Features/changes I’d like to see in Outlook.com this year

There’s a few features and changes I’d like to see added to Outlook.com soon; mostly from Gmail. Here’s the list:

• An improved Calendar – The Outlook.com calendar is still officially called Hotmail Calendar, has an old interface and doesn’t have search. I’d like to see it updated with an interface similar to Outlook.com’s, with search, and a quick add feature similar to Fantastical‘s and Google Calendar’s.
• IMAP support – I don’t really see the point of IMAP anymore, since EAS is around which supports push email along with calendar and contact sync, but it’s needed in some situations. For example, Mac users wanting to view their email in OS X Mail need to use POP, which doesn’t sync changes back to the server. Ideally, though, Apple should implement EAS support into OS X so Mac users can sync everything.
• A smaller compose window – basically the same as Gmail’s. It would be really useful.
• A dedicated iOS app – The default iOS Mail app suffices for most tasks, but since Outlook.com has added Categories and more recently Archiving it’s not so suitable. We need a dedicated, metro-style iOS app that supports pretty much all Outlook.com features and has push email/notifications. We don’t, however, need special contact and calendar apps – Cobook and Fantastical are just great.
• A much better Android app – the current Android app is rubbish. It needs the same features of the dedicated iOS app plus a nice interface. This is one of the main reasons that’s stopping me from buying a Nexus 7, so fix it!
• Delete becomes mark as read and delete – if you currently delete something that’s unread, the Deleted folder has a little 1 next to it. I don’t need to know that something’s unread in deleted because, well, it’s deleted! I don’t care!
• A much better set of Windows 8 apps – The Mail app needs to basically be Outlook.com but not in a web browser plus Windows 8 style notifications etc. The Calendar app needs searching and a form of quick add. The Messaging app just needs to be replaced by the Skype app. The People app is fine. Fix them!
• Allow multiple “schedule cleanup rules” – I’ve set up emails from several senders to automatically be moved to my Archive folder after 30 days. But I want them auto-deleted after 60 days. I can only have one of these rules. Why?!?!
• Better search – in Gmail, once you’ve signed up for the field trail, search suggestions of emails you might be searching for appear as you type. Something like that in Outlook.com would be awesome.

I think that’s all. Phew. Although it may not seem this way, there’s a lot I like about Outlook.com, and that’s why I use instead of Gmail. There are some occaisions when I do wish I had Gmail, however, and doing all the above would eliminate this entirely.

Webmail vs. the client

For (almost) as long as people have been asking “Mac or PC?” there has been the question of “webmail vs. the client – how should I access my email?”. Of course, it’s changed a bit recently. It used to be that if you used a client, it used POP and removed the messages from the server. Email was very much a one computer activity. But then Gmail came along, which brought a lot of people to webmail. And protocols such as IMAP and, more recently Exchange Active Sync (though Gmail is soon dropping support for it for consumers), which meant that even when you used a client rather than through a web browser your activity (e.g. read/delete email) synced back to the ‘cloud’, making email more of a multiple device activity.

Because of the lack of restrictions due to new protocols, and feature parity between webmail and clients such as Outlook, it’s all down to personal choice. There are arguments for each.

For webmail

• New features often arrive faster – may be added every few weeks, while clients may not get updates for years
• Access all of your mail immediately – clients generally only sync recent mail, though they can sync all of your mail
• Possibly more customisation – Gmail has themes, for example, while Outlook doesn’t have that much customisation
• IM built in - with Outlook.com it’s Messenger and soon Skype, with Gmail it’s Google Talk and Google+, with AOL Mail it’s AIM; you get the idea. It’s generally more social.

For the client

• Access mail offline – you can also queue changes and new messages for when you are back online
• Possibly more features – it really depends. The Windows 8 Mail client has no-where near as many features as Outlook.com, but Microsoft Outlook probably has more features than Gmail
• Notifications as new mail arrives
• Maybe faster performance
• Less distracting – when using a browser to access your mail, the temptation is there to add a new tab and check Facebook. When using a dedicated app, it’s a lot more steps to do so and therefore there’s less chance of you doing it.
• System integration (sometimes) – for example, the Windows Mail app supports live tiles, pin folders to start, notifications and lock screen support. Using IE to access Outlook.com doesn’t provide any of this.
• Access multiple email accounts - though Gmail and Outlook.com can do this via POP, the problems with it have just been summed up by the sentence before the comma: it’s with POP. That means changes don’t sync back, and if it’s your work email, that might be a problem. Clients often using IMAP or Active Sync instead, so the changes sync back, resulting in a better experience.

As I said, it’s really down to personal choice and there’s no better or worse option. However, I generally choose the client, with my Mail syncing to the cloud and to other devices via Outlook.com. Though it doesn’t have many features, I use the Windows 8 Mail client because of it’s system integration, something accessing Mail via the web can’t offer (I do, however, use the web occasionally to access old mail or to set up new rules). I used to use Windows Live Mail. I suppose I just like the fact that it’s there in the background, all day, in a separate window, keeping out the way, unlike an annoying browser tab that I may accidently close (pinning the tab in Chrome or pinning to the taskbar in IE9+ may solve this, however).

Which do you prefer? Do you access your email via a browser, or via a program like Outlook, Windows 8 Mail, or Apple Mail?

(P.S. Happy New Year!)

Using Windows 8 when you have a Google account

Windows 8 – shipping later this month on all new PCs – works best if you have a Microsoft account (formerly known as a Windows Live ID) and you are integrated into their ecosystem (e.g. you use Hotmail/Outlook.com, SkyDrive, XBOX Live etc.). But what if you are, like many others, integrated into the Google ecosystem, and you use Gmail, Chrome etc.? Well, Windows 8 can work great for you too.

When you first create your Windows 8 account, you’re asked to log in with a Microsoft account. If you already have a Hotmail/Outlook/XBOX Live etc. account, then just log in with this. Or you can create a local account. Or, as I recommend,you can create a Microsoft account using your @gmail.com address (probably the best option because you will have your desktop background, settings, start screen synced even if you don’t use IE, plus you can then download apps from the Windows Store).

Once your account is set up, download Chrome and set it as your default browser. Now Chrome metro Windows 8 style will be launched when you click Chrome from the Start screen, desktop Chrome can be launched from the desktop and Windows 8 style IE won’t exist. You can unpin it from Start and replace it with Chrome.

You can always access your Gmail via Chrome, but there are advantages to setting it up with the communication apps built-in to Windows 8. Advantages include easily being able to see whether you have new mail, what your next appointment is etc. from the Start screen, as well as getting notifications throughout the OS. If you signed into Windows 8 with a Microsoft account with an @gmail.com address, the apps may already be set up, but if not launch Mail, add a Gmail account and check the box to sync Calendar and Contacts as well. Now these apps will sync with your Google account. There are some settings you may want to change in Mail, though – by default it only syncs the last 2 weeks of Mail, doesn’t display pop-up notifications and has a stupid “Sent from Windows Mail” signature. You can change these settings by going to:

Charms – Settings – Accounts – [Your Gmail account]

That’s about it. Now you can use Windows 8 with all the features people get if they use Microsoft services. Each time you set up a new Windows 8 PC, follow these same steps and, if you do sign in with a Microsoft account (be it @hotmail/live/outlook or @gmail.com) you’ll find that a lot of things sync between your PCs, like your desktop background.

Enjoy using Windows 8!

For more info, see ZDNet’s article (with pictures!)

New post on Outlook blog explains switching from Hotmail

A new post on the Outlook blog (which is where you’ll find Outlook.com news – Inside Hotmail, SkyDrive and Messenger seems to only cover SkyDrive now) finally explains fully switching from Hotmail to its successor Outlook.com. There has been a lot of confusion, and people wondering whether they should create an alias or rename their email, and whether they’ll still receive email sent to their old address (yes, they will) and more.

You can read the blog post by clicking here.

I won’t go into much detail as you can read the blog post yourself, but I will point you to some information Paul Thurrott has found. You can actually set an email address you’ve previously used as an alias as your main address, if you’re quick (or you wait 30 days… it depends). I recommend you see both Paul Thurrott’s article (linked above) and the official Microsoft answers post by clicking here. Why make it so hard to find, Microsoft? Why not just put it all in a blog post?

Microsoft mentioned in the blog post that they’ll be doing more posts soon about switching from other emails services such as Gmail and Yahoo Mail. Watch out for those.

Microsoft, please take a look at Gmail’s themes

For those of you who don’t know, I’m a big Microsoft fan. I use Hotmail, SkyDrive, Messenger, Windows 8, Office 2010 and more. But there are some things they really need to improve on, and today I’m looking at Hotmail’s themes. Here they are:

Current Hotmail theme selection

They’re not great. At all. As you can see from the screenshot, there’s a bunch of ‘static’ themes and a limited selection of themes that change from the weather. There’s one thing in common with all of them: they’re all kind of childish. And there’s no customisation within a theme – you can’t change the colour of the text, for example.

People have long asked for a Bing theme, which changes each day and is based on the Bing.com image of the day. But that’s never appeared. Same for requests about customising themes and adding your own. It’s basically rubbish.

Gmail, however, is very different. With the recent-ish new look update, they added a bunch of lovely HD themes. Now they’ve added custom themes, which let you upload your own photos. This is what us Hotmail users would love, but Microsoft simply haven’t listened.

But there is some hope. Microsoft is currently doing a re-design of all it’s Windows Live services, making them follow the metro design principles in all Microsoft’s products (Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows Phone and Xbox 360 all use metro) and removing the Windows Live branding. Here are some screenshots. Microsoft does have a chance to add HD themes. Admittedly, it’s unlikely because it won’t follow the metro design principles, but I really hope that Microsoft will take a look at Gmail and provide some nice themes.

On a side note, I think I may stop the mostly-weekly format of this blog – as I’ve started focusing on technology, waiting up to a week to write things doesn’t really work. So expect posts from me any time, and don’t be surprised if you don’t get one for a week now and then.

On a second side note, if any of you have any good names for this blog other than a standard “doctorwhofan98′s blog” please let me know. Thanks.

The Ultimate Email Comparison

Today is the grand (or not so grand) finale of my email comparisons. That is why I used caps on the title. Scary, yeah? Ok, maybe not so scary. And when I say ‘grand finale’ there could actually be more comparisons in the future. Ah, well. (Please note: for the features of each one and how each of them compare to one of its rivals, see my other email comparison posts).

The services I am comparing

• Windows Live Hotmail
• Gmail by Google
• MobileMe Mail
• Yahoo! Mail

Features for each one

See the individual posts

The Ultimate Winner?

[Insert drumbeat here], oh, wait, I didn’t add audio. So we’ll have to do it without the drumbeat. So, the winner (in my opinion) is…

Windows Live Hotmail!!!

…for various reasons, including:

• Integrates with Windows
• Huge support team
• Great features
• A small part of a big social network (Windows Live) that can connect to other networks (eg. Facebook, and then you can chat with your Facebook friends in Messenger).

I hope you have enjoyed the comparisons. I may do more when new updates come out for the email services. What do you think the ultimate winner should be? Is it one I have compared or is it a different one? Tell me in the comments, and don’t forget to like!!

Here are the websites for the other comparisons:

• MobileMe Mail vs. Yahoo! Mail
• Windows Live Hotmail vs. Gmail

A cool Hotmail feature is demonstrated below: