Whats new in Hotmail update

[Alexise]

After a long period of time i again started using Hotmail now. I was a frequent user of Hotmail account before i joined my present company where i am working because when i joined this organization i got busy with mu company's official id. But now i heard that Hotmail has got some updates and new features as well. Could you guys please make me now about the new features in Hotmail Update?

[Dodger]

Microsoft's downloadable Windows Live tools all got an update last year.Microsoft started rolling out a new update for Windows Live Hotmail designed to add new features, but also tweak the service in accordance with user feedback.This means you can sign up for a new Windows Live Hotmail account and get instant access to your new, world-class email service built from the ground up. Now according to Microsoft here’s a sneak peak at some of the changes of Hotmail Update:-

• A great new look
  
  • We’ve done a little remodeling, and we think Hotmail looks much, much nicer and is easier to use. We did a lot of testing around the world to see what people liked and didn’t like. We’re really excited about the final results, and we hope you like it too! There’s also a whole new set of vibrant themes that replace our old color schemes.
• Classic & Full, together at last
  
  • Our clever developers figured out how to take the performance of the Classic version of Hotmail, and combine it with features of the Full version, in a single experience. Now everyone gets the same features. You don’t have to trade off speed for functionality or decide which version is better for you. If you have been using the Full version, you’ll see much faster page load times, and if you have been using Classic, you now get to use the reading pane, drag & drop, and other features formerly limited to the Full version.
• A contact list that’s more than just contacts
  
  • Our contact list is now much more useful. Besides a new layout and improved look, we added features that are both fun and time-saving.
    
    • Fun - If your Messenger contacts have a display picture, that picture will appear in your list.
    • Time-saving - When you view a contact, you can see recent e-mail they’ve sent you, send them a message from right in the contact page, and view items from across Windows Live that you’ve shared together.
• Updated Calendar beta
  
  • If you aren’t using the Calendar beta yet, now’s a great time to try it. Calendar sharing, an automatically generated birthday calendar for people in your contact list, a holiday calendar, iCal subscriptions to public calendars, to-do lists, and much, much more await you.

[Trio]

The company would seem to have a few options come Windows 7. One would be to pull out the programs from the OS and offer only Internet-enabled Windows Live versions. New users will have the option of choosing between the full and classic experiences upon signing up. Existing Hotmail users will be defaulted onto the classic version, with the option to switch to full with just one click if they want features such as the reading pane and drag and drop. Our goal was to provide our users with the experience that best meets their daily needs. And we recognized that while some users wanted an AJAX-like experience (full), others just wanted super-fast, simple email (classic).

[Addis]

The update will deliver “info at your fingertips. Making plans with friends and family is easy. When you’re writing a message, it’s just one click to add local maps, direction, movie times, and more. Anyone who is using Microsoft Outlook 2003 (or later) will have free access to their Windows Live Hotmail account via Outlook. This isn't just your average POP mail... you can synchronize your mail, folders, safe/unsafe sender lists, AND contacts on your computer and on the web! Stay tuned for instructions on how to download the Outlook Connector.