14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is tweaking the Windows Live Hotmail / ID sign-in experience for the second time in approximately a month in response to user feedback. Back in early July 2011, the Redmond company scrapped the old user tile-based login page for all its Windows Live properties, including Windows Live Hotmail, and introduced a new, streamlined design.
Following the overhaul, Windows Live ID no longer featured multiple titles, each allowing users to sign-in via a different account, with the additional option to also remember passwords for each account.
Instead, the software giant changed the Windows Live ID sign-in process to focus on a single account in particular, enabling users to check the “Keep me signed in” box, and get to their content faster than before.
When announcing the change the Redmond company stressed that it only followed user trends, with customers increasingly preferring to use only one account the majority of the time.
Negative feedback was not that far behind the initial Windows Live Hotmail / ID Sign-in upgrade, including from Softpedia readers.
Eric Doerr, group program manager – Windows Live ID, acknowledged that while the change made some users happy, it managed to upset others.
“For the recent change to “keep me signed in,” our goal was to simplify the options, ensure consistent behavior across browsers and platforms, and make it faster and easier for you to get straight into your inbox,” Doerr said.
“While the majority of people seem quite pleased with the change, we’ve heard via the Inside Windows Live blog and other places that some of you liked the user tiles and the “remember me” option and feel that something you loved has been taken away.”
A new Windows Live Hotmail / ID sign-in experience redesign is currently being rolled out according to Microsoft, catalyzed the user input.
The fresh design is an attempt to blend the best of the two worlds, set up to make it easier for people to joggle multiple accounts on the same machine, or for multiple users sharing a computer, while at the same time, for users that leverage a single account primarily.
“The change we’ve made is to add an attribute to the email address input box on our login page. What this means is that if your browser has autocomplete enabled, the form will automatically fill previously entered email addresses for you as you type, or you can hit the down arrow on your keyboard to see the full list and select the account you want,” Doerr explained.
“For most people we talked to, this change should help. Families and individuals with a shared PC will each have their user name remembered, and individuals who use one account but don’t want their password remembered will be happy as well. For security, we chose not to remember passwords for multiple accounts to keep multiple users on the same computer from ending up in each other’s inboxes.”
The new Windows Live Hotmail / ID sign-in experience will not be live for all users immediately, Microsoft informed.
As with all changes to its Windows Live properties, the latest update is being rolled out gradually. According to Doerr, the new experience should be available to all Windows Live users in the next week.
