Adding and configuring Hotmail in Windows Mail

So you want to configure and set up your Hotmail account on the Windows Mail? Unfortunately, Microsoft has stopped supporting Hotmail on both Windows Mail and Outlook Express email clients. However - and now the good news - the company has released a new and feature-packed email program called Windows Live Mail in which you can configure multiple email accounts including Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo!Mail (requires a premium account) and email of your web site.

Note: In order to set up a Hotmail (now known as Windows Live Hotmail) on Windows Mail, you need to have an account. You can get one at the Windows Live Hotmail homepage.

Falling user base and shifting loyalties

Last couple of years Microsoft has been steadily losing Hotmail users to competition particularly Yahoo!Mail and Gmail. Both these companies have taken the fight to a new level - larger and larger inbox space, easy to use interface, spam protection etc. Unfortunately, Microsoft has been left behind. Responses to improvements in Hotmail have been lukewarm, to say the least.

The simplest quantifiable feature is the amount of space available for the inbox. Ever since Gmail dropped the 1GB bomb on the world, things in online email service space have been very exciting especially in 2007. Yahoo!'s reaction to this, in my opinion, was kind of slow but was well planned - they finally increased the inbox quota and made it "unlimited" and released a new 'drag-n-drop' interface for their online email service. Microsoft, on the other hand, just seemed to be in this deep sleep. When it did finally open its eyes, a lot of ground was lost to Yahoo! and Gmail.

Also, support for Hotmail on Outlook Express, the popular email client at that time, was kind of patchy. And I say this from my own experience. I was able to add my company's account on my laptop but it was impossible (and I finally gave up) setting up my personal account on my home PC. (FYI, I use the same ISP for both my office and my home- the same company!)
I am sure many Windows users shifted their loyalties from Outlook Express to Thunderbird.

In a move to regain some control of the situation and get back, at least a part, of its user base, Microsoft rechristened Hotmail to Windows Live Hotmail, increased the inbox space, provided better spam filters and an ease to use interface etc. It also released new email client - Windows Live Mail (this is not the same as Windows Mail found on the Vista operating system).

So I suggest that if you want to use Hotmail, you should download Windows Live Mail. For step by step instructions, please read Windows Live Mail settings for Hotmail accounts.