Windows Live Mail Beta Now Available
Windows recently starting introducing it’s Live brand of software which is run through your web browser and can be accessed from any computer anywhere in the world. The Live products are no doubt in response to Google beginning to make a play into the software market by offering such things as photo software, site statistic software, desktop search, as well as numerous other products which you can find available in the Google Pack.
The newest release in the Windows Live Free Software is it’s Windows Live Beta. You can sign up to get an invitation at mail.live.com, or if you have a hotmail account an invitation may be sitting in your inbox.
The overall look and feel of Windows Live Mail is almost identical to the Microsoft Outlook Mail service, except for the ads at the top and right of the screen which at first glance are quite annoying. I am sure they will get less noticeable but they flash and blink and scroll unlike Gmail where the ads are a bit more subdued. Mail Live, unlike hotmail, offers 2 GB of storage right off the bat which is a serious upgrade, although all the major services are realizing that this is becoming the norm.
The biggest difference Windows Live Mail has over Gmail is it’s folders feature with drag and drop capability. This can save major time when trying to locate a group of emails. That is just too easy and I still can’t figure our why Gmail doesn’t offer it. I know that Gmail offers a label service that allows the user to label emails, but that method is quite cumbersome and annoying. I prefer the drag and drop and my assumption is that most of you do as well. Correct me if I am wrong.
Microsoft also has search capabilities integrated right into the Live mail, just like Gmail but trying to remember what was specifically said in an email is a lot more difficult than remembering the subject. Another reason the drag and drop wins out. Maybe if I could drag and label I would be happier with Gmail’s method???
Overall I still like Gmail, the font is easier to read, there is less clutter on the screen and the colors are softer. If Gmail adds a folders option I may never sign into my Live account again, but until that happens I’ll see what both have to offer and what improvements are made. Plus it’s always good to have an extra email account for those spammy forms you have to fill out.