Hotmail Face-Lift Delayed by Glitch
Microsoft touts integrated Web services, but delays launch of spam filter and other new features.
Tom Spring, PCWorld.com
Microsoft is laying the virtual groundwork for its Web-based services in a redesign of MSN Hotmail that more tightly integrates with other Microsoft offerings, notably MSN Messenger and MSN Calendar.
The update, scheduled to be live Wednesday, ran into a glitch and did not launch as scheduled. Microsoft officials were looking into the problem Wednesday morning and decline to say when the changes will take effect.
The integration of other Web-based Microsoft products follows the approach Microsoft is taking in the initiative code-named Hailstorm, its suite of integrated consumer services that are part of its ".Net" strategy. The delayed launch casts another cloud over the ambitious Net-centric initiative, however.
Microsoft clearly needs to reassure consumers of the reliability of heavily Web-based resources. It recently had a hard time keeping the MSN Messenger service running smoothly. Intermittent outages in July kept millions from chatting for more than a week. Even after service was universally restored, some MSN customers lost their buddy list records.
The Hotmail face-lift includes what company officials call a "cleaner design" that also provides more links to Microsoft MSN online destinations--another sign of readiness for tighter integration with upcoming Web-based services.
In the revamped Hotmail, when you sign on to your account you're automatically logged onto the MSN Messenger service, which means that a huge number of new users could start the service instead of its main competitor, AOL Instant Messenger. At least, that seems to be what Microsoft is hoping.
And there is more: Hotmail displays your MSN Messenger buddy list at your Hotmail start page, and you are notified whether any of your MSN buddies are online. Your MSN Calendar likewise appears on your start page.
Watch for Hailstorm
"Microsoft is taking steps to include its Hailstorm services into all of its products," says Chris Le Tocq, analyst with Guernsey Research. "Hotmail can be expected to be a key beneficiary of that integration."
Hailstorm services include instant messaging, authentication through its Passport service, and group calendaring. They are also built into the upcoming Windows XP.
"One of the things that users can expect is that there will be more and more integration between Microsoft's services," Le Tocq says.
The company's plan is to move away from traditional shrink-wrap products to web-based software and services, some of which will be fee-based while others will be free. Hotmail e-mail accounts are free.
Can the Spam
Microsoft is emphasizing Hotmail's new junk e-mail management tools. The e-mail service now has three levels of junk e-mail filtering, replacing its one-size-fits-all "Bulk Mail" solution.
Starting Wednesday, you can choose among three levels of filtering ranging from High to Low and Exclusive. The High level of filtering applies the most stringent filtering formula, steering likely junk mail into a new Hotmail folder called Junk Mail Filter.
If that's still not good enough, you can select Exclusive, which accepts into your inbox only e-mail from people listed in your MSN Hotmail virtual address book.
"Spammers get better, and we have to get better right along with them," says Sarah Lefko, MSN product manager. To gain the upper hand, Microsoft has licensed technology from Mail Abuse Prevention Systems, which identifies junk e-mail. You can access the Junk Mail Filter and modify the filter and view the sorted e-mail.
Window Dressings
Those familiar with Microsoft's MSN Explorer Web browser will recognize that the revamped Hotmail has stolen a few design cues. Its colors are brighter and edges are curved, compared to earlier Hotmail incarnations.
But the primary difference is that navigation is defined by four tabs: Home, Inbox, Compose, and Address Book. The design is another example of the standardization Microsoft is seeking with its Web-based Hailstorm services.
Microsoft claims its Hotmail service hosts 110 million active e-mail accounts. That number is up from 100 million accounts in March, according to Microsoft's internal numbers.
Matt Berger of the IDG News Service contributed to this report.
