Tom asks about an email he
received from Microsoft concerning Windows Live Mail
I hate to bother you with this, but I posted it the forum with out a reply,
either no one has received this message or they do not have an answer. Being
that you are always on top of the latest changes about to be made I thought
you may be able to tell me if this is legit and if so, do you think I should
download this new program right no? Thank you! Below is the message I am
referring to. Tom
"Dear Microsoft Outlook Express
customer,
Thank you for using Microsoft® Outlook® Express. Our information indicates
that you use Outlook Express to access a Windows Live Hotmail® e-mail account
via a protocol called DAV (Distributed Authoring and Versioning protocol).
DAV, like POP3 or IMAP, is the way that a mail client communicates with
a web-based mail server.
As a valued customer, we want to provide advanced notice that as of June
30, 2008, Microsoft is disabling the DAV protocol and you will no longer
be able to access your Hotmail Inbox via Outlook Express. As an alternative,
we recommend that you download Windows Live Mail, a free desktop e-mail
client that has the familiarity of Outlook Express and much more. This next
generation of free e-mail software will allow you to easily manage multiple
e-mail accounts-including Windows Live Hotmail, plus other e-mail accounts
that support POP3/IMAP. Better yet, Windows Live Mail integrates well with
other Windows Live services, and downloads in minutes. After you provide
your user name and password, you will automatically be linked to your Hotmail
account, providing continued access to your email and contacts.
We encourage you to download Windows Live Mail at
http://get.live.com/wlmail/overview
.
And, to make your transition smoother, we've provided answers to frequently
asked questions below.
Again, thank you for your use of Outlook Express and we are confident that
you'll be just as delighted with the new Windows Live Mail...."
Our answer
We think Windows Live Mail exposes too many email accounts, exposes
too much personal information, exposes too many contacts and too much data
to the Internet that doesn't need to be exposed. Microsoft wants you to
use a mail system that is half on your computer and half on The Web...and
you'll have no choice. All your email accounts will be consolidated on Microsoft
servers -all your contacts - all your email passwords - all stored on the
Web as well as on your computer. I don't think this is what a mail program
should be.
For example: If you used Gmail, you could access your Gmail account via
Outlook Express, and Gmail wouldn't have your contact list, all your other
email addresses and passwords, and everything would be stored on your computer
- if you choose to set Gmail up that way. Gmail would only have your Gmail
account password and your Gmail address. Google gives you a choice on the
amount of information you want them to store. Windows Live Mail does not.
Every account you import to Windows Live Mail, including your ISP accounts,
will be synchronized between your computer and Windows Live Mail servers.
This includes all messages, all contacts, all passwords, and all accounts
that you import. Obviously, if you don't use Outlook Express anymore and
you want to access your other email accounts (besides your Hotmail account)
then you're going to have no choice, if you choose to use Windows Live Mail,
but to import all your other accounts - as well as your messages, contacts,
and passwords/usernames.
Microsoft's vision of taking over the Web the way they took over the desktop
won't work. Windows Live Mail is just another attempt at Microsoft trying
to lock customers into a scheme of taking over all their computer functions
- on the desktop, laptop, and the Web. They have enough money, they don't
need more by controlling your email - and placing ads in your personal email
that you may or may not be aware of. Right now they're only putting ads
in email you send with Windows Live Mail if you're using a Hotmail/MSN address.
But there's nothing to stop Microsoft from placing their advertisements
in all of your outgoing email, regardless of which account you use, even
your ISP accounts. How long will it be before they decide to do this?
We don't think Microsoft's vision
of making the Web and your desktop interchangeable is a good idea. The web
has not evolved to the point where personal information stored on the Web
is 100% secure unless it is encrypted. As far as we know, none of your email
messages, contacts, etc. are encrypted the way financial data is. What if
your messages contain financial data? What if something goes wrong with
their servers? There are too many "what ifs" to allow Microsoft to control
your email accounts. That's our opinion.
We'd like
to hear what others think.
