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New Outlook Connector in the works with Calendar synch for all

Feb 24, 2008 7:10 am by Chris | 10 comments

At the start of the year there was some discussion around whether MSN Premium offered good value for money in light of all these new and free Windows Live services. While we still think its great if you want several ad free accounts, we’ve heard that it could be about to lose yet another one of its unique features in favour of the free approach.

Currently if you use Windows Live Calendar (the MSN migrated calendar, not the new one in beta), the only way you are able to access it via a desktop client is using the Microsoft Outlook Connector. Also required is an MSN Premium subscription, and no Hotmail Plus doesn’t work. However this looks set to change as a new Outlook Connector is currently in dogfood testing internally, and we’ve heard that this one provides Windows Live Calendar access from within Outlook, to all users. So as well as updating the connector to support the new and in beta calendar service, Microsoft looks set to make this feature freely available to all.

While this comes as somewhat of a surprise, it probably shouldn’t do. Stretching our minds back to when MSN Hotmail existed, the first Outlook Connector was entirely a premium feature. Then along came Windows Live Hotmail and the Outlook Connector was updated to provide access to emails for all. Along comes Windows Live Calendar beta, and surprise surprise we seem to have access to calendar items via Outlook on the way for all users.

So while this is good news for those not with an MSN Premium subscription, those that have one and don’t get it for free via their internet service provider, might want to start thinking about swapping over to Hotmail Plus. Now where’s the Windows Live Calendar desktop application I wonder…

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pikablu0530
“and we’ve heard that this one provides Windows Live Calendar access from within Outlook, to all users”
Is this referring to the new Windows Live Calendar currently in beta? Or is it referring to the old MSN Calendar?
blaquewraith
I use Vista’s Windows Calendar with the Windows Live Calendar public ICS support. Also works with Outlook.
It’s read only but this keeps Windows Live Calendar as the primary source, which I prefer.
quikboy
There’s no reason to really use MSN Premium anymore. Most of what they offer is outdated or outdone by other alternatives.
The only interesting tidbit is the full access to Encarta, but Encarta has also gone downhill. Paying $10 for MSN Premium is just like tossing your money away.
I’m waiting for Microsoft to catch up and release some Windows Live Pro options.
Chris
Pikablu0530: Just the new beta service afaik.
LosHavros
I agree with you quikboy, what is the point of MSN Premium any more? I mean, seriously? It was good value a few years ago, whereas now- no chance.
Microsoft should just stop selling it. It is completely redundant.
davidacoder2
Any idea when this might be available more broadly?
davidacoder2
Another thought: The whole calendar sync with Outlook story is messed up for a long time already. It was strange enought to not have with with Hotmail Plus. Then they anounced in January that Office Live would give calendar sync for free to every Office Live Mail account, but at least on my test system this was not the case, not even for newly created accounts after the new version of Office Live went live. So, much appreciated if they just solve all this weird packaging stuff by making it free for all.
davidacoder2
And finally: Outlook Connector realls needs an update for other reasons as well. It just is buggy as hell. Given that there is no real feedback channel for it (or at least I have not found it yet), I’ll list the most problematic here:
- Ever tried to move existing mail from a pst file into your Live Mail folder? Better not have any signed or encrypted mail within that batch (either sent or received), because Outlook Connector just deletes those. Here is what happened in my case: I moved all my mail from my pst inbox into the Live Mail inbox (all in Outlook 2007 SP1 with the connector). All my “normal” mails survived, all mails that had a message class related to signed or encrypted mail (S-MIME etc), was just deleted, without any warning, message etc. Really, really, really bad. Luckily I had made a backup of my pst beforehand.
- If you set a follow up flag in Outlook, it gets synced to the server and also to other synced Outlooks on other computers. But not fully. If you set a due date on the follow up flag, that gets lost. Again, without any warning or information that some of the information will be synced but not all.
- Follow up flags in Outlook sync between Outlook versions, but not with Live Mail Desktop client (or whatever the name is right now), although that one has a follow up flag as well. The two flag systems seem to be completly different.
- Colour categories on mails are synced between various Outlooks connected to a Live mail account, BUT not the master category list, so you have to create the categories on each Outlook instance by hand first
- Colour categories on contacts are not synced. Again, no information, warning or whatever.
- The Connector always inserts a blank line after every street address in Outlook
- Often, when I try to edit contacts in Outlook, I cannot save them, because the connector complains that the contact was edited somewhere else. Which is simply not true. I resorted to only editing contacts on the web now.
I think the connector has the potential for a really great solution. But right now it does one of the worst things software can do: It essentially deletes information, or doesn’t sync/save it, without even warning users. If someon relied on the connector to sync everything that is in outlook with respect to mail and contacts, he/she is up for a real surprise, because there will be data loss at the end of the day. At the end of the day, that is really an unacceptable thing for a released piece of software (none of this is beta, after all!). I really hope the update of the connector solves these issues.
davidacoder2
Sorry to occupy this thread, but this topic kept me busy all of last week during my migration from Exchange to Live Mail…
The new Live Calendar is nice, but unlike the MSN Calendar it doesn’t have tasks and notes. Does anyone know whether they will come back later in the beta? If not, what is the Connector going to do with tasks and notes when connected to the new Live Calendar?
pfeifferphilipp
I have been using msn plus for 2 years but I recently canceled my subscription because all the features I wanted to use (use in outlook, sync contact & calender with outlook, more space) are now available for free.