Windows Live Mail Desktop | The Coffeehouse

Rotem Kirshenbaum
The Master Of Cherries

Is someone in beta already ?

Rotem

Cybermagellan
Live for nothing, or die for everything

I think it is only a select beta...but a build has been leaked...if you want to use it Email me I'll link you

Rotem Kirshenbaum
The Master Of Cherries

Thanks, I think I'll wait for the beta to go public Smiley

I just wanted to hear people's impressions about it.

Rotem

littleguru
<3 Seattle

Isn't it just the next version of Outlook Express?

eddwo
Wheres my head at?

Thats just Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail Desktop is something else.

Quite why they need two sepearate applicaitons, developed by two separate teams, that do mostly the same things is a bit hard to understand.

LaBomba
Summer

Too many mail apps... Perplexed

mVPstar
I'm white because I smelt an onion.

LaBomba wrote:
Too many mail apps...

Let's see:

Outlook
Outlook Express (even though Mail will succeed it)
Windows Mail (Outlook Express for Vista)
Windows Live Desktop Mail
Live Mail (web app)
Outlook Web Mail or whatever it's called

I suppose an Expressions Suite Mail Designer is in the works?

NEW from Microsoft! An addition to the Microsoft Expressions Suite: Mail Designer. Mail Designer helps you to easily and more productively create mail messages that fully express how creative you are. Forget those silly "text" messages. Don't bore your coworkers, beautify your email!

Perplexed

PaoloM
Hypermediocrity

mVPstar wrote:
Outlook
Outlook Express (even though Mail will succeed it)
Windows Mail (Outlook Express for Vista)
Windows Live Desktop Mail
Live Mail (web app)
Outlook Web Mail or whatever it's called

Let's see...

Outlook = high volume email and PIM business tool. Currently there's abosultely nothing in the market even capable of touching it.

Outlook Web Access = web based Exchange client.

Windows Mail = simple mail client for generic POP3/SMTP access integrated in Vista.

Windows Live Mail (formerly Hotmail) = free web based mail product. Windows Live Mail Desktop is a rich client for the same service.

So it's all very simple. You have 3 mail services and you have a number of clients to access them, just like in the following product matrix:

Service	Web application	Rich Client
Exchange	OWA	Outlook
POP3/SMTP	-	Windows Mail
HTTP Mail	Windows Live Mail	Windows Live Mail Desktop

Of course you can use Outlook to read POP3 mail or even HTTP mail, but that's not really its intended purpose.

And let's just say that I'm siding with Scoble on the awful, awful naming of the tools Smiley

mVPstar
I'm white because I smelt an onion.

Yeah, I guess if you bring Exchange into this and think of it from a services point, the different mail apps seems logical.

But, Live Mail Desktop still seems redundant. You already have Windows Mail (for Vista) and/or Outlook, Outlook Express. If you're the kind of individual who really needs to check his mail with a desktop app, wouldn't you, assuming you're of the busy business type (which is why you needed desktop connectivity), just use Outlook or any other app similar to Outlook?

Btw Paolo, nice flag. Wink
Heh, I'm jealous.

Jung
We had two bags of grass...

Rotem Kirshenbaum wrote:
Is someone in beta already ?

Rotem

i've been using it for a few months on and off, alternating between wlmd and outlook 12.
i was impressed with it in the first few builds, but the glaring ad put me off a bit.
i've not upgraded builds for a while as i've been using outlook to be honest.
worth a look though i think.

LaBomba
Summer

PaoloM wrote:

mVPstar wrote: Outlook
Outlook Express (even though Mail will succeed it)
Windows Mail (Outlook Express for Vista)
Windows Live Desktop Mail
Live Mail (web app)
Outlook Web Mail or whatever it's called

Let's see...

Outlook = high volume email and PIM business tool. Currently there's abosultely nothing in the market even capable of touching it.

Outlook Web Access = web based Exchange client.

Windows Mail = simple mail client for generic POP3/SMTP access integrated in Vista.

Windows Live Mail (formerly Hotmail) = free web based mail product. Windows Live Mail Desktop is a rich client for the same service.

So it's all very simple. You have 3 mail services and you have a number of clients to access them, just like in the following product matrix:

Service Web application Rich Client

Exchange OWA Outlook

POP3/SMTP - Windows Mail

HTTP Mail Windows Live Mail Windows Live Mail Desktop

Of course you can use Outlook to read POP3 mail or even HTTP mail, but that's not really its intended purpose.

And let's just say that I'm siding with Scoble on the awful, awful naming of the tools

Comon, Windows Mail and Windows Live Mail Desktop...?!?

Gimme a break, pick one desktop client, and give them the capability to interact with both services.

It really just seems like MS has hired so many people, they are just forced to throw some people in a team and have them make redundant software.

BryanF

There's also Windows Messenger and Windows Live Messenger. That's probably far more confusing since they're both targeted at the home market.

Nitz Walsh

BryanF wrote:
There's also Windows Messenger and Windows Live Messenger. That's probably far more confusing since they're both targeted at the home market.

Yes, but even in that case Windows Live Messenger is basically replacing Windows Messenger, it's the next upgrade of Messenger, just that the Live! team is doing it. There's not a parallel development going on with a standard Windows messenger that I'm aware of, if you want a WM with more features, you're using the Live! version.

That's not the case with Live Mail Desktop - you have that coming out now, and apparently Windows Mail for Vista will have less features than a freely available client that will work with the previous OS. That's just...odd.

Nitz Walsh

Indeed, this is a little nuts. Why artifically segregate your product based just on protocols? It simply confuses the end user to no avail.From the feature list, Windows Live Mail Desktop should replace Outlook Express in XP and Windows Mail in Vista. Give it the ability to connect to POP3/SMTP boxes (can it already though?) - you then have one place to access all your mail accounts. Many people have mail accounts that go across both HTTP servers and POP3 - someone might have a Gmail account but also have the POP3 mailbox they got from their ISP. Why should they have to load up two near-identical mail clients to access different accounts? Seems like a ridiculous amount of redundancy.

Edit: Should have actually read up on Windows Live Mail desktop's features before slagging it, huh? It does indeed support POP and SMTP accounts, so my concern over confusion may be unwarranted. Seems like a kick-(I need to watch my language) email client actually, especially as it has news support. Be trying the beta when it's out.

PaoloM
Hypermediocrity

Nitz Walsh wrote:
That's not the case with Live Mail Desktop - you have that coming out now, and apparently Windows Mail for Vista will have less features than a freely available client that will work with the previous OS. That's just...odd.

And that will be just like Windows Messenger vs Windows Live Messenger is now. One simple with no ads shipped with the OS (remember, there are no ads in the OS tools) and one more featured and ad supported as a separate download.

Nitz Walsh

PaoloM wrote:

Nitz Walsh wrote: That's not the case with Live Mail Desktop - you have that coming out now, and apparently Windows Mail for Vista will have less features than a freely available client that will work with the previous OS. That's just...odd.

And that will be just like Windows Messenger vs Windows Live Messenger is now. One simple with no ads shipped with the OS (remember, there are no ads in the OS tools) and one more featured and ad supported as a separate download.

And...why? If you're going to be shelling out for Vista, why not significantly upgrade the messenger and email default client? After 6 years, it's rather sad that we're getting just warmed-over Outlok Express and Messenger in Vista.

Why not have ads for the XP version as it's a free download, but have the equivalent functionality in an ad-free version for Vista? Another incentive to shell out for Vista me thinks.

I would actually like to see MS offer no-ad versions of these for a small fee. Windows Live Mail Desktop looks great, I'd certainly pay ~$!15 to get rid of the ads if the option existed.

PaoloM
Hypermediocrity

Nitz Walsh wrote:
And...why? If you're going to be shelling out for Vista, why not significantly upgrade the messenger and email default client?

"Hi, my name is Litigation and these are my friends DoJ and EU, how do you feel today?"

Nitz Walsh wrote:
Why not have ads for the XP version as it's a free download, but have the equivalent functionality in an ad-free version for Vista?

But they're not the same... WLMD will ship on all Windows platforms, while Windows Mail will be Vista only.

Nitz Walsh wrote:
I would actually like to see MS offer no-ad versions of these for a small fee. Windows Live Mail Desktop looks great, I'd certainly pay ~$!15 to get rid of the ads if the option existed.

That I would love too. WLM could be funded this way too. But that's stuff that other groups, like marketing, should look into.