Microsoft replacing Hotmail with upgraded Outlook

Wait for a year and some further updates to outlook and it will become quite similar to hotmail.

What if that name is already taken. For example I have a account on hotmail but the account with the same user name on @live.com is taken by someone else. If they are the same, how could someone make a account on live.com with my username?

 

There is also @msn ... and probably other secret ones..

 

I don't see how Metro could ever look like Hotmail.

I guess I didn't make it clear, you can rename your Hotmail/live account to a outlook account, and use that to log into Microsoft services with. You choose what name you want at the rename screen.

 

I was not talking about only the looks. I read that they thought hotmail had become too cluttered, slow, not in sync with times etc, so they started outlook to better compete with the competition. But the reasoning they provide does not make sense as hotmail only lagged behind competition because the developers made it such. The same developers will no doubt turn the new outlook mail service to something similar to what hotmail currently is. It is only a matter of time. So, instead of starting a new mail service, Microsoft should have improved their existing hotmail mail service.

But as I mentioned earlier, probably some executive at Microsoft does not like the name hotmail and this is the real reason behind the push for change.

What if somebody already has taken your username at outlook.com, how will you rename your hotmail account to your outlook account then?

 

I really can't comprehend why you think Outlook is a separate product. This IS Hotmail, for all intensive purposes, version "2.0". It simply has a different name. I'm willing to bet you wouldn't be bringing this up if it kept the same name but was redesigned.

...

 

Okay, the service is the same.

Then back to my original first post in this thread, why did microsft feel the need to drop the brand name "hotmail" in favor of brand name "outlook"? What purpose will this name change serve?

Also, while responding to @ratchet question: why does one need to add the whole username@hotmail.com when one is trying to log into their account is because from the same page you can log on to either hotmail, live mail or now outlook mail account. They all may lead to the same service, but since each has a different domain name, so each is a different account and can be in possession of different people.

 

Not sure, maybe to emphasize the seriousness of the redesign.

Uhm, no. Again, your email domain isn't what decides which service you log into. Each account has a specific flag which decides what service you use. Visiting Outlook.com will upgrade your account to use that, to downgrade, you need to use the downgrade feature.

Yes, obviously they are all different accounts, that's just logic, what does that have to do with anything. You can still register aliases with all 3 domain names under the one account.

For example, an extra layer of security is renaming your account and not giving that new email address to ANYONE. That way the only person that knows your email login is you, and the only person that know your password is you. After that, you can make an alias in that account that you use for your main email for websites, people etc. If a website is ever hacked, no one can use that email address to log into your account, because it's only an alias. No one will ever know your real account login name/email.

 

Guess I need more coffee this morning as I can't figure this out yet. Please explain the process/steps which result in a new Outlook.com account with the old hotmail account as an alias.

Edit: OK, after more coffee I found this

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows-live/outlookcom-tip-email-aliases-143910

Paul says this at the end:

There’s one side-issue related to aliases that I need to resolve: Let’s say you choose an alias that you really like but then you want to later use that same address for a full Outlook.com account. Can you do this? Is there a waiting period? I’ll find out.

Does anyone know yet?

 

Nope, but as that will apply to me when I eventually decide to rename my account, I'm hoping it will only be a delay of a few minutes. Not going to delete the alias, wait a month, then try to grab is as my main log in account

 

You can only make an alias if your specific alias username is available on Outlook.com. If someone else make a new account at Outlook.com with the same alias that you want, you will not be able to get that.

Same is also true for the people who want to switch from hotmail domain to outlook domain. They can only do so if their specific username is available on Outlook.com, if not they will not be able to switch over.

 

Is that not obvious logic? There's a reason people were saying hurry to grab your alias on the first page.

 

If I rename my user-AT-hotmail.com account to user-AT-Outlook.com will the hotmail address automatically become an alias or does that email address become invalid?

 

Then why were we arguing?

I have been saying this same thing that outlook.com is a separate service, with separate accounts.

What I could not figure out was why did Microsoft feel the need to start a new service, with a new name, why could they not simply improve or upgrade hotmail service?

 

Good question. I think if you switch, they will invalidate your hotmail account and shift/move you over to your Outlook account with the same username.

To avoid this you can open an alias account from inside hotmail with a @outlook.com domain name.

 

Someone actually criticized me for using hotmail once, implying that it was not a "serious" service. "Serious" business people used email based on their company's domain, ie user@mycorporation.com I don't know how widespread this opinion is, but it might help explain Microsoft's move away from the hotmail domain.

 

Yes, when you are sending an official email, it is better to use your official email address, like business address or your .edu university address, but if you do not have one, then it is okay to use your hotmail address, as long as the username is appropriate.

Why do you think outlook.com is a more respectable domain? It is the same as hotmail, an open public email service.

 

Yeah, I'm afraid that would happen.

Yes, I've done that for now, mainly to reserve the address, but there are different ways to go. For instance I could create a new Outlook.com account and just forward Hotmail to it.

 

Personally I don't, but since people in the business world widely use Outlook for email and contact management it makes sense that they would see an Outlook.com email address as being more respectable.

 

So, you definitely need a outlook address? If they are not getting rid of hotmail account, I personally do not feel the need to open a new email account, as I already have six and they are already more than adequate for me.

 

Maybe. I think it depends on the individual. I will never discriminate against somebody based on which email service they use, as long as their username is appropriate.

 

I think that would be very silly, copied straight from the rename screen:

Whilst that isn't clear on if you keep your current email address as an alias, this post suggests that you can rename back from outlook to a previous address that you own, so my guess would be that you still keep it.

I don't see how the TLD makes a difference, it's the account name you want to be professional. e.g. your real name, no obscure numbers, etc.

Lol, I honestly can't believe you still think it's a separate service. I guess everything I've said up to now you've completely ignored and I've wasted my time, so I won't bother any further.

 

An easy step-by-step guide that should clarify most doubts about the migration I have seen posted here.

http://blogs.office.com/b/microsoft-outlook/archive/2012/08/03/upgrade-from-hotmail-to-outlook-com.aspx

 

Here's another article by Paul Thurrott that answers some key questions (and is easier to read than an MS Blog )

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows-live/outlookcom-tip-rename-account-143915

The main question I had was what happens to an old hotmail.com address if you rename the account? Paul says when you rename to an Outlook.com address the hotmail address automatically becomes an alias - that's exactly what I was hoping would happen. I'm going to test to confirm first with an old hotmail account I don't rely on.

 

I'm scratching my head about this outlook. When I make an alias by signing in using my existing@hotmail addy, should I select "a new folder" or "Your inbox"? Which did you choose? I've been burnt with live mail before when I was using gmail as my live ID. It was my fault for changing the name but I don't want to go through that again if I can help it.

 

If you're talking about creating an alias, that's completely your decision. I can't tell you if you should have that mail sent to your inbox or to a separate folder.