Hotmail Doesn't Work With Linux Firefox 2.0

An anonymous reader tips a column up at freesoftwaremagazine.com in which the writer discovers that the latest UI enhancements that Hotmail has recently introduced don't work with Firefox 2.0 under Linux. The writer concludes that the webmail interface has been artificially limited by basic user-agent sniffing. The solution is simple enough — spoofing the User Agent that Firefox reports.

It doesn't work with the PS3's browser either

[Highroller]

It doesn't work with the PlayStation 3's (non-Linux OS mode) browser either.

This seems desperate...

[Nemilar]

Not only does this wreak of desperation on the part of Microsoft, but I have to wonder how in the world they thought this wasn't going to come out? Or they just didn't care?

"It's our email service, you have to use our browser." Fair enough - you've already driven these users away from your browser, now they're going to go ahead and move their email accounts, too. You're just alienating further those who have already realized that the Microsoft way isn't necessarily the best way.

And hey, Microsoft - people tell their friends about better services. Your competitor's services. How do you think Firefox is spreading so fast? It ain't 'cause of no "Where do you want to go today" commercials. I'm betting Gmail is going to see a nice surge in new accounts because of this.

Re:This seems desperate...

[Chemicalscum]

Yes if Microsoft is prepared to to use this deliberate ploy to degrade the usability of Firefox on Hotmail, then it raises the question what is MS likely to do if they manage to acquire Yahoo.

This sort of behaviour could prove to be counter-productive for Microshaft (I normally disapprove of silly joke name calling of MS, but this is a case where they deserve that epithet). If I worked for Google, I would be carefully documenting this anti-competitive behaviour of MS in web services, in order to build up an anti-trust case against MS's takeover of Yahoo.

When did this happen?

[Thelasko]

My fiancée uses Hotmail and has never complained while checking her account on my Ubuntu 64-bit machine. It even worked with the new design (windows live hotmail). I was always amazed when she did so because I figured my computer would burst into flames if it ever went to a Microsoft site. Did this just happen? Like this week?

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Hotmail?

[seasunset]

There are alternatives to Hotmail. There are none to the iPhone (so far).

Only if you consider the iphone as a good underachiever [thebestpag...iverse.net] or are very tied to media spin. The review above linked is, well, brutal, but is quite on the spot. I have a Nokia E61a, and on most functionality and even leisure it compares very well against the iphone (not on trendiness, that I give you), and, mind you, the E61a is older than the iphone.

There are many alternatives to the iPhone, depending on the viewpoint, some of them are better and are around for long

Re:You geeks...

[Anonymous Coward]

Geek: A performer at a traveling carnival who swallows various live animals and bugs.

Re:Kind of Misleading

[tixxit]

This sort of thing is totally unacceptable. First, it might even be illegal as abuse of Microsoft's monopoly (yes, Hotmail 'works' on Linux, but it works better under Microsoft's OS). Second, there is no excuse for this. Last I checked, Gmail and Yahoo mail work perfectly fine, with all functionality, on Windows, OS X and Linux.

First) IANAL, but I doubt it is against the law to provide better versions of software/websites to Windows users than Linux, even if they have the ability (since that describes 95% of commercial software out there). Perhaps they just really want to screw over that tiny market of Linux users using Hotmail still. More than likely, the Hotmail developers are using a Whitelist of user-agents they know to work correctly, of which they didn't include linux+firefox for whatever reason (not 100% working, incompetence, malice, etc).

Second) Yes, Gmail and Yahoo work perfectly fine, so perhaps you should be using Gmail and Yahoo! (not yelling, just spelling Yahoo! correctly ;) If Microsoft chooses to cripple Hotmail in another OS, the only person that is hurting is them. I'm not going to switch operating systems for a feature in a free webmail service. I can much more easily just switch my webmail service. Ad revenue speaks louder than words.