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Hotmail announces disposable e-mail addresses, those with disposable personas rejoice
It's 3:27am and something is wrong on the internet. You just have to rip that hipster blogger a new one but don't want all the hateful responses from the Kool-Aid drinkers going to your precious Hotmail account that contains just your first name and year of birth -- plus your zip and area codes too. What do you do? You try out Hotmail Aliases, which let you create multiple, "disposable" e-mail accounts that all filter back to your primary one. This is something that you can do on Yahoo, but there you have to pay extra for Plus service and, while Gmail will let you create unique addresses too, there you can only add an extension to your existing handle. Here you're home free to create anything you want. Might we suggest GasPoweredLoverEVsSuck3915@hotmail.com?
New Hotmail, Microsoft Office 2010 available now
Just a quick note for those of you who have yet to adopt Open Office (or have yet to give up on being productive altogether). Microsoft Office 2010 is available right now for Windows 7 / Vista / XP users. Right this instant. As you read this. It has entered "the realm of the real," as it were. Depending on your needs and your budget, you can pick up one of various flavors: Home and Student (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for $150), Office Home and Business (all of the above, plus Outlook for $280), or Office Professional (adds Access and Publisher for a cool $500). If that weren't enough for you, it also looks like Hotmail (remember that?) got some massive improvements with Office Web App integration, new attachment limits up to 10 GB using SkyDrive, and more. What are you waiting for? Check out the source links to get started.
Nokia Messaging graduates to S60 5th Edition
Well, if you're the proud owner of a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic -- which runs S60 5th edition, in case you don't keep up with that jazz -- you can now join the mobile pioneers using this free -- at least for now, for some -- service. So, if you've never heard of Nokia Messaging, it is an email aggregator that will connect to 10 different webmail accounts and put the mail all in one place on your handset. Nokia Messaging support thousands of email providers, includes support for HTML, Windows Live Hotmail, and can be configured via the app on the phone or from the web. So far, so fantastic, and it is a grand thing when a beta app graduates to the real world. Congrats Nokia, and congrats to all you 5800 owners out there, follow the read to get at it.[Via UnwiredView]
MS 'actively working' on linking Gamertags to new Windows Live IDs
Is that Tilda Swinton in the middle? Having amassed an impressive Gamerscore by slogging through Cabela hunting games, forgettable anime beat-em-ups and the last Iron Man game, it's no surprise that Xbox Live users become agitated when their Gamertags are placed in jeopardy. Earlier this week, it was reported that Windows Live IDs linked to dormant email addresses were at risk of deletion, taking associated Gamertags with them.However, Microsoft has clarified the situation, noting, "People with dormant Windows Live IDs can continue to enjoy the benefits of their Xbox LIVE Gamertags on their Xbox 360 consoles, including earning Achievements; however, they will not be able to use their expired Windows Live IDs for activities such as account management on xbox.com." According to a company representative, "An Xbox LIVE Gamertag is unrecoverable from the system only when the associated Windows Live ID has become dormant and the Gamertag has been deleted from all Xbox 360 consoles." In other words, a dead Windows Live ID will prevent you from recovering your Gamertag online should you change consoles or attempt account management, such as renewing your Xbox Live subscription. Microsoft is "actively working" on a solution that should allow you to sever the dead weight of an expired Windows Live ID and link your Gamertag to a new one. In the meantime, Major Nelson recommends you log into your Windows Live ID (do it through xbox.com) at least once every four months. Think of it as an insincere pleasantry with long-term benefits -- like visiting your mother-in-law.
JetBlue expands in-flight connectivity options on BetaBlue aircraft
During our time on JetBlue's BetaBlue aircraft, we came away mildly impressed with what was available. Thankfully, the airline isn't resting on its laurels, and has today announced expanded services for those lucky enough to secure a seat on the connected Airbus A320. By utilizing LiveTV's Kiteline platform, patrons can now check their Gmail, AOL Mail, Hotmail and Windows Live Mail from the comfort of their seat, and just in case you get bored with that, a "customized in-flight version of Amazon.com" will also be accessible. Yeah, we're talking really minor updates here, but at least the whole gamut of what's available is still totally free. Gratis and airlines just don't go together these days, so it's certainly a welcome change.[Via Jaunted]
Microsoft rolls out Windows Live services for Nokia S60 devices
Wait, what? File this one at the very top of the "strange bedfellows" category: Nokia and Microsoft have stopped scrapping for smartphone supremacy long enough to bring a full suite Windows Live services to a number of Nokia's S60 devices -- devices, may we add, that do direct battle with Windows Mobile hardware. Specifically, Hotmail, Messenger, Contacts, and Spaces are all available immediately as downloads for N73, N76, N80 Internet Edition, N93i, and N95 in select European and Middle Eastern countries (no US love for the time being); Microsoft's saying that the services are free for now, but users may be looking at a subscription fee down the road. To be fair, this isn't the first time Microsoft has extended a Windows Live olive branch to Espoo, but it's the first time the partnership has been this broad. It's gonna get even broader, too; look for Windows Live to find its way into Nokia's Series 40 platform some time next year.
