Microsoft's Updates Hotmail Users To Outlook, Some Users Locked Out Of Their Accounts

Microsoft is working hard to consolidate its suite of products, and apparently, that doesn't just mean updates. It's being reported that the company is getting ready to scrap their near ancient Hotmail service, which will now be included in the new Outlook service.

People who have existing hotmail addresses will get to keep those accounts, but will now need to access their email through Outlook.com. The relatively new service is now sitting at over 60 million users, an impressive number considering it was only unveiled last July.

This is the latest in a stream of changes Microsoft has undergone to compete in the online space, mostly with Gmail, who currently boast 425 million users. This has been backed by a recent "Scroogled" advertisement campaign, which throws light on the fact that Google scans users' correspondences for keywords it can use to target their ads. Microsoft purports that its Outlook service does not go through its users' emails.

Hotmail has been around since 1997, which in Internet years, puts it somewhere in the prehistoric age. Microsoft hopes to finish the transition by the end of the summer.

It's not all doom and gloom though, the aging Hotmail interface was the butt of much derision, having not kept up with sleeker email clients such as Gmail. Since last summer, user reaction to the new Outlook.com has been very positive. While there was some initial confusion regarding the difference between the Outlook application and the new service, since then, many have complimented Microsoft's interface as intuitive and responsive.

Unfortunately, the shift from Hotmail to Outlook so far has been met with a few technical snags. It's being reported that many ex-Hotmail users, mostly those who have recently upgraded to Outlook, have been locked out of their accounts. This issue does not appear to be affecting those who have signed up for new Outlook.com addresses.

Microsoft support has confirmed that it is a known issue, and is currently being worked on.