Probably the best there is <sigh> (hotmail.com)

Member Name: merlina

Product:	hotmail.com
Date:	20/08/00 (95 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: lack of defects rather than much positive

Disadvantages: spam may be a problem; titchy 2MB space

It really pains me to say this about anything that comes from the Gates' stable, but I really haven't found anything, and believe me I've tried pretty hard, to beat Hotmail.

Not that I'm saying it's without its disadvantages, my niece's (aged seven) must have had a catchy name or something and she got inundated wiuth porn spam - MSN were not at all interested in helping, they just told us to use the mail filters. As we all know, they're no good, they don't actually bounce the email back, just put it in the bin.

Having had my hotmail account for 5+ years though, I can count the number of days it's been inaccessible on the fingers of one hand. I've never had any problems with emails, either those sent or received, going AWOL and problems have been answered reasonably promptly, if not always as helpfully I'd have liked.

It's clear and easy to operate, it updates at impressive speeds and, as others have said, it's a memorable address; although that's probably compromised for new users - there are so many people signed up now that you end up with a name like JohnSmith_Uk1768@hotmail - or something equally silly.

The 2MB inbox space can be irritating too - especially if it gets clogged with spam, as Hotmail accounts do seem more vulnerable to.

Overall, it's very far from perfect. But having suffered companies that go bust; companies that lose half your emails; companies that never answer queries etc etc, this is about the best of a not very salubrious bunch.

Summary: