Hotmail is one of the oldest and free web based email services.It is still operated as a free service by one of world’s leading technology companies, Microsoft.
Hotmail was founded by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith. It was launched in July 1996 as “HoTMaiL”, where its name and capitalization refers to HTML, the encoding language used by the World Wide Web (WWW). While it was known as MSN Hotmail after microsoft acquired it from the founders, it is currently known as “Windows Live Hotmail”.
Windows Live Hotmail service offers 5GB of storage that expands as necessary, patented security measures, Ajax technology, and integration with other microsoft products like Windows Live Messenger, Spaces, Calendar, and Contacts. Hotmail is available in 36 different languages.
Features of Windows Live Hotmail
The following are the features of Windows Live Hotmail:
- Hotmail now comes with an integrated audio player to play voice mails or any MP3 audio clips. Before playing such audio files, they are scanned for viruses. This protects the computer from any potentially dangerous audio clips.
- The new Hotmail interface also integrates with other Windows Live services. For example, users can now see if their Windows Live Messenger contacts are online and start exchanging instant messages with them from within the Hotmail interface. Hotmail is also integrated with Windows Live People and this ensures the contact information of all your contact are automatically update as they change. Windows Live Calendar will also be accessible through the Hotmail interface and meeting requests are automatically added to the user’s calendar.
- The redesign of Hotmail was centered around an Outlook-style appearance, with a reading pane to view the inbox and messages at the same time, drag-and-drop functionality, keyboard selects for using the “CTRL” or “Shift” keys to select messages and right-click context menus. You may also choose to display the reading pane below the messages or by the side of the list of messages or not to be displayed at all.
- Security features built into Hotmail include a virus scanner, Sender ID and SMTP Authentication, phishing heuristic detection, Bonded Sender, mailing list detection, and forwarding detection. Any potentially unsafe mail is automatically trapped by the new Hotmail security and it does not open such messages or allow access to any attachment until the user requests it to do so. This is intended to provide protection against phishing attempts. Hotmail also positions a “safety bar” above each email message to notify the recipient whether the sender of the message is already known to the recipient and if the content of such message is potentially dangerous to computer security.
- As with Office applications like Microsoft Word, Hotmail provides an inbuilt spell checker. This is disabled if Hotmail detects any built-in spell checker on the user’s browser.
- The new Hotmail interface also provides a number of predefined Windows Live themes to choose from. The chosen theme will be used across all other Windows Live services.
Check out other Microsoft products like Windows Live Messenger 8.5 and Windows Live Messenger 9.
Related Posts
People who read this also viewed these helpful relevant videos
Current average ratings.
Social Reactions: