Where is the email application in Windows 7 ?

The simple answer is “There isn’t one”. XP had ‘Outlook express’, Vista had ‘Windows Mail client’ and now Microsoft have decided that their latest OS can do without. I’m not quite sure why Microsoft would decide that the ability to email people isn’t a core requirement in a modern operating system but with their ongoing anti-trust issues I wouldn’t be surprised if they just wanted to avoid more legal headaches.

That said, Microsoft haven’t left us totally in the lurch and they do provide an email client (Windows Live Mail) as part of the ‘Windows Live Essentials’ suite. This is available as a free download and also includes :

• Windows Live call


• Windows Live messenger


• Windows Live Movie Maker


• Windows Live Photo Gallery


• Windows Live Writer

You can find this download by going to the Start Menu and typing essentials in the search field. It will then give you the option ‘Go online to get Windows Live Essentials’.

Just follow the instructions and select the items you would like to download an install.

When you launch the program you will be asked for your email account credentials. Once these have been entered just sit back and watch Live Mail go off and retrieve all your email.

So in summary, it’s slightly odd that Microsoft wouldn’t include it in the OS but at least they have made the solution simple and painless. :-)

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Microsoft Outlook 2007 can’t connect to Hotmail server to download email

For a few years now I have had my Hotmail email account linked to my Outlook client. Like many people out there I use Microsoft Outlook 2007 and this has worked perfectly for some time, and my email has downloaded automatically when opening the program. If I am waiting for an email, a simple ’send/receive’ will pull my new mail down without any issues.

All this changed recently and without warning, one day my mails were being downloaded and the next day Outlook could not access the Hotmail servers.

Folder: Inbox Synchronizing headers: reported error (0×800CCC33) : ‘Access to the account was denied. Verify that your username and password are correct. The server responded ‘Forbidden’.’

The good news is that after a bit of googling I came across a forum with lots of people having the same issue. Luckily someone had done abit more digging and had found an explanation :

In June 2009, Microsoft announced a change to the way Outlook, Outlook Express, and Entourage programs access Hotmail which may require customers to take action.
To continue to receive e-mail from your Hotmail account, please select one of the alternative solutions …... Full details here

As I have Outlook 2007 the solution involved downloading and installing ‘Office Outlook connector‘. This was a simple install and a quick restart of Outlook had my email downloading within no time.

A suprisingly painless fix from Microsoft but I have to agree with the people in the forums that an automatic prompt to install the connector and a less cryptic message from ‘Send/Receive’ would have been preferable.