The long-awaited Outlook.com calendar refresh has been released and is in the process of being rolled out.
Because the servers are grouped into hundreds of clusters, and only one cluster is upgraded at a time, if you do not see the refreshed calendar yet, please be patient it is on the way!
Improved Updating
In addition to a design refresh, improvements have been made to both navigating and accessing your calendar faster, including the following:- add or or edit events with a single click
- enter an event by dragging your mouse across the time or date range
- add tasks without opening a new page
- jump to a particular day simply by clicking the date
Easy Access
Accessing your Outlook.com calendar is easy. From any address bar, just go to https://calendar.live.com/ and log on to your Microsoft account. If you are already logged on and checking your e-mail, contacts or files in SkyDrive, access to your calendar is click on the arrow to the right of the icon
then click the Calendar icon to see your calendar.
Connecting to your Outlook.com mail or calendar is also easy from your various mobile devices, including Windows Phone, iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch or Android! Simple instructions are available at Mobile - Microsoft Windows.
While Waiting for the Refresh
If, like me, you are still waiting for the Calendar refresh, check out the Outlook Blog, Take control of your schedule with a modern calendar experience for Outlook.com. There are additional topics in the References, particularly for those who are new to Outlook.com.Update: I am now an Outlook.com Insider. If you have a question about this post or Outlook.com, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to assist. Learn more about the Outlook.com Insiders program here.
References
- Hotmail Upgrade FAQ - Windows Help
- How to see your Google events in the Calendar app
- Mobile - Microsoft Windows
- Outlook.com - Microsoft Office email
- Check Server Status
Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...
I wouldn't mind trying Hotmail/Outlook again, if it weren't for their less than reassuring security: 16-character password (!! .... some people say 16 should be the minimum) and lack of 2FA (which, granted, many providers still lack). And their customer support doesn't have the greatest reputation either.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if the bells and whistles (like this long-awaited calendar release) are enough to woo me back.
Are Hotmail/Outlook users really unconcerned about (what appears to me to be) a lack of sufficient proactive security measures in this day and age ?
Scott
Hi, Scott.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is disappointing that more than 16 characters are still not allowed. This has been a bone of contention repeatedly communicated to Microsoft by MVPs.
That said, although limited, it is certainly possible to have a very complex 16-character password. I've tested a variation of my password at multiple test sites. (No, I don't trust any of the test sites enough to use my exact password.)
Consider also that Hotmail/Outlook.com is not a business account but is used for personal e-mail. Although banking and billing e-mail is certainly received in personal e-mail, to actually access the accounts, it is necessary to have the logon information (unless the person is so extremely naive that the same password is used everywhere).
Even with two-factor authentication since December 2011, Yahoo didn't roll out HTTPS until January 2013. Even so, in February 2013, Yahoo plugged a hole that allowed hijacking of email accounts. The hackers were using a piece of JavaScript code that was exploiting a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Yahoo Developer Network Blog site, resulting in stealing visitors' Yahoo session cookies.
Although G-mail has 2-factor available, it is rather awkward and, let's just say that the G-mail format is not my favorite.
I'm not aware of any other e-mail programs that have two-factor authentication, particularly for webmail users.
Hi, Corrine !
ReplyDeleteThanks for the informative comment !
I agree about Gmail. I'm not a big fan either, but they do seem to 'get' preventative security better than other free providers and implement it much sooner. :-/
One security-related advantage in Hotmail/Outlook was that, with the introduction of aliases, one could use the aliases for actual email activity and keep the main account name secret (to be used only for logins), so that any would-be hacker would have to know the username as well as guessing/forcing the password. Well, now, it seems, they're going to pull that rug out from under us and, taking a page from Yahoo (I'm no fan of them either) they may/will be allowing users to log in with an alias ! Grrrrrr....
Anyway, as I, too, wait to see what the new calender looks like, when it gets to my own Outlook (test) account, I will continue to hope that one of these days we'll all see some improved security measures implemented so that we can all feel much more confident trusting Outlook with email, files, etc. :-)
Thanks again !
Scott
Rumor: Microsoft looks like being next with two-factor authentication | Naked Security
ReplyDeleteI cant figure out any way to print my calendar or agenda from my outlook.com calendar or to export it to a program that will let me print it. Am I missing something? Is there someway to print that I have missed? Did MS not think people would want to print copies of their calendars? Very frustrated with the "upgrade" which allows me to do less not more
ReplyDeleteI know you are security focused but I needed to vent lol
ReplyDeleteHi, Chuggle.
ReplyDeleteWith the calendar open, first select the calendar view you want to print (i.e., Day, Week, Month).
With Internet Explorer, right-click on the calendar and select Print Preview or Print. Click on the printer icon in the upper left corner or use the keyboard Alt+P.
With Firefox, from the Firefox menu at the upper left of the browser window and select Print. You'll see the Print Preview/Print options.
I hope this helps. I don't have any other browsers to test, but they should be similar.