Just Installed Good Old Windows Live Essentials 2009 (Wave 3) Back

Microsoft has released the much awaited Windows Live Essentials 2012 (wave 5) suite and the version number has been increased to 16.0. It contains lots of new features and enhancements like ribbons, new social networking websites integration, etc.

[Software Update] Windows Live Essentials 2012 (Wave 5) Now Available for Download

I was using the good old Windows Live Mail 2009 (Wave 3, version 14.0) since long time which is the best desktop email client for Windows in my opinion and recently I upgraded it to the new Windows Live Mail 2012 (Wave 5). But after using the new version, I’m not liking it at all. Why? The reasons are given in this article.

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I’m going to compare the classic Windows Live Mail 2009 version with the new Windows Live Mail 2011/2012 versions. I’ll try to list the annoyances which are present in the new versions and which need to be fixed:

1. First the ribbon thing uses a lot of valuable space and to be honest an email client doesn’t even need ribbons. We just need a few simple buttons on toolbar like Reply, forward, spam, attachment, delete, etc.

So I minimized the ribbon and put the Quick Access Toolbar below the ribbon to use it like a standard toolbar. But for my wonder, it doesn’t provide very basic buttons like Reply all, Forward, Junk, Mark as read, etc. That’s really irritating. There must be option to add more buttons like the mentioned ones.

So whenever I want to forward or mark an email as junk, I need to maximize the ribbon again and click on desired button. Of course I can use keyboard shortcuts but that’s another thing.

The command bar in 2009 version was excellent and easy to use.

2. Only God knows why Microsoft increased the font size of Messages list which shows message title and sender name in the middle section.

Windows Live Mail 2011/2012 (Wave 4/5):

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Windows Live Mail 2009 (Wave 3):

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It uses more space now and doesn’t show as much details as it used to show in previous version. The most annoying thing is that you can’t decrease the size. There is no such option available to change the text size. The smaller text size in version 2009 was much better.

Of course I can select One-line view but I don’t like it and I’m used to the two-line view.

3. Also there is a bug in Signature feature. Many times it adds 2-3 extra lines between email content and signature and we need to manually delete those extra annoying lines.

4. And the new animations are too much annoying. Whenever you switch between emails or accounts, the emails are displayed with a new animation which makes the whole program slower. Unfortunately Microsoft didn’t provide any option to disable these animations. Version 2009 was clean, simple and faster.

So guys! I’m back on the good old Windows Live Mail 2009 (Wave 3) version until either Microsoft releases an update to fix the above issues or someone releases a tool to fix them.

PS: If you also want to get the old Windows Live Mail 2009 or other programs of Windows Live Essentials 2009 suite back, you can download the full pack from following link. Fortunately the Wave 3 offline standalone installer is still available at Microsoft download server. Since its an offline installer, it contains full setup packages of all Windows Live Essentials 2009 programs such as Mail, Writer, Messenger, Photo Gallery, etc. You’ll not need any Internet connection at the time of installation. You can get the installer from following link and then install your desired programs:

Download Windows Live Essentials 2009 (Wave 3) (Version 14.0) Offline Installer

Although it was released for Windows XP but it also works absolutely fine in later operating systems.

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Published in: Mobiles and Internet, Software

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. Hate Windows Live Mail, loved my old Outlook Express, it was simple and worked. Soon the square wheel will come out, so there can be numerous fixes to make it round again

  2. I just had to switch to Win 8.1 from XP service PAC 3 my old standby PC committed suicide just days after MS cut the cord. When I went to install my Outlook 2003 I got a box that said the term of the license ad expired and every time I go to use it this box pops up telling me I got one less use of it before it goes terminal. I am looking for a good alternative to replace it. I hate the so called stylish functional ribbon in Outlook 2013. I have T-Bird that I have been using as a backup but it skips including attachments randomly.

    At 73 I don’t want to learn any more MS software then necessary so suggestions are solicited!

  3. Dear Vg, the link is not valid anymore. They have removed the file from the server. 🙁 I am a totally blind person using JAWS for Windows and really want to try this version of Windows Live. Is there any other link that you might know? Thank you very much in advance VG. –Arie from Indonesia–

  4. Using windows live mail 2009.

    When you type 2(b) the (b) changes to a beer class. Where can I change the setting

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