Hotmail

I Wonder Why Yahoo! Mail Plus ($19.99/year) Still Exists

by MAHESH MOHAN on October 2, 2013

Yahoo! Mail Plus

I really wonder why Yahoo! Mail still offers their paid e-mail service dubbed as "Yahoo! Mail Plus". Yahoo! Mail Plus may have been useful for those power e-mail users in the pre-Gmail era when our free storage was just 2 MB (Hotmail). But why today?

Yahoo! still says upgrade your account now and “Get a whole year for $19.99—that’s less than $2/month!”. Oh, seriously?

Now what extra features do we get with the paid plan? No graphical ads, disposable e-mail addresses, up to 200 e-mail filters, no account expiration, e-mail forwarding, and POP access.

My 18 Suggestions To Outlook.com: Microsoft, Are You Listening?

by MAHESH MOHAN on April 23, 2013

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).

Outlook.com

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.

Gmail vs. Outlook.com vs. Yahoo! Mail: An Ultimate Comparison

by MAHESH MOHAN on March 16, 2013

Outlook.com vs. Gmail vs. Yahoo! Mail

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.

How To Sync Windows Live Hotmail With Microsoft Outlook 2013

by MAHESH MOHAN on November 3, 2012

Microsoft Outlook

I’m not one of those Outlook fans but I know that most people, especially those from the corporate world, love Outlook as it can manage our Contacts, Mails, Calendar, Notes, Tasks all in one place. Since I was a power Gmail user I never had to depend upon Outlook. But yesterday I gave a try to the new Microsoft Office Outlook 2013 Preview. It looks just fantastic and is no longer the Outlook which I knew for a long time.

Well, now I feel that I realized the true power of Outlook lately. It can really do much more than what I have imagined. How? I’ll be showing you that in the upcoming posts as I’m still in process of consolidating my online stuff.

Dear Microsoft, Here’s Why I’m Obsessed With Google Even As A Microsoft Fanatic

by MAHESH MOHAN on September 11, 2012

A Computer Nerd

My digital life is all about Google as almost everything I do online is somehow connected to my Gmail and/or Google account. I was not a power e-mail user earlier (maybe because I was not a nerd or a marketer then) until Google came up with their own e-mail service on an April Fool’s day. I still remember my nifty Hotmail inbox with tons of embarrassing e-mails. I’m using Gmail ever since they launched the service, back in 2004 and have switched to many usernames before sticking to the current one which is active since 2005 with over 100,000 archived messages (never had to delete a single message ever).

Microsoft

That’s right, I’m a Microsoft fanboy and love everything about MSFT but I’m (also) struggling to find a reason to use most of their flagship products especially ~~Hotmail~~ Outlook, Bing, SkyDrive, Internet Explorer, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Phone etc. And, besides Windows, the Microsoft product I use the most is Windows Media Player (something that everyone loves to hate) and Microsoft Money (your fantastic personal finance management software) which you discontinued in 2009. :(

13 Hotmail (Now Outlook) Tips & Tricks You Probably Don’t Know

by MAHESH MOHAN on August 5, 2012

Hotmail Logos: New & Old

Hotmail is your e-mail friend, right? And by now you probably know that Microsoft has rebranded Hotmail as Outlook.com (see the official blogpost here) in an effort to compete with Google Mail (Gmail). Hotmail was one of the first web-based email services and is still world’s largest e-mail service with over 350 million users, according to comScore (June 2012). “Hot..”, err, “Outlook” is better than you think and is perhaps the only Internet brand that has redefined itself several times.

The Brand “Hotmail”

Hotmail (1996 – 1998)
MSN Hotmail (1998 – 2006)
Windows Live Hotmail (2007 – 2011)
Microsoft Hotmail (2011 – 2012)
Outlook [or Microsoft account?] (2012 – ?)

Over the past several years, Microsoft supported e-mail addresses on the following top level domains – @msn.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com, and now @outlook.com. I love everything Microsoft (maybe because I’m a Microsoft fanatic) and I love the brand @hotmail.com. But since I’m a power Internet user, Gmail is my primary e-mail account as it acts as my e-mail hub so I’m not going to switch to Outlook.com anytime soon (but I want to).