Safari 4 beta still not playing nice with Hotmail
Since Apple released Safari 4 beta to bleeding-edge users, many have reported not being able to properly access functions of Hotmail, Microsoft's flagship online e-mail service. Reported issues include not being able to log in to accounts, not being able
I logged in to my Hotmail account to see if my build of Safari 4 beta had similar issues. I was able to access my account and Hotmail took me to my inbox. However, from that point I was rendered essentially useless. I could not view any messages or folders nor could I create a new message. However, I could access "Related places" such as "Today" and "Contact List." When I clicked the "Calendar" option, I got this message from Microsoft that said: "Windows Live is designed for you, but maybe not for your browser"
The error message continues:
"This website works best when viewed using Windows Internet Explorer 6 or later, Safari 3.0 or later, or Mozilla Firefox 2.0 or later."However, this is the odd part:
"To get the most out of Windows Live, upgrade to the latest version of:These are links to the download pages for each of these browsers. The interesting thing here is that the link for Safari takes you to Apple's Safari 4 beta download page--a browser that Windows Live has determined does not work for some of their services.
Windows Internet Explorer
Safari
Mozilla Firefox"
Possible work-arounds
Nonetheless, there are some work-arounds to access your Hotmail account.
1. Use Firefox. Accessing my account with Firefox version 3.0.8 worked like a charm. I was able to read and delete all my spam that had filtered into my account over the years as well as access folders, "Today", "Contact List", and "Calendar" (although it was temporarily unavailable at the time of testing).
2. Activate User Agent. In the "Advanced" tab of Safari 4 beta's Preferences window, check the box for "Show Develop menu in menu bar." Click on Develop, User Agent, Firefox 3.0.5 - Mac. This will reopen your current page under the guise of Firefox. All functions of the Hotmail inbox seem to work as intended.
As a side note: I tried the User Agent for Internet Explorer 8.0 beta and Safari 4 Public Beta - Windows. Both were unsuccessful with Hotmail.
For now, the issues with using Hotmail inside Safari 4 beta seem to be Hotmail's. However, as they adopt the most current WebKit standards and Safari 4 comes out of beta, we expect it to work properly.
Resources
Apple Support Discussions forum thread describing issues with Safari 4 beta and Hotmail.
Download Firefox 3.0.8.
Experiencing problems? Have feedback? Let us know!
Resources