I finally got accepted to test Microsoft’s latest improvement over its Hotmail. It now sports an AJAX interface which updates information on a web page without it ever having to refresh. It tries to act like a desktop mail client but fails pretty badly on its first attempt.
First of all, none of the browsers I used worked fully with all of its features. Microsoft, in all its endless wisdom, decided they’d make the site compatible to Microsoft Internet Explorer first and foremost (and maybe make it compatible with other “things” later). This is a drastic contrast to Google’s philosophy of trying to make its Gmail work with all major browsers.
I also found the site refreshing more than it should. This new “free upgrade” supposedly comes with increased 2GB of email space. But I couldn’t find any option to see the usage anywhere. Maybe that’s one of the features only available for IE users for now.
All in all, I’d rate Windows Live Mail “C-” for effort, “F” for look and feel, “D” for functionality and technical implementation. What kind of jackass AJAX implementation works with only one type of browser nowadays? This site was the first I encountered where most AJAX functionalities were not compatible to other browsers.
While I am on a rant rampage, a word about Yahoo’s up-and-coming revamp of ITS web mail system. I applied to be a beta user back in November (or maybe early December). I never heard from them again. Then in mid-December, I got an email saying that I was almost there. While this was happening, I applied for Microsoft’s Live Mail Beta and started using it within a few weeks. It seems like everytime I deal with Yahoo, the company becomes less and less attractive in many ways. It’s become a me-too company from the media sensation and tehnology innovator that it was in 2000. But that aside, Yahoo’s new webmail is going to be pretty crazy in terms of functionality (since it mirrors features and look and feel that rival a true desktop application, which in turn begs the question — where’s the innovation in that? (especially given the fact that the company bought another company to get that… it’s not like they came up with it)).
