Just last week, I posted about how impressed I was with Outlook Web Access 2003. On slashdot today along comes the story that MSN Hotmail is going to undergo a much-needed Ajax facelift (called "Kahuna"). The screenshots look very similar to Outlook Web Access 2003 but with ads, so I'm sure most of the code is shared.

The update is going public some time in 2006, though phase 2 of the deployment, rolling out to 200,000 "technical enthusiasts", is starting today. Hey, I'm an "enthusiast" too...maybe I was 200,001st on their list...

This is good news, not just because Hotmail feels woefully outdated after using Gmail for a year, but I'm sure this means they'll maximize their user base and ad revenues (and avoid holy wars) by fixing the broken bits in Outlook Web Access when using browsers like Firefox and Opera. Those fixes should logically trickle back to Outlook Web Access 200x and this would strengthen the case for alternative browsers in the corporate environment.... Hmm, maybe it's not so "logical" after all 😉

§164 · October 11, 2005 · Ajax, Firefox, Opera, QuickLinks, Software, Technology, Web · · [Print]

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