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It’s not a secret that a Gmail user turns into a Gmail addict very soon. I was very much obsessed with Gmail the past 8 years or so but finally managed to switch to Outlook.com (the new Hotmail) last year.
I love Outlook.com because of its fresh, clean and intuitive interface but I miss several powerful features offered by Gmail. The first one being the "Search". So today I’m going to focus on Gmail search and going to tell you why I love Gmail search.
I was obsessed with Google and Gmail was my e-mail hub even as a Microsoft fanatic. But with the launch of Windows 8 things have changed as I finally migrated to more Microsoft services (Outlook.com, OneNote, SkyDrive, etc.) from Google (Gmail, Notebook, Google Drive, etc.). And now I really love my Outlook.com Inbox (thanks to Windows Live Admin Center).
Today, the only thing by Google that I really use is the Google search apart from their tools and products (AdSense, AdWords, Analytics, Webmaster Tools, etc.) for marketers and webmasters.
Dear Microsoft, there’s no doubt that Outlook.com (previously Windows Live Hotmail, Microsoft Hotmail) is cooler than Gmail or Yahoo! Mail. But you know what? Gmail (or Google Mail) is way ahead of any other e-mail service when it comes to productivity. I’m using Gmail ever since they launched as an invite-only beta release and it’s Gmail and not Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail that redefined the way I use an e-mail service.
That said, as a Microsoft fanatic I finally migrated to Outlook.com from Gmail last year even though I was aware that I’m not going to get all the features I enjoy from Google Mail. But that migration was part of my break-free from Google as I was too obsessed with Google products.
Google Reader is perhaps the best RSS feed reader out there that consolidates all of our RSS subscriptions. Microsoft Outlook comes with an inbuilt RSS Reader that downloads all your feed items to Outlook so that you can read your feeds offline since the data is now stored in your local disk.
Now, if you still want to rely on Google Reader (like me) then you can access your Google Reader feeds right from your Outlook. All you need to do is right-click the “RSS Feeds” folder in Outlook and click “Properties”.
Did you know, Outlook can now connect to social networks Facebook and LinkedIn like we do on Outlook.com. Once you link your Facebook and LinkedIn account to Outlook it will then show your contacts’ social media updates within Outlook.
Read: 13 Hotmail (Now Outlook.com) Tips & Tricks You Probably Don’t Know
What is Outlook Social Connector?
Outlook Social Connector lets you see profiles and updates and add new connections without leaving Office. Click on a contact’s name to see email and attachments he or she has sent you, meetings you have attended together, and their activities in social networks. You can also send this contact a request to become your connection in popular social networks.
Apple iCloud is an excellent service to manage our Contacts, Calendar, Notes, and Reminders as it syncs with all Apple devices and some third-party services. I guess you already know how to synchronize your Hotmail account with Outlook.
Now if you want to sync your iCloud data with your Windows PC then Microsoft Office Outlook is perhaps the best way as Apple comes with an iCloud Control Panel for Windows that can sync your Internet Explorer Bookmarks (requires IE 8 or later) with iCloud and your iOS Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Notes and Tasks with Outlook (requires Microsoft Outlook 2007, 2010 or later).
If you haven’t already setup iCloud on your Windows PC then you need to set up iCloud on all your devices and then download the iCloud Control Panel for Windows (requires Microsoft Windows Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7, or Windows 8).
It appears like Windows 8 and the new Outlook 2013 is going to reorganize my (and probably your) digital life by making “online things” easier. I’m one of those power Gmail users, but that said, I was planning to switch to Outlook.com ever since they launched the service. I struggled a lot to find a reason to switch to Outlook.com from Gmail as I love everything about Microsoft. But since no other web mail service currently matches the features of Gmail I was forced to stick with Gmail itself.
Read: How To Sync Microsoft Hotmail With Office Outlook 2013
But the past several weeks, I spent numerous hours configuring things here and there to find a perfect alternative to Google services – Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Reader, Google Tasks and more – which I currently use. My digital life is was all about Gmail. It’s actually Gmail and not the Google search which glues me to most Google products as they’re all tightly integrated.