Windows Live Hotmail Wave 3 Rollout has started!

The next update of Windows Live Hotmail, Wave 3, has begun rolling out to end users. Currently, Bay: 136 & Col: 102 have been upgraded to Wave 3. Other bays will receive updates in the coming days.
Here are the improvements in the Wave 3:

– No Full and Classic versions. Both are now combined to provide faster and simpler interface.
– Enhanced address book, allowing customers to easily see emails they’ve exchanged with contacts and keep contacts in one consolidated place to use across Windows Live services.
– Ever Increasing Storage – 5 GB to start, with an additional 500 MB per month if customers hit their limit
– Integrated web-based IM with Windows Live Messenger
– Improved spam fighting technologies that significantly reduce spam.
– Integrated calendar features and Outlook Connector.

And here are the screenshots of the new Hotmail : [Screenshot 1] [Screenshot 2] [Screenshot 3]

Thanks to LiveSide.net for this update.

Block ads without Ad-Block

Let’s admit, many of us don’t like ads while surfing websites, much less those flashy and ultra-cool (read irritating and dumb) ads. If you use Firefox, there’s a good chance that you are using Ad-block or similar extension. Opera has something similar too. But what of those ads that you see when (rarely) you use Internet Explorer? Or what of those ads integrated in Messenger windows?
To block these relatively harmless (and other potentially dangerous) ads, you can use Hosts file created by MVPS. According to them :

The Hosts file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. This file is loaded into memory (cache) at startup, then Windows checks the Hosts file before it queries any DNS servers, which enables it to override addresses in the DNS. This prevents access to the listed sites by redirecting any connection attempts back to the local (your) machine. Another feature of the HOSTS file is its ability to block other applications from connecting to the Internet, providing the entry exists.

You can use a HOSTS file to block ads, banners, 3rd party Cookies, 3rd party page counters, web bugs, and even most hijackers. This is accomplished by blocking the connection(s) that supplies these little gems.

You can get more information and download link at MVPS website.

Windows Live Wave 3 Betas available for download!!!

Yep, Beta versions of Windows Live suite (Wave 3) are now available for download. The download includes Messenger v9, Windows Live Movie Maker, Mail with Calendar synchronisation, Writer, Photo Gallery, Family Safety and the Outlook Connector.

You can choose from following two links to download. The first one will only download applications you need while the second one will download everything and you can choose which ones to install. Enjoy!

[Web-Installer] (990KB)

[Offline Installer] (134MB)