Eugene's observations

Anyone using any of the Microsoft domains for email (Live, Outlook, MSN, Hotmail) will need to make a change if they are using Windows Live Mail at the end of this month.  The options are to

• Switch to the webmail interface.  You can try this out now by opening a browser and visiting Outlook.com  Some people find this restrictive in that there is less scope for formatting emails; also this is only available if you have an active internet connection.  However, it is available on all browsers on all computers so access while away from home may be easier.
   
• Change to a different mail client. 
   
• Outlook is one contender but it costs money ? either as a one-time purchase usually bundled in the Home and Business edition of MS Office which retails at about £130 for the latest version or cheaper for perfectly functioning older versions, or as an annual subscription to Office 365 which costs around £50 - £80 depending on how many computers are to share the use (although they are currently offering the first year free as a sweatener).
  
  
• The Mail app that is built in with Windows 10 is free and likely to be supported into the long term.  It is currently lightly featured and some may not like the sparce interface it provides.
  
  
• Thunderbird is a mail client produced by the organisation that create the FireFox browser.  It is not widely used but is free and fully featured.  If you?re up for learning a slightly different interface this is a definite possibility.
  
  
• Switch to a different mail repository.  Gmail is the obvious alternative as it is so widely used, is a superior product to all other free options, and offers greater storage space.  Although there are others such as Yahoo etc.
  
  
• This itself can be set up to automatically scoop up messages sent to the Microsoft repository and send as if from that address.  This takes a little bit of configuring initially and there is a small additional delay in receiving messages, but it would allow the old email address to be retained while you keep the current Windows Live Mail as your client.
  
  
• Switching your email address to Gmail or indeed another of the free options is a possibility.  There is no guarantee how long these other repositories will work with Windows Live Mail but the indications are that there are no changes planned in the short or medium term.  As above, email sent to the old address can be forwarded on so you don?t lose messages