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EMAIL: MS OUTLOOK

(formerly Hotmail)

Last updated: June 2013

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Objectives

A. What happened to Hotmail? p.3

B. How to register for an Outlook account. p.4

C. Other Resources p.12

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A. What happened to Hotmail? Founded in 1996, Hotmail was the world’s first web-based email service. It

was acquired by Microsoft in 1997, and launched as MSN Hotmail. When

MSN launched its Windows Live suite of products, they re-branded Hotmail

to Windows Live Hotmail. Until 2012, Hotmail remained the world’s second-

largest email service after Gmail.

As Gmail continued to innovate new products and more competitors came

on the market, Hotmail found itself struggling to keep pace. Microsoft

therefore announced the launch of Outlook.com, a replacement for

Hotmail.

All Hotmail users retain their email addresses (e.g. joesmith@hotmail.com)

but new users have the option to choose an Outlook.com email instead.

Outlook.com is intended to mimic the MS Outlook interface that comes with

the Windows programs, and features a suite of products that include

Calendar, Windows Live Messenger (chat) and SkyDrive (a cloud program

for document storage).

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A. How to Register for a New Account

Go to www.hotmail.com or www.outlook.com

1. There will be an advertising graphic on the left. The sign-in is on the

right. 2. Click at the bottom, on the link called Sign up now.

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3. The registration form will appear. Note that this is a long form, so you will need to scroll down to complete the registration process.

a. Choose a name

This is your actual name, or the name that people will recognize when

they receive emails from you. Use an initial, e.g. ‘J’ for John, if this is more comfortable, or a generic name (see the example).

Think of it as putting a return address on an envelope: this is the name over the street address

Age must be over 18.

You can opt not to specify your gender.

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b. Choose an email address.

This is the email equivalent of your ‘street address.’ If you want to be creative or fanciful, go for it. But if you intend to use this address for business purposes – job searches, legal communications, etc – best to use your name if possible.

Enter and re-enter your password. Try to include a number and a capital letter. Make it hard to guess, even for family members.

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c. Enter contact information.

As account and information hacking grows, all email providers need a

definitive way to verify your identity. First, Outlook will ask for your cell phone number, a number where they can text you a temporary password. If you do not have a cell phone, enter another contact number.

Next, enter an alternative email address.

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Finally, answer a security question.

d. Where are you from? Are you human?

Choosing a country sets the language and dictionary preferences for your email service.

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Take the CAPTCHA test. If you can’t read the text, you can click ‘new’ for

a different set of letters. Click on ‘audio’ to have the website read you the letters – transcribe as they are spoken aloud.

Interesting fact: CAPTCHA stands for ‘Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.’ Alan Turing, who invented the computer, also described tests to tell humans from machines. CAPTCHA is a challenge-response test like Turing’s, developed to prevent robots from ‘spamming’ or attacking online sites that require registration.

This form of CAPTCHA distorts combinations of letters, numbers or words so that only humans can decipher the text.

e. Do you want Microsoft to send you offers?

If no, simply leave the box unticked.

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f. Accept the terms and conditions of use.

These are the rules. If you want to read the actual contracts, click on the

hot links. If you are comfortable, click on ‘I accept.’

g. Your email name may already be in use.

Unfortunately, Outlook no longer offers the option to check if an email address is available. You will therefore have to fill out the entire form, and if your choice of address is already taken, you will see this message:

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Choose another email name, then re-submit per the below. You may have to try several times.

Try to create an email address that is as unique as possible. You can use numbers, caps, dashes ( - ) and underscores ( _ ), but no other characters.

Note you will have to take the CAPTCHA test every time you re-submit.

Once you’re successful, Outlook will welcome you.

Click on ‘Continue to inbox’ to proceed.

Welcome to your new email account!

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Additional Resources

Here are some places to seek help as you learn to use your new email account:

MS Outlook Home: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-com/ - Note the ‘how to’ links

Safari eBooks: http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/books-video-

music/downloads-ebooks/ - The latest books and videos from major technology

and business publishers. Covers web and software development, management, marketing, and more.

- Requires library card to log in.