Windows Live Hotmail wave 3 rollout begins

By Marshalus, 30 September 2008 - 19:40  27 comments

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.

Screenshot: Windows Live Hotmail, wave 3

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Comments (27)

  1. Sam - 30 September 2008 - 19:42

    I was going to comment on the lack of a title, but I couldn't, as there was no title

  2. Marshalus - 30 September 2008 - 19:47

    (Sam said @ #1)
    I was going to comment on the lack of a title, but I couldn't, as there was no title :p

    Yeah, not sure what happened, must have been a blip in the CMS because I put one in, previewed the story to make some edits, then when I posted it wasn't there. Had to go find the ID of the story, replace the ID in the edit address of another page so I could open it up and fix it.

  3. ContendeR - 30 September 2008 - 19:49

    When if ever will they give us tagging like Gmail and Zenbe?

  4. MMaster23 - 30 September 2008 - 20:08

    Anyone know the server addresses yet? Usually you can reach the new version by using other server than Hotmail gives you.

    I'm using by117w.bay117.mail.live.com .. still the old one.

  5. +spenser.d - 30 September 2008 - 20:29

    I'm on bay135 and it's still the old one too.

    -Spenser

  6. Skyfrog - 30 September 2008 - 21:04

    I should know this by now but what does wave mean? Beta, pre-beta, RC...I've never seen any other software releases use the term wave before.

    Edit: I guess no one else knows either, or they don't want to tell me. :P

  7. Marshalus - 01 October 2008 - 01:43

    (Skyfrog said @ #4)
    I should know this by now but what does wave mean? Beta, pre-beta, RC...I've never seen any other software releases use the term wave before.

    Edit: I guess no one else knows either, or they don't want to tell me. :P

    Wave 3 is like generation 3 of the Live services suite.

  8. Skyfrog - 01 October 2008 - 03:02

    Thanks, thought that might be what it meant but wasn't sure.

  9. zape - 30 September 2008 - 21:05

    http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=675692

  10. noPCtoday - 30 September 2008 - 21:05

    live mail ad on the top is pretty annoying, good thing AdBlock + Element Block can block that...

  11. Roger2 - 01 October 2008 - 14:21

    To remove the ads in IE7 use IE7Pro and remove "live.com" from the adblocker whitelist.

  12. Kreuger - 30 September 2008 - 21:09

    They really need to work on Firefox support. I'm sick of the "you should upgrade your browser" messages.

  13. MMaster23 - 30 September 2008 - 21:41

    (Kreuger said @ #7)
    They really need to work on Firefox support. I'm sick of the "you should upgrade your browser" messages.

    You know they supported Firefox with the current version huh?
    FF support has been around for more than a year now.

  14. Kreuger - 30 September 2008 - 21:53

    (MMaster23 said @ #7.1)

    You know they supported Firefox with the current version huh?
    FF support has been around for more than a year now.

    Yeah supposedly but they still always complain about it being incompatible. It worked for a time now it says I need to upgrade again

  15. hewitt s. - 30 September 2008 - 22:05

    Firefox works perfectly fine with Hotmail. I use FF exclusively, and I log into Hotmail all the time. I always get the "full" version and everything works correctly and everything is displayed properally. Are you using FF 3? I believe there are still some issues using FF 2.

  16. Kreuger - 30 September 2008 - 22:36

    (hewitt s. said @ #7.3)
    Firefox works perfectly fine with Hotmail. I use FF exclusively, and I log into Hotmail all the time. I always get the "full" version and everything works correctly and everything is displayed properally. Are you using FF 3? I believe there are still some issues using FF 2.
    Yep. 3.0.3. It's been like this since at least 3.0.1.

  17. zape - 01 October 2008 - 00:31

    He means in Linux distros it doesnt work

  18. PsykX - 01 October 2008 - 03:38

    The same goes for Safari... It tells me to upgrade to IE7 if I have Safari or FF... more like a DOWNgrade to me. I can't be more annoyed by these kind of messages.

  19. hewitt s. - 30 September 2008 - 22:11

    I have two Hotmail accounts and neither have been updated. One uses bay108 and the other uses bay126. I am using the new Calendar beta with one of my accounts, and that has the new interface.

  20. +xiphi - 30 September 2008 - 22:17

    Mine uses bay103, and I'm still waiting for the new update.

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