MSN Hotmail

MSN Hotmail, better known as simply Hotmail, is a free online e-mail service provided by Microsoft. Hotmail is part of the Windows Live collection of online services maintained by Microsoft. The service was originally launched in 1996 and was one of the first free e-mail services on the Internet.

Ever since Gmail was released, Hotmail has been increasing the amount of free storage to remain competitive with Google's offering. Hotmail remains free because it is ad-supported, with advertisements in the mail interface, as well as a text ad placed at the bottom of all outgoing mail messages. Hotmail does not support the IMAP protocol for accessing email from external clients and devices, but it does support POP3. http://lifehacker.com/5151551/hotmail-enables-pop3-for-us-users

Hotmail features many of the same features that all webmail clients have. One of the major features that it lacks in the free version though is the ability to use IMAP, which allows you to use a different e-mail client fully instead of logging in to Hotmail's website. Like most major free webmail providers they provide free virus scanning and spam filters in addition to a free spell checking feature.http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/newsroom/msn/factsheet/hotmail.mspx

Hotmail was founded by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith in 1995.http://www.crunchbase.com/person/sabeer-bhatia It was the first e-mail client that allowed you to check your e-mail from anywhere in the world by simply logging into a web page. Eventually Microsoft noticed the growth and purchased them in 1998.http://techblissonline.com/hotmial-com-free-webmail/ http://news.cnet.com/2100-1033-206717.html

In 2007, Hotmail began to roll out its newest features, including drag and drop capabilities, right click menus, and custom filters. The latest version also offers improved protection from spam, automatic virus scanning of attachments and mail search.http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/newsroom/msn/factsheet/hotmail.mspx Microsoft announced in 2010 that attachment limits were also being greatly increased due to new "cloud-based storage integration" that takes advantage of cloud computing capabilities.http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/paul-thurrotts-wininfo/Microsoft-Begins-Rolling-Out-the-New-Hotmail.aspx