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Before everyone gets too upset, you can continue your external access via POP3, but the subscription is $20 a year.

Where did you see that? This is the email I rec'd tonight. I think (I could be wrong)what you said only applies to using LiveMail, which I will never install or use...ever.

Dear Microsoft Outlook Express customer,
Thank you for using Microsoft® Outlook® Express. Our information indicates that you use Outlook Express to access a Windows Live™ Hotmail® e-mail account via a protocol called DAV (Distributed Authoring and Versioning protocol). DAV, like POP3 or IMAP, is the way that a mail client communicates with a web-based mail server.

As a valued customer, we want to provide advanced notice that as of June 30, 2008, Microsoft is disabling the DAV protocol and you will no longer be able to access your Hotmail Inbox via Outlook Express. As an alternative, we recommend that you download Windows Live Mail, a free desktop e-mail client that has the familiarity of Outlook Express and much more. This next generation of free e-mail software will allow you to easily manage multiple e-mail accounts—including Windows Live Hotmail, plus other e-mail accounts that support POP3/IMAP. Better yet, Windows Live Mail integrates well with other Windows Live services, and downloads in minutes. After you provide your user name and password, you will automatically be linked to your Hotmail account, providing continued access to your email and contacts.

We encourage you to download Windows Live Mail at FastMail.FM WARNING: URL text and host don't match, possible phishing attempt. URL disabled. Original URL='http://microsoft.msn.com/Key=11872.Z3hk.C.CY.Gx2tdv'. Original text='http://get.live.com/wlmail/overview'. For more information on phishing click here..

And, to make your transition smoother, we've provided answers to frequently asked questions below.

Again, thank you for your use of Outlook Express and we are confident that you'll be just as delighted with the new Windows Live Mail.

Your Windows Live Mail team
Frequently asked questions:
Why are we disabling DAV?

DAV is a legacy protocol that is not well suited for client access to large inboxes. Over time, as we've provided more e-mail storage to our users—and now offer 5GB inboxes for free—a more efficient access protocol is needed.

What are we replacing DAV with?

We have developed a new, much more efficient protocol called DeltaSynch that is far superior to DAV especially for large e-mail inboxes. It enables email clients to only download changes since the last time the client polled the email server for changes. This is much more efficient and high performing than having to download all the headers in every folder as is the case with DAV.

Is DeltaSynch compatible with Outlook Express?

The new protocol unfortunately is NOT supported by Outlook Express and support would require too many changes to the Outlook Express software.

Is there a different or new mail client I can try that uses DeltaSynch?

Microsoft is providing Windows Live Mail, a free e-mail client that has the familiarity of Outlook Express and much more. This free, next generation email client enables users to easily manage multiple e-mail accounts including Windows Live Hotmail and other e-mail accounts that support POP3/IMAP. Windows Live Mail also integrates well with other Windows Live services, is optimized to work with Windows Live Hotmail, and offers:

* Offline mail
* Windows Live Hotmail account aggregation for those users with multiple Hotmail accounts
* Account aggregation for POP and IMAP mail accounts
* Rich photo-sharing capabilities
* Advanced search via integration with Desktop Search
* Safety tools (Anti-Virus scanning, anti-phishing, anti-spam features across aggregated accounts for customers who do not have an Anti-Virus product)
* Integration with Windows Live services including Windows Live Spaces
* RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feed aggregation
* Ability to send SMS (short message service) text to a mobile phone from Windows Live Mail

Where can I download the new Windows Live Mail client?

You can download the new client at FastMail.FM WARNING: URL text and host don't match, possible phishing attempt. URL disabled.
Original URL='http://microsoft.msn.com/Key=11872.Z3hk.C.CY.Gx2tdv'. Original text='http://get.live.com/wlmail/overview'. For more information on phishing click here..

Microsoft respects your privacy. To learn more, please read our online Privacy Statement.
Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052

Our information indicates that you use Outlook Express to access a Windows Live™ Hotmail® e-mail account via a protocol called DAV (Distributed Authoring and Versioning protocol). DAV, like POP3 or IMAP, is the way that a mail client communicates with a web-based mail server

They know too much, don't they

You need to purchase Hotmail Plus.

The comparison chart at the link shows different providers and the options with each.

“Offers POP to Hotmail Plus users only. Also offers DeltaSync to sync e-mail and contacts (and calendar for Hotmail Plus users) with Outlook or Windows Live Mail.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_webmail_providers

You can also get external access through plugins for Thunderbird, which sort of login and pull the web information for you, in some cases.

http://webmail.mozdev.org/installation.html

I find it difficult to believe that Microsoft still hasn't figured out that they can only act like assholes when their customers either have no other choice, or at least believe they don't.

While we're talking about email stuff, I'd like to put in a plug for the service I use; pobox.com. They are a mail forwarding service that I've been using for over 10 years. You give everyone your POBox address, and have pobox forward it to whatever your 'real' email address is. I've had many different ISPs over that time, and have kept the same email address, so noone has an excuse not to be able to get in contact with me. :-)

Thing is, I couldn't tell you what my current actual email address is. When I change ISPs, I make the change in my email client (Thunderbird), and never think about it again.