Hotmail Users Slam Microsoft’s Redesign
Nothing is guaranteed to incur the wrath of internet users like a design makeover. Most of Microsoft’s planned changes to its Windows Live services are still limited beta previews, but the revamped Hotmail is done and no one seems happy about it.
The new look has been available for ages as an option, but apparently most people stuck with the classic look. Then last month Microsoft abruptly removed the classic interface, telling users that the speed improvements of the new look meant it was “no longer necessary to offer the classic version.”
Cue the user uproar.
Angry users decried the new interface, calling it a “nightmare,” “rubbish,” “bullshit,” and other colorful descriptions (you can read a sampling of comments on the Windows Live Wire site). Microsoft responded to user complaints with a blog post outlining the company’s belief that the new version is better.
Unfortunately for Microsoft, users don’t appear to buying that argument — of all the comments on the Microsoft blog, only one user defends the new Hotmail. Several commenters also suggest they are switching to Gmail or Yahoo, rather than using the revamped Hotmail.
We think the backlash is somewhat predictable — after all Hotmail holdouts are clearly not big fans of change, they’ve been using an e-mail system that hasn’t seen a significant update since the days when AOL ruled the web.
To see what all the fuss was about I logged into my ancient Hotmail account (my very first online account as a matter of fact) and played around with the new interface.
Verdict? It’s not going to win any design awards, but the new Hotmail worked just fine for me. The default layout is awful, but a quick trip to Options and selecting “off,” took are of that. The rest of the interface is easily on par with Yahoo Mail and in some ways much better (adding attachments is certainly easier than in Yahoo).
Of course for my (lack of) money Gmail blows everything else out of the water, but the new Hotmail certainly doesn’t seem like it deserves the outrage it’s provoked.
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