25th July 2001
Lockergnomaniac Steven Neil Groginsky has been using the Hotmail functionality within recent versions of Outlook Express; he's come up with a rather ingenious tip. The HTTP e-mail account technology seems to be working much more reliably with Hotmail these days, so it's worth a look. Here's some helpful advice for using the feature, directly from Steven: "You get 2 MB of space for your e- mail. After that, incoming mail gets bounced, so Hotmail suggests you copy your mail to a local folder that you create in Outlook Express." This is great because when I actually do receive LEGITIMATE e-mail to my Hotmail account, it's nice to have it offline and separate from the Hotmail system. Aside from that, just being able to use a regular e-mail client with Hotmail is refreshing, regardless of how much they've improved upon the web system. It's just faster this way, and for those that have several web-based e-mail accounts that work with Outlook Express, the time savings are even greater. Remember: save those messages on your hard drive before they disappear forever!
As an addendum, I thought it would be germane (or Tito) to bring up an old tip. Hotmail was recently redesigned. The "fixed" font sizes don't bug me, but they might be driving you nuts. Another Gnomie will put you back in control: "Pat Pluto figured out a workaround for the fixed-width font 'problems' that some of you have been having. Actually, I should say, those of you with Microsoft e-mail clients (or Web browsers); Netscape users shouldn't have the problem. This fix is universal -- applying to every HTML newsletter and Web site you encounter. Open up Internet Explorer, select Tools from the menu, then Internet Options, then press the Accessibility button. At that point, you can choose to ignore the font sizes specified on Web pages. This also applies to your e-mail if you use a Microsoft e-mail client. This should keep EVERYONE happy; you're in control again."