The past few months have been pretty crazy around here. In November alone, we did a preview launch of Windows Live Mail in the Netherlands, while upgrading all our Hotmail accounts to a minimum of 1 GB of storage (our Windows Live Mail accounts are still getting 2 GB).
 
In the midst of all this, we’ve also been working hard on the next version of Windows Live Mail, called M9, which focuses primarily on the Classic experience. Classic (previously known as “Light”) is for those who prefer the more familiar look and feel of Hotmail, but want the safety, ease of use, and raw speed that come with Windows Live Mail. And when I say raw speed, I mean it: it’s faster than the original Hotmail, even though it has more features!
 
Interestingly enough, after reviewing mounds of performance and usage data, we are finding that users do like the Classic experience as a nice transition before switching to the “Full” experience of Windows Live Mail. So we’re switching things up a little! When an account is first migrated over, it will automatically start out in the Classic experience, allowing the user to decide if and when to move up to the Full experience. Even better, moving forward, everyone can switch between the Classic and the Full experiences in the Options section anytime. For those of you who currently have existing Windows Live Mail accounts, your existing settings will be preserved, so if you’re on the Full experience now, you’ll stay there (with the option to change to Classic if you ever choose to).
 
Just as with M8, we’re going to release M9 over some time, so don’t be surprised if you see some new stuff while your neighbor doesn’t. After testing things out over a week or two, we’ll make M9 available to everyone. Hooray!
 
Benjamin Poon
Windows Live Mail Program Manager

mail beta

January 22, 2007

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