Comments on: Google fakes out Hotmail for Chrome support

Instead of waiting for Microsoft to tweak its Hotmail site, Google decided to tweak its Chrome browser.

[portorikan]

OH SNAP! Google just slapped MS in the face big time. But honestly. Nobody really uses hotmail anymore but my dad, and I'm gonna get him a yahoo or gmail account soon enough.

[dhavleak]

Meh.. it's just a useless pissing contest between the two..

[CrashPad63]

What over 100 million daily users is nobody?

[Spartan_458]

Google has to fix it quickly because Microsoft isn't going to fix IE and Mozilla won't fix FF just because there's a problem with Google. Hotmail happens to work just fine with browsers that people actually use.

[viper396]

If 100 Million plus users is nobody I'd like to see what you would consider "somebody". If you bothered to even read the article objectively you would have read the MS reply which had a legitimate point.

People arguing over "free" e-mail services serves no legitimate value. All you do it give the managers and developers of said services a smug ego with alot of FUD and pointless rhetoric

[Vegaman_Dan]

So neener neener neener. Now if only Google could make Gmail work reliably, I'd be happy.

[shinji257]

Gmail does work reliably.

[ahalemano]

I'm with Shinji. Regardless of what OS I'm using, Gmail is far more reliable and far less obtrusive than Microsloth's ad-ladened online mail client.

[assman]

Gmail has been nothing but reliable since the day I started using it.. 5 years ago (a few days after its initial beta release).

[zizzybaloobah]

Gmail has worked reliably for me for years. Furthermore, I get almost nil spam in my Inbox, and I get free POP access. What more could you ask for?

[bourgtai]

I think he means "If only Google could take Gmail out of beta." But that's certainly not the same concept as working reliably (I'm looking at you, Vista).

[Apolune]

Your observation is spot-on, Vegaman Dan. While I am admittedly an extremely heavy user (about 800 new messages daily), Gmail goes wonky at least five times per day.

"Still working" it says. I've let it continue to "work" for up to five minutes before finally closing it. Once restarted, I get an earlier version of the inbox, with read and labeled messages appearing as unread, and deleted messages back in the Inbox.It is incredibly annoying!

Gmail's sole attribute is that it's less Godawful than other web-based e-mail offerings.

[kooldudejim]

@Apolune

Sounds like more of a problem on your end than Gmail's. Do you use Internet Explorer? Sometimes on IE, the internet connection just dies for that instance of the browser and I have to open a new IE window to surf again.

[vkri2]

@ahalemano...
"Microsloth's ad-ladened online mail client"? And what clever moniker do you have for "Google's ad-laden online mail client" or does your browser automatically move the right-side off screen when you're reading your "gmail'?

[deffroz]

Of course if MS's sites were standard-compliant the issue wouldn't exist period (of course if their sites were standards compliant IE users would have issues...)

Oh well, don't use Chrome and don't use Hotmail.

[smilin:)]

This issue is unrelated to w3c compliance so yes the issue would exist. (period...as you say). Thanks for the FUD.

[Lerianis]

Actually, no, it isn't unrelated to w3c compliance, because Firefox and Minefield also have problems using Hotmail. In fact, so does Safari, from what happened the last time I tried using it on Hotmail.

[dhavalhirdhav]

I belive Chrome uses same rendering engine as apple's? if it works in apple.. should work in chrome without sending false agent id.. and what abt yahoo! mail? so problem is with yahoo and hotmail.. and not with chrome? very stupid stuff.

[3rdalbum]

Yes, it's the same rendering engine, but Hotmail's "Compose Mail" page breaks if it detects it is run on certain browsers or operating systems. Hotmail works fine on Flock for Linux, but not on Firefox unless you use the "User Agent Switcher" extension and have it set to identify itself as "Windows".

We told Microsoft of this problem a couple of months ago. Their response was "We don't support anything other than Firefox and IE on Windows, and Safari on Mac OS". In other words, they know Hotmail breaks on certain browsers when it detects a different operating system or browser, and they know this because I told them. If Microsoft wants to act like its nose has been put out of joint, then maybe it should fix its mail service's browser detection.

[mattumanu]

3rdalbum, I just tried hotmail's compose page and sent an email to another account with firefox, no "user agent switcher" extension necessary. I'm guessing that most of this is FUD.

[soiddog]

@mattumanu

I believee that 3rdalbum was speaking of firefox on linux and that is why you need the "user agent switcher" to make hotmail believe that you are coming from a windows machine because microsoft only supports Firefox and IE on Windows, and Safari on Mac. Not saying that hotmail will not work on a linux box with firefox, (because i think i have used that combo..) but I bet its glitchy. And besides, how can you stand up for a bunch of A$$'s like Microsoft who have forever made their products incomapatible with others so that you have to use their crap! They want people to use IE and they cant stop people from using FF, that already snuck in nicely. Microsoft does not want to loose any more of the pie to another browser so any problems they can make, (hotmail not working with chrome for example) they are all for.

[purpleLightning]

Yay, near weekly updates for Chrome, but all development frozen on Notebook.

[uhpl508]

hotmail is also not working in firefox 3.1 beta 2 for what its worth, I've been having to use IE for hotmail which seems really silly.

[forever4now]

I suspect this is why the EU wants IE uninstallable and not on all PCs by default. Then Microsoft will either have to implement web standards on their websites, like everyone else, or risk losing subscribers. I got rid of my hotmail account for this very reason.

Hopefully the action being taken by the EU will be followed up by action in the US. Then these incompatible browser issues can become a thing of the past.

[aMUSICsite]

And don't forget that MS wants every web designer to change their websites to work with IE8 but they will not change Hotmail to work with other browsers.

[jbeaul]

This headline and the dialog it prompted just set back the implied maturity level of those involved back ten years. Reminds me of middle school cafeteria.

[jackdaniels08]

I've been using Gmail since the beginning and love it. I stopped using hotmail a long time ago. Also I primarily use Google Chrome ever since day 1 and am keeping up with all the updates. I'm very happy with both Gmail and Google Chrome and excited to see the new innovations.

[gerrrg]

As far as I'm concerned, if MS wanted me to keep using their email service, they'd fix it, but they took so long. It was so bad to me, that I started migrating my most important contacts to my gmail address.

Honestly, it didn't matter who fixed it, but I just wanted it fixed. It's such a pain to switch back and forth to IE when I use Chrome full time.

[Inconnux]

People actually use chrome? It lasted less than an hour on my system... terrible, just terrible

[codynews]

Sounds like serious user error on your part.

Chrome works perfect on my machine. Tried it day one, never looked back. IE and Firefox (when I use them on another PC) seem like huge slow ugly piles.

Cody

[gerrrg]

I'll second that guess on user error. Chrome is the best.

[Shankland]

Inconnux: What were your biggest gripes? Google has been updating it pretty rapidly, but I encounter plenty of people who were turned off initially and haven't gone back.

[Apolune]

Agreed, Inconnux.

Google touts Chrome as "simple." Well, yes. And a horse is simple compared to a Porsche.

Chrome is strictly for Google fanboys and those who don't care about their own privacy. Yech.

[bugma302]

Yes I actually use chrome - in many ways it's quite wonderful, in others not.

[Hunnter2k3]

This is exactly why i don't use Hotmail anymore, they have screwed with it so much across several browsers trying to replicate that lovely little Windows Live thing across all their stuff.

I stopped caring about my Hotmail account a good few years back, when the whole face of MSN was ripped apart and re-arranged into WL, and the other parts just swept under the rug (the decent parts).
Sitting at 168 unread e-mails, admittedly all things like MyOffers, site notifications, etc.
I only stick with it because MSN, WOOPS, WLM.. bring back MSN 6, the only good one.

The quicker the EU screw with their bundling, the better, maybe they will actually stop explicitly targeting browsers other than their own...

[sparrowhyperion]

I don't use Chrome, but I find the attitude Mr. Shahine seems to have toward this issue to be pretty typical at MS. If it isn't their browser, they just put it on the back burner and hope to kill a few points of market share for the other browser. There probably wouldn't be issues like this if the people in Redmond would get their noses out of their proprietary little world and commit to better standards compliance...

[NWLB]

Chrome, a browser few people use, and Hotmail, a service associated with spam senders. This is about the same as a fight on Jerry Springer.

[bourgtai]

Except that the adoption rate for Chrome is increasing while the user base for Hotmail is decreasing.

[galeso]

Yes, Microsoft and Google facing off on Jerry Springer how perfect.
Now, who would represent Microsoft? Bill Gates or PC Guy?

[Jonnygthedrummer]

i tried chrome an hated it,

but FF was gettin slow an i saw the add on youtube so i thougth i would give it i try again an ,

I LOVE IT its awseome, fast , an just light feeling ,

good for Google , slap MS lol

[joshsc]

I'm having the same IE problem too. However it is happening with Firefox as well. Friends of mine are having the same issues. It seems some security or other update has done this. VERY annoying problem and I really wish someone could tell me how to fix it. I don't use Chrome enough except for testing purposes, so i don't know if the issue is in that too.

[joshsc]

Hold on cowboy- If it is ok for Apple and Linix distributions to include a browser- it should be ok for Microsoft. I don't like using IE anymore than many others and use it only on websites that will only work with IE but I don't think it would be fair to not allow Microsoft to include a browser in their OS and allow Apple or Linux. Secondly, if people don't like Hotmail, there are plenty of other online mail services they can go to. Just because MS includes a web browser doesn't mean a user is made to use Hotmail. And with that, there are tons of web browsers people can use today as opposed to when MS shut out Netscape. The market is much different now and all governments should mind their own businesses.

[Hunnter2k3]

Its not so much that they are providing _A_ browser, it is more the fact that they are providing a browser that is behind every other browser out there, and they don't seem to be doing a damn thing about it.
So, abuse of market position. If Apple were providing a buckled browser, i'd hate them for it as well, but Safari is actually up-to-date.

MS better actually be improving IE8, as in, full CSS1/2, maybe even some 3, fixed JavaScript.
Sadly, from what i saw, looks like they won't be, and instead they are just adding in yet another layer of stupidity prevention to their software.
PLEASE IMPROVE IT MICROSOFT, i might actually respect you if you do!

It is as if Internet Explorer is some background job that employees do an hour a day, get in 5 minutes, then give up and play Minesweeper or something...

[giannini1]

Apple bundles their computers with Safari because they built their own OS. Dell, HP, Compaq, etc use an OS they don't own and therefore the EU sees that as unfair. Since apple builds their own comps and OS, they can do whatever they want.

[BIGELLOW]

My boss at work tried Chrome and it simply won't work on his machine. He has tried uninstalling it and reinstalling it and it simply crashes upon running. I, however, have installed Chrome on my machine at home and my machine at work and I use it 99% of the time in both locations. At home, I have had a few issues with some websites (or streaming videos through Netflix,) so for those I use Firefox. At work, I used to use Chrome to view our Intranet, but a recent update to Chrome seems to have fixed the Windows authentication for it, so I have to view our Intranet in Firefox. I can't wait for the adoption rate of Chrome to pick up enough for some of these things to get more attention.

[jezzali]

I did an Acid3 test on Internet Explorer 8 the other day. It failed miserably, scoring a pathetic 20/100. And furthermore, Microsoft wants websites to support specific IE8 features. What this tells me is something very simple: All of Microsoft's overtures regarding the "new friendlier warmer fuzzier standards compliant Microsoft" are one thing:

********.

They don't get it. They are not going to learn. They want to drag us all back to the 1990's where they could screw Netscape. And standards ? What are they ?

For God's sake, just don't use their stuff.

[jezzali]

Where the stars are on my previous post is an expletive... you get the picture.