Hotmail is dead! Long "Live" Outlook

So, last week Microsoft launched Outlook.com, a refresh/relaunch of their webmail service. Outlook.com replaces existing Hotmail and Live user interface, beefs up the service and even gives users the opportunity to change their email domain from Hotmail.com to Outlook.com.

I've been using Outlook.com both through a new email address and with my existing Live account, so here are my impressions almost a week in.

The user interface, once you have either signed up or agreed to have your existing Hotmail/Live use the new UI, is clean. At launch, everyone was referring to the UI as the Metro one.

Metro UI is the design language/style used by Microsoft for their smartphones (running Windows Phone), the Xbox dashboard and on Windows 8. Later in the week, news broke of the fact that Microsoft staff and partners have been explicitly told not to use the term Metro UI, due to threat of legal action from Metro AG, a German retail group. Until Microsoft come up with a replacement name for their UI, I'll call it Metro UI.

My Winodows 8 Start screen. I call it Metro UI.

The clean UI on Outlook.com is a definitely better. The larger, more readable fonts and cleaner screen seem to be snappier than the now clunky Hotmail webmail. Media, such as images and video, can be set to open automatically within the email itself and images can also be viewed as a slideshow too.

An email with an image as an attachment.

A gallery view of the image attachments.

From the Outlook.com webmail page you can also chat with your MSN/Windows Live chat buddies, integrate your Facebook chat and soon you will be able to make and receive Skype voice and video calls. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Skype from Outlook.com compares to Google Talk from Gmail.

I have refrained from transferring my Live account over to the Outlook.com domain because of all the other services tied to my Live email address, mainly Xbox Live and my Windows Phone Nokia Lumia. Apparently switching your address to an Outlook.com one can break those services and accounts.

Outlook.com is obviously not finished yet. Clicking on the logo in the top left corner of the page, you get to switch from your webmail to other services such as People (contacts), Calendar and Skydrive. People is using the Metro UI design language, but Calendar and Skydrive are still using the old Hotmail/Live UI. I look forward to seeing how those services behave using the Metro UI.

Metro UI switcher to the other account services.

My Outlook.com email address synchronises perfectly with my Nokia Lumia 710, and it is as good an experience on the Windows Phone platform as Hotmail was. Essentially, nothing is new there. On Android, you can add an Outlook.com email account to the Hotmail application and get your email on the go there. My personal view on the Hotmail for Android app: it's pants, don't bother trying!

This Outlook.com webmail refresh is a good start for Microsoft, I like the shinily simple UI and service. Is it enough to win me over? Currently I'm locked into Google's services and webmail service, GMail, so it will be tough for Microsoft to do so. Check back in a few months time and see if I have changed...

These are the views of an Android fanboy, bear that in mind. As usual, feel free to leave comments and/or questions below.

Three UK To Sell Galaxy Nexus

I just read on the Official Three UK Blog that 3 UK will be selling the Galaxy Nexus, the Google phone running Android Ice Cream Sandwich!

Good times! My favourite network stocking what may well be my next favourite phone!

You can read the full post here.

As usual, feel free to leave comments and/or questions below or on Three's Blog.

What is Google Chrome OS?

Google Chrome OS is a Linux-based operating system designed by Google to work exclusively with web applications. This means that when you turn it on you don't boot into a traditional operating system like Microsoft Windows or Ubuntu, you boot into Chrome OS.

The best way to explain this is how Google have done so in this video:

Even on a three year old netbook Chrome OS boots up in less than 15 seconds. It's fantastic.

Feel free to leave comments and/or questions, any feedback is appreciated.

How To Install SopCast Player on Ubuntu

SopCast is a simple, free way to broadcast video and audio or watch the video and listen to radio on the Internet.

If you would like to set up the SopCast Player in Ubuntu to watch live streams, the instructions on how to do so are as follows:

Step One

Make sure your Ubuntu machine is switched on, connected to the Internet and that you have the administrative password (and rights) to the computer. [This may sound stupid, but it always helps to avoid comments that get classed as spam on the post]

Open a Terminal window. This can usually be found in "Accessories"

Step Two

Copy and paste (or type) the following command into the terminal prompt, and then press enter.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jason-scheunemann/ppa

You will be prompted to enter your administrator password, do so and the repository will be added.

Step Three

Copy and paste (or type) the following command into the terminal prompt, and then press enter.

sudo apt-get update

This will update the source list. You may be prompted to enter your administrator password again, if so do it.


Step Four


Copy and paste (or type) the following command into the terminal prompt, and then press enter.

wget http://sopcast-player.googlecode.com/files/sp-auth_3.0.1_i386.deb

This will download sp-auth, a package the SopCast Player needs to work.


Step Five


Copy and paste (or type) the following command into the terminal prompt, and then press enter.


sudo dpkg -i sp-auth_3.0.1_i386.deb


This will install sp-auth, the package the SopCast Player needs to work. Again, if your are prompted for your administrator password, enter it.

Step Six

Copy and paste (or type) the following command into the terminal prompt, and then press enter.

sudo apt-get install sopcast-player

This should install the SopCast Player. If you are prompted to enter your administrator password do so. If you are prompted to confirm the download and install do so.

Step Seven

Reboot your computer and then look for the SopCast Player in the Multimedia menu. It all should be ready to use.

Thanks to SopCast, Jason Scheunemann and everyone using SopCast.


Please leave comments and let me know how you get on.