Windows 7 Loses Outlook Express, Windows Mail
- Comments: 7
- Written on: September 26th, 2009
With excitement building for the upcoming release of Microsoft’s latest operating System, Windows 7, a couple of familiar guests might be missing from the launch parties.
Microsoft has removed Outlook Express (Windows Mail in Vista) and Windows Movie Maker from Windows 7 deciding instead to promote their Windows Live products.
Windows Live Mail
The basic concept behind Windows Live Mail is that you can run it from your mobile device, your computer in offline mode, or live on the internet.
Rather than clicking on the “Send/Receive” button you instead click a “Sync” button. The idea here is that you can use your phone or computer in offline mode, and as soon as they go online they will “sync” with the online system to keep everything in one place that is shared with all of your devices.
Here’s a video that shows you how the process works from start to finish:
Windows Live Moviemaker
Windows Movie Maker has been included free of charge with Windows since Windows XP was released.
On the Windows Live blog, the lead designer on the Movie Maker project explained that the company’s research showed that most PC users employed Movie Maker to create small videos, video slide shows, or combinations of both with some titles and transitions.
Knowing that users were not using Movie Maker to create feature length films, Microsoft focused on making an application that can do what its user want quickly and easily.
For example, the “Auto Movie” feature allows you to select a group of pictures and an audio sound track and then let the computer do the hard work of organizing the images so they start and stop with the sound track.
Here’s a video that explains the most hyped features of Movie Maker:
Why Do I Have to Download It?
Windows 7 will not come with Movie Maker of Windows Live Mail (or even Windows Messenger) installed by default. Users have to make the decision to download the components from the Windows Live website or through the Microsoft Update (Windows Update) feature.
This solves a lot of anti-competitive issues not only in the US, but in Europe as well, while still allowing Microsoft to give its own products a slight advantage over their competitors in the marketplace.
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- Comments: 7
Well, I will definitely still be using Thunderbird as my email client over this Windows Mail… but I can’t believe that Windows Messenger and Movie maker doesn’t come by default… it doesn’t make any sense… If they can’t include those programs… how come they can still include Internet Explorer? Personally I think
Actually right now as a student at a university I have Windows 7 available if I wanted to get it threw the school. I am thinking of doing it actually and putting it as a partition on my hard-drive just to try it out for fun. =D
Till then,
John
I won’t miss outlook at all, I have never used it since I was using windows 98 way back when ( did 98 come with outlook? ). And about Windows Movie Maker, I wouldn’t have minded that not being included either, so many random errors. I hope Windows Movie Maker is a bit more stable. Thanks for the article.
its almost bad coz when we go far with technology its means everything is going to be improve then how come inteady of improve is removing .on my side i actually comfuse of this windows mail,movie maker
This is one move that will backfire on Microsoft and will be the start of a significant slide in old users trust. OE has become a trusted institution for its use and standardized user interface and there are blessed few of those sort of things in the digital world. Huge mistake for Microsoft and a terrible wrench thrown into a new OS by its absence. I dare say this will be a greater ‘clutch’ issue and aversion than all the user permissions on Vista were … mark my words a huge mistake!
@ Canadian Geezer – They had to do it. The US and EU have both attacked Microsoft for anti-competitive practices.
The EU especially because they were the driving force behind the changes. It was so bad that MS threatened to ship an operating system in Europe called Windows 7E that would not have a browser at all. Users would have to find and install their own.
The EU backed down and opted to allow MS to have a browser election from a page with multiple options.
I got Windows 7 free as an update for my Vista Premium. I was all set to enjoy the latesst update until I noticed that Outlook Express was no longer there. I tried the “Live Mail” but to me it really sucks. It all boils down to my daily weather information that I send out, and the attached pictures require the recepient to open that file separately….as it is in Yahoo format.
I refuse to make my groups have to go through an additional step in the name of “Progress.”
Anyway, went back to Vista Premium and all is good again.
Love Windows 7, but hate Windows live and Internet Explorer 8