Thus, paradoxically, Windows Live Mail is currently smoothest to use with a different email service, such as Gmail.įor all that this review has discussed Windows Live Mail's looming fate according to Microsoft, the software itself is fantastic, and it still supports many popular email services, such as Gmail. In fact, Mail is only compatible with current Hotmail or Live accounts after installing Microsoft's most recent update, which also causes some instability. This should speak well of the software's quality, but it also means you must be ready for a lack of updates or other difficulties.

This has not been well-received by Mail's existing users, who number in the millions. This is referred to as the product's 'end of life' by Microsoft, a somewhat gloomy moniker. Unfortunately, Microsoft has made it quite clear that in 2017, Windows Essentials will no longer be supported, including Mail. Overall, WLM has a healthy number of features. The calendar itself bears noting, too: it lets you save dates far in advance, is part of most screens so you'll never miss an upcoming event, and it can provide reminders, too. This is normal for many commercial email programs, such as Outlook, but it's a very welcome feature in WLM, since both home and small business users will have multiple emails to manage these days.

WLM allows you to manage multiple accounts at a glance. Speaking of the calendar, let's talk about some of its other features. Meanwhile, most of the screen is dominated by the email itself, with account-local options on the left and a miniature calendar on the right. It's only if you wanted to zoom in to read smaller text that you'd need the View tab, for example. Though the Ribbon at the top will allow you to switch from account to account, all of the functions related to the email itself (such as replying it, binning it, or copying it) are in the Home tab, minimizing switching. Let's take viewing an email, for example.

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