Difference between Hotmail.com, Msn.com, Live.com & Outlook.com
Today’s world of work, as well as academics, is incomplete without the global platform of the internet. We come across the platform of virtual connection and media. Certain common terms pop up every now and while in front of our eyes. OF those terms, certain URL extensions are very common. These are Hotmail.com, MSN.com, Live.com, and Outlook.com. Tech guys are quite acquainted with these addresses. But laymen might feel confused about these terms. Here is a complete guide to clear the ideas about each of the extensions mentioned above. Besides, we will also discuss the differences between these extensions.
Definitions:
Hotmail.com – Hotmail.com is an online free-of-cost email service. The pioneers of this service are Mr. Jack Smith and Mr. Sabeer Bhatia back in 1995. Later on, from December 1997, this service provider is by the super company of Microsoft. The main purpose of this email site is to let the users send emails. And also helps to read the received emails through an internet connection.
MSN.com – It is the most popular acronym while working on the internet. The full form of MSN is the Microsoft Network. MSN is an internet-related web portal. The access to this platform is wider than all other existing portals. One can download this app both in Windows as well as on mobile devices. It is also a Microsoft production.
Live.com – Windows Live Mail is one of the very first and most popular desktop programs. Like another mailing platform, it also provides free mailing services for people. It was a replacement program of Outlook Express, introduced by Microsoft. Live.com is a very effective part of the Essential Suits of Windows. The exclusive programs associated with these platforms are Live Writer, MovieMaker, Live Mail. There were Messenger as well, now replaced by Skype.
Outlook.com – Outlook is a designed bundle program of Microsoft Office. Here, the users can manage and read all the important calendars, emails, and contact numbers on the PC. Rather, Outlook helps to fetch the emails for the users rather than email service. Outlook.com is a user-friendly website, providing free web-mail. It provides calendars, contact functions, and emails to the individual account holders.
The above are the defining intricate details about the terms mentioned. Below we will discuss in detail the differences between these service providers. Microsoft has been renaming these service providers time and again. Hence people are getting confused all the time. Here is a minute detail about the journey of the Outlook from Hotmail mentioned below.
Let us begin with Hotmail.com.
HOTMAIL.com-
Hotmail.com is the first and the foremost webmail service. The foundation and launch of this platform happened back in 1996. HTML (HyperText Markup Language) played an important part in designing the Hotmail. The reason why there have been cases or issues of discrepancy as well. In reality, it has a typical case as well seemed as HoTMaiL. One can notice the superscripts. You can find that HTML has its root within the Hotmail service platform. The most promising advantage of this provider is its easy access. Users from anywhere around the world can have access to their inbox anytime.
This is an helpful position than the others who use ISP-based mail services. People from any time zone can have free and quick access to their emails through this platform. Within a year of its production, it gained enhancing popularity. Another feature has made this platform very popular. With better and smarter versions and with exclusive features, it is easy to use. Users need least knowledge of the internet and communication. They can enjoy full access to it anytime.
MSN HOTMAIL.com-
In 1997, Microsoft has owned the Hotmail service. After the progressive step, it merged with the internet service of Microsoft. It is more popular in the name of MSN (Microsoft Network). After the successful collaboration, Hotmail received a new name of MSN Hotmail. But, Hotmail remained popular even after having a rebranding and renaming.
There has been a long history of merging associated with this service platform. Further on, Microsoft linked Hotmail with Microsoft Passport. Microsoft Passport today is more popular than Microsoft Account. It has not stopped there yet at all. In recent times, Hotmail got linked with other inclusive services of MSN. The MSN Messenger and MSN Spaces are the popular ones. Hotmail service provider has a merging with these.
WINDOWS LIVE HOTMAIL.com-
This collaboration or rather changes have not been too old. Around 2006-2007, Microsoft decided to acknowledge the various service providers under MSN. The new brand name announced by Microsoft is this web portal- Windows Live. In the first step, Microsoft planned to rename MSN Hotmail into Windows Live Hotmail. But, there had been nomenclature experts as well. These experts are better known as the ‘Beta Testers’ voted to keep the well-known name of just ‘Hotmail’. As a result, MSN Hotmail became Windows Live Hotmail. And all the MSN services have received this new name. After the re-branding, new features got added to the service.
The service provider provided better speed and enhanced storage space. Also, users’ feedback included many other positive points. Better experience, user-compatible interface, and other helpful usability features are some of them. There has been some kind of ‘reinvention’ of Hotmail in recent times. It became more promising with some brand new features. These are instant actions, categories, and scheduled sweep.
Since the time, MSN has shifted its onus of purpose completely towards online content. News, sports, weather, and entertainment became their prime coverage zones. All the contents were available through the official online platform- msn.com. But, Windows Live became the professional savior. Since then it has been in the charge of all online services associated with Microsoft.
Such an alternative or backup has kept their reputation at the top. Many old users do not have access to the updated version. MSN Hotmail interface keeps them feeding about all their preferred contents. But, there is a problem that arose in Windows Live in the last decade. As a result, the following service portal came around.
OUTLOOK.com-
In 2012, Microsoft announced the discontinuation of Windows Live. This was due to some unavoidable causes. Some services got re-branding and they became independent. The other parts or apps became an integrated part of Windows OS. Some of them became apps; some others became service providers.
Several times Hotmail has got many names and renames. But after this abeyance of Windows Live, Hotmail changed for one last time. It turned into Outlook.com and has continued to be so. Today, Microsoft web-mail has got worldwide popularity as Outlook.com.
At present, anyone using their Microsoft email address can go through Outlook.com. Even if they have previous access to Hotmail.com, MSN.com, or Live.com, there are no issues in access later. The newer accounts would only have the outlook.com account identity. While the older email accounts would also be accessible through this platform. But, there can be someone who has opened an account on Outlook.com. He/she cannot access their account on any other previous platforms.
A Comparative Study:
From the fundamental point of view, Outlook.com and Live Mail is identical. The sole difference it has is the different decorative user-compatible interface. One can log into any of the below-mentioned portals with their Microsoft ID. These are https://www.outlook.com/ or https://mail.live.com/. They will find the same mailbox with a different background.
In Outlook.com, one can log in to any new account. They can also have access to their older accounts without any change. They neither need to change the password or ID or both. One’s email will always remain active and accessible with an update or without it.
All the mentioned portals have a direct association with Microsoft Office365. Hence any mailbox can have a different extension. It can be @outlook.com, @hotmail.com @msn.com, or @live.com. They are all accessible at Outlook.com.
In recent times, Microsoft had a huge announcement. It has declared that it will shut down the MSN mail, Hotmail, and Live mail platforms. They request all the users to transfer their accounts to Outlook service or any other free Mail apps. All it would need is an email id and personal information of Microsoft Corporation.
There is an important fact to notice. Microsoft Office365 gets an exclusive offer for its members. They can enjoy using Microsoft Office365 free of cost for 1 year from the date of registration.
But, this free access or trial period ends at the end of the year. The next year, the registration gets a renewal. The renewal policy charges the user a considerable amount of money. The payable amount of money per year is £59.99.
But, this renewal policy comes with exciting offers as well. It includes the all-inclusive services of Microsoft Office Plus. A cherry on the top is a 1 TB virtual storage or cloud storage for free for each user.
There is an alternate fee or subscription structure available as well. One can choose to pay a huge amount of £164 to get a permanent subscription. This package includes either Microsoft Office Outlook 2016. Or there can be Microsoft Office Home and Business 2016.
Outlook is a way more user-compatible platform than the previous platforms. Those were Hotmail.com, MSN.com, or Live.com. The Mail app has limited choices to sort emails. On that note, Outlook.com is way more powerful. It has loads of advanced features. Some of them include contacts, emails, and calendars. But the most remarkable one is the ‘to-do list’. Such a useful feature covers many parts of the user’s important task listing. It also has some limitations in sending group or chain emails.
But everything comes with both pros and cons with it. Outlook.com is less powerful than the previous platforms. The first con of Outlook is its inability to classify unimportant emails into spam boxes. It cannot delete unread emails in an automated manner after a stipulated period.
CONCLUSION-
Above is a detailed discussion on the journey of Hotmail to Outlook.com. But, these terms are the transition history of the same service provider platform. The first server provider platform of Hotmail has become today’s Outlook.com. It took place through some stages of changes.
Hence the confusion for the names has resolved. Now here is a little information about what and why is Outlook! It is important to differentiate between Outlook Mail, Outlook (Office), and Outlook.com.
To know about them, two more things need understanding.
a) Web Claim Client: Someone can log in their email account on a web browser like Google Chrome or Firefox. It is when one uses the web claim client. All one needs to have access to is a device with an internet connection. There is no need for a specific program.
b) Desktop Email Client: An user can launch any program to have access to their mails. It is when one uses the desktop email client. The third-party app or program that needs to have a detail of your mail account is the desktop email client.
Now that these two topics are clear, we will discuss the difference. Outlook.com refers to the web-mail client of Microsoft. Outlook is the desktop email client of Microsoft. And the web-mail client one uses to access their emails is Outlook Mail.
In today’s world of technology, nothing happens without the help and access of the internet. This platform of effective communication has put this world on advancement. The sole way to use the platform with the safest internet connection is through email. id and account. And for that one needs to go through an authentic platform or service provider. Microsoft has been a renowned platform for years in such official works. And Outlook is their latest web portal. Through Outlook.com, one can get access to what they want in Microsoft Office. And it is with safety and security. There has been a lot of formation and reformation of this portal. The latest one is Outlook.com. It is reliable, authentic and the most user-compatible service provider portal. Hence, it has become the most popular amongst users.