Yesterday Microsoft increased hotmail capacity from 25/250MB to 1GB.

WOW.

MS playing catchup.

Gmail has been giving me 3Gb for a long time.

yes. Gmail offers 2.78GB (up to now).

It seems MS is lavishing!!

Ever since my Microsoft stock stopped splitting back in the mid-90's, MS has seemed to be playing catch-up to Yahoo, Google, iTunes, and a host of other very innovative IT trail-blazers.

I worked for 20 years near MS's Redmond campus and have many friends who work or have worked for Bill Gates. IMHO, I'm afraid that Microsoft is succumbing to corporate inertia--a victim of a typical corporate cycle that can paralyze what once was a creative, innovative, maverick corporate culture. (reminds one of the IBM devolution from the 60's to the 90's).

To get a feel for what Microsoft has lost, pick up one of the recent Fortune magazines that feature the Google corporation. Amazing stuff going on within a major US company. An atmosphere of risk-taking and creativity keep Google on the cutting edge.

Yesterday Microsoft increased hotmail capacity from 25/250MB to 1GB.

But only 25% of messages get delivered correctly...

Why is anyone still using hotmail? Google gives you far more space, mail.com gives you a choice of 40+ domain names so you don't need an address like [email protected]

I started using email in 96.

I stopped using hotmail in 98

used Yahoo! (far superior) imho, until gmail came out.

I've kept the Yahoo! but used the gmail as my primary since (04?-05?, one of the first anyway). Nearly three G's of space.

Google's Gmail left all the others in the dust when it came out,

Yahoo has long since increased theirs and to their credit, since recently upgraded their system, to what they are calling Yahoo Beta, which is surely causing considerable competition - leaving ALL the other in the dust.

Above all, and related to above comment about % messages sending correctly, with regards to receiving, Spam controls on both yahoo and Google have proved far superior to any other email provider around.

Yahoo is possibly also themost playful, in this era where google (that i love ) is trying to redefine themselves.

I stay with both still, although now, finally, through a very good and efficace Outlook 2003 11.810.... edition.

I've had 2GB with Hotmail for some time now -- and in Thailand!

I believe Microsoft does not respect sb's privacy and individuality. It tries to leave no choice for its users.

For example, if you receive an e-mail and would like to check it as read...No..it is not possible..you are forced to whether read it or delete!

More, microsoft has installed programs in its VISTA which sb can open PDF files without needing to have Acrobat or Photoshop. Adobe has legal claim against microsoft about it.

and many more....

I prefer not to use IE7 or Hotmail...

Yahoo and Google are great.

I've had 2GB with Hotmail for some time now -- and in Thailand!

That sounds like the paid version??

How much do they sting you for it?

It's the free version. Go figure.