I hate Microsoft

No, I haven't become Tim or Aaron just yet. I am still bound to Windows, mostly out of sheer laziness. But I digress. Getting back to the purpose of this post, as some of you probably know, Hotmail is being transitioned to Microsoft's Live suite and is being called Live Mail. I've been using the beta for a while now and while the AJAX features are cool and all, they weren't available for Firefox users. In IE, all the features were there, allowing for a very Outlook-style feel. In Firefox, it had been pretty much like the old Hotmail, but with a new color scheme and several missing (and necessary) features. However, earlier this week, they implemented the AJAX features for Firefox users. I don't see why there should have been any delay, but then again, this is Microsoft we're talking about and we all know how good they are about web standards and browser compatibility. Buuuut that's a whole other topic I could rant about for hours (or pages and pages). So anyway, I was glad they finally added the features for Firefox. I have Hotmail and GMail open the entire time I'm at work because I'm a compulsive mail-checker. The AJAX Hotmail seemed to be working fine for me with only a few minor annoyances. Then one day it stopped working for me on my laptop. It baffled me because my laptop Firefox install is virtually identical to my install at work. Suddenly no matter what I did, I would get an error message in Hotmail, and I could no longer see any of my emails. This lasted for several days so I finally broke down and submitted the problem to email support. This was pretty much a last resort, as I hate contacting support for anything because I always get the same useless responses. So to avoid getting a retarded response, I typed up a nice, long, detailed email to send to them using their support form:

Service: Windows Live Mail

What type of problem do you have?
Viewing
Problems Viewing
Problems viewing E-Mail in folders

To ensure a quick resolution, provide as many details as possible, including the date and time the problem occurred, a description of what you were trying to do, the detailed steps you took that led up to the problem, and details on any error messages that you received.
Every time I sign in to Hotmail using Firefox, I get the same error message, "Windows Live Mail was not able to complete this request. Microsoft may contact you about any issues you report." I've had this for a couple days now and it happens pretty much every time. Occasionally I am able to see the non-AJAX Today page, but if I try to go to my Inbox or Junk Mail folder, I get the same error message. Since I know I'm probably going to get the typical response sent to the less advanced users, there is nothing out of the ordinary about my Firefox. I'm using the latest version, 1.5.0.3, I have cookies enabled, I have Javascript enabled, and I have tried clearing the cache and cookies already (to no avail). Furthermore, none of my Firefox extensions are interfering, as I have an identical Firefox setup (same version, same extensions, same theme, same everything) at work, and it works fine there. Also, I have all the latest Windows updates. I am at a loss as to what could be the culprit, but in looking at the source code for that page with the error message, I noticed that the particular error message I get is labeled as "browserjserr" in the source. In looking at the Javascript console, I noticed a couple errors that could be the cause of the problem, one of them says "Error: uncaught exception: [Exception... "Component returned failure code: 0x805e000a [nsIDOMHTMLIFrameElement.setAttribute]" nsresult: "0x805e000a **unknown**" location: "JS frame :: http://gfx8.mail.live.com/mail/11.00.0006.0066/wlmcore1.js :: anonymous :: line 3382" data: no]" and the other one says "Error: g_windowResize has no properties
Source File: http://gfx8.mail.live.com/mail/11.00.0006.0066/wlmcore2.js
Line: 4095." There are countless other JS errors, but those two stick out the most as likely causes to the problem I'm having. So, hopefully that is enough information for you guys to help me out. In summary, Hotmail doesn't work in my Firefox, even though it works fine in Firefox at work and I refuse to switch to Internet Explorer. Thanks.

Frequency of the issue
Always

What is your ISP?
Road Runner

Type of Internet connection:
Cable Modem

Have you recently installed any new software (if you enter yes please add more comments in the text box above)?
No

Which operating system are you using?Windows XP: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727)

Which browser are you using: IE6

Location: en-us - English (United States)

Type of Support: E-mail Support

I thought surely such a detailed and thought out email would earn me a decent response. I waited a couple days and finally got a response:

Thank you for contacting the Windows Live Mail Support Team. My name is Eugenia. I will be happy to assist you with your issue.

We understand you have problems viewing your email. We apologize for any inconvenience this is causing you.

In order to fix this problem please follow these steps.
1. Optimize Microsoft Internet Explorer, and then reset your default browser settings:
a. Start Internet Explorer.

b. On the "Tools" menu, click "Internet Options."

c. On the "General" tab, click "Delete Cookies," and then click "OK."

d. On the "General" tab, click "Delete Files," make sure that the "Delete all offline content" check box is selected, and then click "OK."
Note: Depending on the number of files that you have in this folder this process may take several minutes to finish.

e. On the "Advanced" tab, click "Restore Defaults."

f. On the "Security" tab, click the "Trusted sites" icon.

g. Click "Sites," and then clear the "Require server verification" check box.

h. In the text box, type *.hotmail.com, and then click "Add."

i. Repeat step h for *.passport.com and for *.msn.com.

j. Click "OK."

k. Click "Default Level" to make sure that the security setting for Trusted sites is set to the default level. Do the same for the Internet zone and the Restricted sites zone.

l. Note: If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or an earlier version, skip this step.
On the "Privacy" tab, click "Sites." In the empty text box, type hotmail.com, and then click "Allow." Do the same for passport.com and msn.com, and then click "OK." Click "Default" to make sure that the privacy settings are set to the default level.

2. If you are running any firewall software, we suggest that you add the following domains to the safe list of your respective Internet filtering software:
- hotmail.com
- msn.com
- passport.com

If you are not sure how to do this, contact the manufacturer of the Internet filtering software that you are using for detailed instructions. If you are using the Microsoft Windows Internet Connection Firewall, you can find instructions about how to use it in the following article:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;875356

Warning: This workaround may make your computer or your network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

3. If you have anti-spyware or antivirus software installed, scan your computer for spyware and viruses that may be interfering with your ability to check your mail. If you do not have any antivirus or antispyware software, we provide these programs free of charge. However, there is no technical support that is associated with these programs. You use these programs at your own risk.

- Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware Beta
http://www.microsoftcom/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=321cd7a2-6a57-4c57-a8bd-dbf62eda9671&displaylang=en

- Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?amp;displaylang=en&familyid=ad724ae0-e72d-4f54-9ab3-75b8eb148356&displaylang=en

4. Install the latest version of your Internet browser. If you are using Internet Explorer, download the most current version. To do this, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/critical/ie6sp1/default.mspx

If you need to contact the Windows Live Support Team regarding the same issue please mention that in the comments portion of the support request about the draft sending. This will enable us to review other support options that can resolve the issue you are having.

We would appreciate it if you take a moment to send our Product Team feedback regarding Windows Live Mail, and Windows Live Support Beta. We value any ideas, or suggestions you may have that can help us improve our product or services. Thanks for your participation!

All feedback can be sent to http://feedback.live.com.
Click the product you would like to leave feedback about and submit the form.

Thank you for contacting Windows Live Support Beta.

Sincerely, Eugenia
Windows Live Support.

Very helpful. So basically it looks like either their support staff didn't read the email or can't even read English (fairly likely) and just copy/pasted their typical response OR their support responses are automated (most likely), and thus, totally worthless. Thanks a lot jerks. I guess I can't complain too much considering Hotmail is a free service, but hey, I can't resist a good Microsoft bashing. I love the Xbox though, so I guess they don't completely suck (though many would disagree).

On the plus side, I figured out what was causing the error a few minutes after sending that email. It turns out that because I had adblocked the ad iframes in Hotmail, some code wasn't running that Hotmail needed, which triggered a few Javascript errors. Unblocking the ads fixed it, although now I have the stupid ads all over. It kinda sucks, but I switched Hotmail back to Japanese so at least now I get cool Japanese ads.

************************************
UPDATE:

bwahaha, I just signed in to Hotmail and I get this message:

Whoops!

You may have noticed that some of the new features in Windows Live Mail Beta have gone missing!

Well, you’re right. We hit a couple of bumps with our most recent release, but we’re working hard to bring back the great new features.

In the meantime, we’ve restored the service to the prior release so that you can keep using Windows Live Mail Beta.

For all you Firefox users out there, this means that you’re getting our Classic Hotmail experience again. Don’t worry – we’ll get your new Windows Live experience working as soon as we can!

This is all new stuff we’re doing so we appreciate your patience while we work the kinks out.

Good job guys.