Our answer
Hi Barbara. I guess our first question is: Why are you using Windows Live Mail. You are using Vista and you have a choice. You don't have to use Windows Live Mail on Vista. Our stationery works well in Windows Mail - just as well as it did in Outlook Express.

We've tried so many different ways to make real stationery work in Windows Live Mail - and we can make it work with scrolling and music,  but no matter what you may have read or seen on other forums, all stationery falls apart when you reply in Windows Live Mail. This takes the fun out of using stationery and we will not do things half way. Others might come out and say "our stationery works in Windows Live Mail" but it's a one way deal. We can make it work in Windows Live Mail too - but when another Windows Live Mail user receives it and tries to reply to it, it will fall apart - looking a mess. When sent to an Outlook Express or Windows Mail user it will look fine but when they reply to you and you try to reply back to them, it will fall apart. It's not acceptable us and saying our stationery works in Windows Live Mail wouldn't be the whole truth. It's easy to get it work when Windows Live Mail originates the stationery. So we are not going to offer Windows Live Mail stationery if and until we can get it to work on reply - or Microsoft fixes its program.

The reality is, Windows Live Mail is not a real email client. It's a browser interface modified to work LIKE an email program. Why Microsoft has chosen to take an excellent mail program out of Windows 7 and replace it with Windows Live Mail is the subject of much speculation. We can only guess it has something to do with money and it has something to do with inserting advertising at the bottom of every email you send using it. The sender (you) won't see the ad, only the recipient will see it. Right now, Windows Live Mail isn't inserting ads in every email - only some. But the functionality does exist and it can be exploited. If Microsoft weren't going to exploit this advertising capability, why did they put it there in the first place?

As it stands right now, we're throwing out hands up. Windows Live Mail is not a real email client. It lacks many of the basic features found in Outlook Express and Windows Mail - including the "Source Edit " feature and others. There is no reason in the world for anyone to choose Windows Live Mail over Windows Mail and lose features. Plus you're taking a chance with personal messages, passwords, account settings, and other data being stored in the cloud that doesn't need to be. If the reason you're using Windows Live Mail is because you have a Hotmail account and you want to access via an email program, then set your Hotmail account (or Live.com or msn.com account) up in Windows Live Mail -- and use Windows Mail for your other accounts. There really isn't any good reason to use Windows Live Mail as your primary email program in Windows Vista. It has far fewer features than Windows Mail or Outlook Express and presents far more risk to you privacy.

So to sum this up: As of right now, it doesn't look like real stationery (that is stationery that is scripted and formatted) will ever work in Windows Live Mail, unless Microsoft actually decides to change Windows Live Mail and make it a real email program. Make no mistake, Microsoft has spent some time on the cosmetics of Windows Live Mail - they've tried hard  (intentionally?) to make it look like OE and Windows Mail, but under the hood, it has far fewer features than either Outlook Express or Windows Mail. It's a poor excuse for an email program and it takes away from the great things about Windows 7. Why Microsoft made this decision is not clear - we can only speculate that it has something to do with turning your personal email into a source of revenue for Microsoft. After all, email was one thing that Microsoft never generated revenue from in the past - looks like they've figured out how to turn your personal email into another source of income for Microsoft - what a shame.

You should stick with Windows Mail, Barbara.