• http://doctorwhofan98.wordpress.com/ doctorwhofan98

  I’d noticed the very jarring transition between Microsoft’s online services – I use Calendar a lot and switching to it from Outlook.com is really weird. It can’t be very good for a non-techy person because there’s no obvious way to get back to Outlook.com – clicking Hotmail or Windows Live at the top doesn’t feel natural.

  I thought Outlook.com was pretty much complete regarding UI, but today I was thrown back into the traditional interface when adding a POP account, and I hope that experience will become metro-styled soon.

  Above it says “Now that Outlook.com is out, and especially with the jarring transition between the SkyDrive and Calendar interfaces and Outlook.com, it can’t be too long before they too make the switch, can it?”. I agree with this maybe for SkyDrive, but not really for Calendar – they always appear to be lacking with Calendar (the last feature update was about a year ago, and the last UI change? Many years ago…) and since they said most users access it via mobile and it may take them a while (they said something like that on Reddit) I’m guessing we won’t see the update until late September/October which is a shame.

  One last thing – not only do SkyDrive and Calendar need an update, but so does Profile.�

  • cmwind

    yes profile needs a serious update

    • http://doctorwhofan98.wordpress.com/ doctorwhofan98

      LiveSide have posted screenshots of the Profile changes already:
      http://www.liveside.net/2012/05/27/exclusive-metro-styled-windows-live-profile-website-screenshots-leaked-twitter-sina-weibo-connections-coming-soon/

    • Damaster – LiveSide.net

      From what we know, Profile will really be de-emphasised in the next release. Existing pages on profile.live.com will either be branded under “Microsoft account” (i.e. connected services, your main profile pages…etc.) or under “People” (i.e. managing invitations, restricting access…etc.)

      Which explains why when you click on certain links on Microsoft account or People right now, you’ll be taken to the old Profile Wave 3 look. Once it’s updated it’ll be consistent according to where they belong.

      • cmwind

        This is where I get confused about the future of profile:

        Microsoft has an awkward 3rd part 1st party mish mash of account linking and I wish they could straighten it out

        I could try describing how Microsoft Accounts and 1st and 3rd party services link to each other right now… but honestly it far too confusing… and that is exactly the problem. Here is how it should work:

        Microsoft Accounts (MSAs) should be a single umbrella account. It stores billing, subscription, and purchase information as well as manages links to ALL 1st and 3rd party services.

        The main difference in how this works from right now is that a MSA would NOT store any contact info nor would it be designed to have MSA friends/Messenger friends

        3rd party services (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+) would continue to be linked to the MSAs in the current fashion)

        All 1st party services (Outlook, Skype, Xbox) would also be linked in the same manner.

        When you sign up for an MSA it would be nothing except a log in. It would provide you with ZERO additional services. There would not be a single additional service tied to you. If you sign up for a new Outlook account you would get an MSA as well as Outlook and technically they would be using the same email but they would not be linked until you went to your MSA profile and added Outlook as a service. (the big difference here from how it currently works… is friending somebody on Outlook would simply make them your Outlook friend and exchange only the info you have on Outlook… you would not suddenly be Messenger friends with somebody just b/c you wanted to share something from SkyDrive with them or b/c you wanted to exchange email/phone/Outlook contact info.)

        Each service that has a social element that MS provides would have its own unique contact list. Outlook has contacts, Xbox has friends, Skype has contacts and all of these services would be linked to ONE single People card which would be managed by the MSA but could be viewed from any People app MS makes (Win8, WP8, Xbox?). My best friends would have a ton of links to their People card because I am friends with them for different niche social services (Outlook because I email them, Skype because I call/message them, Xbox because we all like games, movies, and music, Facebook because for some reason people use Facebook, Twitter because for some reason people use Twitter, and LinkedIn)

        I could have summed all of this up by saying I want MS to decouple “friending” from your MSA… One MSA can’t friend another. Outlook can friend Outlook and then link to MSA and no two services are tied together… I don’t become Skype or Messenger friends with somebody because I friend them in Outlook

      • http://techmansworld.blogspot.com/ncr MHazell

        I don’t even know what wave 3 looks like any more. Do you have a screenshot?

        • Damaster – LiveSide.net

          Sorry that was a typo. I meant Wave 4… Although there really wasn’t much changes in terms of looks between Wave 3 and Wave 4. Only the menu items have rearranged a bit.

          You can see this in screenshots here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Live#User_interface

        • http://techmansworld.blogspot.com/ncr MHazell

          Oh, thanks.

  • http://techmansworld.blogspot.com/ncr MHazell

    Well they can start by changing the “Hotmail” Link to “Mail.” That can be a first step to transitioning to Outlook

• http://flavors.me/efelippe Evandro Felippe

  I hope with this redesign comes with an updated Desktop App with at least “selective sync” ( as found in Google Drive and Dropbox ->� https://www.dropbox.com/help/175/en� ).

  I’m using the new Outlook.com since yesterday (of course), and I really like the Metro style, can’t wait to see Skydrive new UI too.

  [And a bit off-topic]
  Speaking of Outlook, are they going to update their Desktop Clients to Metro and change the names? Like Windows Live Mail to Outlook Desktop, and maybe merge Windows Live Messenger to Skype?

  • Damaster – LiveSide.net

    There’s already a desktop client called Outlook 2013, part of the Office suite, which now allows you to connect to Outlook.com/Hotmail via Exchange ActiveSync. Alternatively, for those on Windows 8, Microsoft is emphasising on the the Mail/Calendar/People apps (metro-style) which lets you connect to Outlook.com as well as other services.

    In terms of IM, it appears they’re pushing the “Messaging” app/hub idea, and basically lets you IM across different networks (for now, Messenger and Facebook Chat, and soon Skype) within the same app. Doesn’t appear that there’s a desktop equivalent however….

    • http://doctorwhofan98.wordpress.com/ doctorwhofan98

      Windows 8′s Messaging app seems to be the desktop equivalent for the IM across different networks.

      • Damaster – LiveSide.net

        I was referring to the Windows 8 Messaging app. By desktop I meant the actual desktop (i.e. the non-metro environment), which can run on both Win7 and 8 (as opposed to Win8 only).

        There’s individual desktop applications for each network right now (Windows Live Messenger, Facebook Messenger for Windows, and Skype), but I don’t expect there’ll be a new IM solution that aggregates them all on the desktop – except for the existing Windows Live Messenger 2011.

• eknirb

  Couple things here I’ve noticed.
  Seems to be cross platform, IE,—–Chrome, IE, FF.

  *Messaging seems to take forever to load…if it ever does.

  *PEOPLE seems to take forever to load…if it ever does.

  *See those little colors for themes? 7 times out of 10 those squares are grayed.

  *TrueSwitch will not transfer from Yahoo to the new account. My Outlook.com is an alias off of Hotmail.com, IE, the same account. I didn’t create a new Outlook acct.
  The SEND dropdown shows Hotmail/Outlook/another business acct I send from.
  But when I enter ‘From Acct/Yahoo…To Acct/Hotmail..I get “We don’t recognize that account.” Huh?

  *Speed of new Outlook is astonishing. Destroys Gmail.

  *How can you delete contacts in this new mail? I can’t find the button.

  I think that’s it for now. Any insight appreciated. My constant sign-out problem was caused by Chrome’s X-Notifier, which was checking for Hotmail. Which shouldn’t have presented a problem as accts are the same, but there you go.

  Hopefully that will be resolved.

  Thanks!

  • http://techmansworld.blogspot.com/ncr MHazell

    I see the delete button, it is at the top with the other ones. Are you still having the issue?

• http://twitter.com/djysrv Dan Yurman

  This feedback is about the Android APP. I realize Microsoft has no love for something from Google, but some of us have Android phones.  The Android APP needs a lot of work. It does not display the msg in email, only the header. Also, it does not synchronize folders. Email sent to folders with rules is not visible on the APP. �

  • http://techmansworld.blogspot.com/ncr MHazell

    I don’t think Windows Live actually has an official app for Android. I think they just recommended a good third party app. I could be wrong, but that is how it was the last time I checked.

    • http://www.LiveSide.net Kip Kniskern – LiveSide.net

      Microsoft contracted with Seven Networks to produce an Android app.  The Microsoft + Seven Hotmail app is here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hotmail.Z7&referrer=utm_source%3DExploreMobile%26utm_medium%3DExploreLink%26utm_content%3DExploreLink%26utm_campaign%3DExploreLink
      �
      You can read more about the arrangement from the Seven press release here: http://www.seven.com/press_releases/2011/microsoft-selects-seven-networks.php
      �
      FWIW, the “Visit Developer’s Website” link in Google Play links back to Microsoft, not Seven.

• BY

  BTW, I seriously think Calendar is the next to receive a Metro (or Windows 8 UI) facelift. Today I noticed the link seen in the address bar of my browser is not just calendar.live.com, but bay004.calendar.live.com. When you think of it, People and Outlook have the bay002 in front of the mail.live.com domain, whereas the only Live App which hasn’t received a bay prefix is SkyDrive. But after all, it may well not mean anything. Microsoft could surprise us and roll out the SkyDrive update first.

  • http://doctorwhofan98.wordpress.com/ doctorwhofan98

    I think the SkyDrive.com update will be first because they’ve said it will be this month and that it will take them a while for them to release the Calendar update. And I think I’ve always had a bay prefix when visiting calendar.live.com.

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