AOL ~ HOTMAIL ~ AND YOUR PALM

How do I configure Hotmail to work with AOL and my Palm?

If you don't already have a Hotmail account, go to MSN and sign up for one. They are free. Once you have a Hotmail account. it can be configured to work offline with Outlook Express 5. 

This is a new Hotmail feature, and it's still in the Beta stages. I haven't had any problems with it crashing my PC or causing fatal exceptions on my Palm. But it doesn't work very smoothly. In fact, I have been unable to connect to Hotmail with Outlook Express lately, despite many attempts. You might have better luck - or you might not. I've discontinued my Hotmail account, so I can't offer any detailed advice or support beyond what you can read on this page.

The Bad News : Here is Hotmail's biggest drawback -- it creates a subset of Hotmail Folders in Outlook Express. 

The Palm Mail applet looks for Outlook Express's "Inbox" and "Outbox" folders. It's a basic email applet, with no provisions for subfolders or directories.

The Pocket Mirror conduit provided with the Palm Software (Palm III and later) works with Outlook, not Outlook Express. Hotmail works with Outlook Express, not Outlook. So there is, as far as I can tell, no simple, free way to tell your Palm to look for Hotmail's Inbox folder when HotSyncing.

In short, you cannot download your Hotmail directly to your Palm, at least as far as I can tell.

The Good News : You can send email from Your Palm's Mail applet using Outlook Express and Hotmail.

• Tap on the Mail icon on your Palm (that's the built-in Mail applet -- not AOL Mail)
• Tap on "New"
• To find an email address in your Palm Address book, tap on "To." Then tap on the "Lookup" box at the bottom of the screen.
• Tap on Done
• Fill in the Subject line, write the message.
• Tap on the "Details" box to set Delivery Priority, add a signature, request delivery confirmation, etc.
• Tap on "Send."
• Sign on to AOL, put your Palm in its HotSync cradle, and push the HotSync button. 
• Outlook Express will connect to Hotmail and send your message.

CONFIGURING HOTMAIL & OUTLOOK EXPRESS

Hotmail will only work with Outlook Express 5 or later as its offline mail reader. (Online, of course, you can use any browser to read your mail.)

• In Outlook Express, select the Tools menu and choose Accounts. 

• Click Add and choose Mail. 

• Enter your Name and click Next (without the @hotmail.com).

• Type in the e-mail address of your Hotmail account and click Next (including the @hotmail.com). 

• Choose "HTTP" from the menu labeled "My incoming mail server is". 

  • If HTTP is not available as a choice, the version of Outlook Express you're using does not support Hotmail accounts. Upgrade to Internet Explorer 5 

• If Hotmail is available from the "My HTTP mail service provider is" menu, choose it. 

• Type http://services.msn.com/svcs/hotmail/httpmail.asp in the incoming mail server field and click Next. 

• Type your Hotmail account name and password and click Next. 

  • Your account name is the first half of your Hotmail e-mail address. For example, if your e-mail address is aol_palmuser@hotmail.com, your account name would be "aol_palmuser". 

• Click Finish. 

• The new account will be named : http://services.msn.com/svcs/hotmail/httpmail.asp. 

  • To rename this account, make sure it is selected in the Internet Accounts window and click Properties. You will see this name under Mail Accounts. Select it and type a new name, such as "Hotmail". Click OK, and then click Close to close the Internet Accounts window. You will see the newly created account in the folder list.