface. Due to the
huge user base and multiple servers that power Hotmail, not all users will get the new interface at once.
Over on the Windows Live Wire, Microsoft has further
outlined some of those changes. Along with an improved look, one that merges some of the fast loading features of the "classic" interface along with
the enhanced features of the last version, Microsoft claims that the new interface is up to 70% faster than the previous version.
Live
Calendar has also been improved, including enhanced calendar sharing and iCal subscriptions to public calendars. Calendar also now syncs with the
Windows Live Mail beta and Microsoft Outlook when using the Outlook Connector addin. Also included are to-do lists that allow you to manage both
personal and shared tasks between contacts.
Microsoft currently offers POP3 access for $19.95 per year as part of its Hotmail Plus service. Rumours posted on several Windows Live forums this
week and Ars could indicate that POP3 access is about to drop for all hotmail users at no additional cost. Microsoft is expected to make some Windows
Live announcements at CES. There are rumours of the final versions of the Windows Live Client wave 3 applications being released and it's possible
that free POP3 access is one of the announcements.
About a month ago we reported that Microsoft was rolling out free POP3 access to Windows Live Hotmail customers in select markets. For the vast
majority, including myself, the updates had yet to hit their accounts. Well the wait is over, the Windows Live Hotmail team has officially announced
that POP3 access for all Windows Live Hotmail accounts has now rolled out to every customer. Here are the settings to access your e-mail messages via
POP3: POP server: pop3.live.com (Port 995) POP SSL required? Yes User name: Your Windows Live ID, for example yourname@hotmail.com Password: The
password you usually use to sign in to Hotmail or Windows Live SMTP server: smtp.live.com (Port 25 or 587) Authentication required?
Wave 3 is the
newest release of the core Windows Live suite of software and services. In the new suite, unified via a common installer, are updated versions of
Windows Live Messenger instant-messaging; Windows Live Mail (with a new and improved Live Calendar); Windows Live Writer blog-posting tool; Windows
Live Movie Maker; Windows Live Photo Gallery, the Family Safety parental control tools and the Outlook Connector.
A new wave of Windows Live betas are now available for download, including Messenger v9, Windows Live Movie Maker, Mail with Calendar synchronisation,
Writer, Photo Gallery, Family Safety and the Outlook Connector.
LiveSide is recommending that if you have the Writer CTP or any other
Wave 3 products installed, you should uninstall them first.
Microsoft has been doing a lot this week to help boost the image of the future for their Live services, along with the recently released "wave 3" of Windows
Live utilities, Microsoft has sent an
email out to their Live Hotmail subscribers outlining some of the changes they have planned to give a boost to the service.
Based on
customer feedback, Microsoft has focused on making the next version of Live Hotmail faster, in fact they claim the next version will be nearly 70%
faster when signing in, opening and viewing messages when used with a broadband connection and up to 56% faster on slower connections.
To
add a new twist to the ever increasing storage-size war between Microsoft, Google and Yahoo... Microsoft has upped the ante by planning to introduce a
storage system that "will grow with you" -- while not mentioning specifics, they claim that as you need more storage for your messages, you'll
get it and while there will be a limit it will be "so large that chances are you won't even come close to them."
Other new features
include the ability to IM directly from the Hotmail interface, improvements to the calendaring system and a revamped UI. Rumor has it that the UI will
attempt to merge some of the innovations of the latest version with the more familiar, simpler, Hotmail that layout users were used to before the last
upgrade.
The leaks
are picking up. Windo
ws Live Wave 3 the next version of Microsoft’s Windows Live software and services is finally expected to move into broader beta testing in
the coming weeks.
Microsoft is expected to refresh all of its core Windows Live services, plus the common installer, as part of
Wave 3. There is a new version of Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Photo Gallery and more that are in the
pipeline. Microsoft has hinted that it will be revamping Windows Live Spaces, its blogging/social-networking platform, in a major way as part of the
Wave 3 release. In addition, all of the core Windows Live services are expected to get more
profile-centric as part of the next wave.
As you probably know, there is a new Windows Live "Wave" coming soon, Wave 3. These "waves" are where everything in the Windows Live
suite/service is updated. Microsoft has a hidden page up, and LiveSide has picked up on some new features:
Speed: The
coming soon page says that for broadband users, the new Hotmail will be up to 70% faster on sign in (50% for non-broadband users). That's a pretty
big claim, and one which should provide for some interesting testing once the beta is open to the public.
Ever-increasing
storage: Microsoft have carefully avoided using the phrase "unlimited storage", as Yahoo has done, but in a sense this is what is being
offered. The figures we last heard for this were the the existing 5GB free accounts would be getting growth of 250MB per month, but this is pre-beta
and could have changed and so our usual disclaimer applies. Obviously the PR definitely looks better leaving the figures out, but a free inbox of 8GB
by the end of year 1 gives us a warm feeling. (For comparison, Gmail is currently on 7GB and still growing.)
New UI:
Along with the new Wave 3 UI, in particular the new header and themes available shown below, the new promotion site suggests that the classic and full
versions of Hotmail will be combined together. This potentially means that full functionality could be available across all browsers. Also worth
mentioning here are improvements around deadling with spam.
WebIM built-in: This feature doesn't really need much
explaining and should be a popular addition. From what we've heard it'll support most of the basic needs such as presence, notifications and chat
via the WebMessenger dogfood. Yes its been a while since we've spoken about that!
Integrated Calendar: No surprise if
you're on the new Windows Live Calendar beta to hear there will be integration between the two services.
Easier to send group
emails: Thanks to the new Windows Live Groups service (go ABCH!) it'll be easier to email all those contacts in one go.
Microsoft has just made the updated release candidate of the Windows Live Suite wave 3 at download.live.com. Thanks to Sean Bradford for alerting
us. Microsoft has updated the Messenger client to Version 2009 (Build 14.0.8050.1202) as can be seen below from the about Window: There is no beta
tag anywhere on this build as it's a near final build and Messenger plus does work with this build but not all features are usable. Overall the
UI has been enhanced in most areas with minor changes. The main improvements are the integration to Windows 7 with the new jump lists feature.
The release of (Codename Peloton for those keeping track), is expected to mainly take place from 4pm PST (2nd December) onwards, and will include the
release of new services such as Windows Live Groups, Photos and Profile as well as the significantly updated Home and Mobile offerings. No this
doesn't include the release of Windows Live Essentials, the desktop applications.
Note, Hotmail and Calendar are both on a different
release schedule, and as such will remain at their Wave 3 Milestone 2 builds until a later update. So no WebMessenger integration just yet :(
All the new services are available, so check them out.
Windows Live Photos (>) Windows Live SkyDrive () Windows Live
Groups () Windows Live Home ()
Microsoft is warning Windows Live Hotmail users of a recent phishing scam that asks for the person's username, password, date of birth, and country
or territory. It's not clear why the software giant has taken the time to warn users of this particular phishing scam, as this definitely isn't the
first Microsoft- or Hotmail-related one. Hopefully, it has nothing to do with its success rate, but it's likely due to the fact that the e-mail
claims it is from the Windows Live Hotmail team, both in the signature and at the start: "This Email is from Hotmail Customer Care and we are sending
it to every Hotmail Email User Accounts Owner for safety."
BetaNews has learned the
United States launch of
Windows Live Hotmail will come
in May, although the company
is expected to launch in India
and Belgium Tuesday. Updates
to Windows Live Spaces and
Gallery are also expected... betanews.com - 17.04.2007
Windows Live Hotmail wave 3 rollout begins