MSN Hotmail Announces Major Redesign

REDMOND, Wash., July 9, 1999 — The MSN TM Hotmail TM Web-based e-mail service, the world’s largest, today announced a major redesign that offers its 40 million members a faster and more intuitive user experience. This is the most dramatic interface redesign since the award-winning Hotmail service was launched just three years ago on July 4, 1996. The new Hotmail interface is now available in all four versions of the service – English, French, German and Japanese.

“Although Hotmail has just celebrated its three-year anniversary, we’re still very focused on the original goal – to provide a service that is fast and reliable, with easy-to-use features that help our members get things done online,”
said Don Bradford, general manager for MSN Hotmail.
“The changes we launched today are part of our ongoing commitment to further strengthen the value of Hotmail for its members and help MSN deliver on its mission to empower consumers anywhere, any time and from any device.”

An all-new navigation scheme provides members with easy access to the tools they need to read, compose and organize their messages more quickly. It further enhances usability by providing increased on-screen work space for reading and composing messages. In addition, popular Hotmail features such as QuickList Addresses, Find Message and Reminders are more discoverable than they were previously. The new interface is more consistent with other MSN services, providing a common user experience across the MSN network of Internet services.

The interface also improves speed with its slim, high-performance design, which eliminates HTML frames and high-resolution graphics. As a result, Hotmail customers can see noticeably faster page-load times when using the service.

About MSN Hotmail

Microsoft Corp.’s award-winning Hotmail is the world’s leading electronic mail service, with over 40 million members. With offices in California’s Silicon Valley, the company offers globally accessible, easy-to-use and feature-rich Web-based e-mail to its members. Hotmail was acquired by Microsoft in December 1997 and is now part of the Microsoft Consumer and Commerce Group. Hotmail is a leader in consumer advocacy and is widely recognized for its strong anti-spam measures. Those interested in signing up for a free Hotmail account can go to http://www.hotmail.com/ or http://MSN.com/ .

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

Microsoft, MSN and Hotmail are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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