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Topic: Collaboration

Microsoft's Outlook.com calendar gets Metro-ized

Summary: Microsoft has revamped its Hotmail calendar and turned it into a Metro-ized Outlook.com one.

Mary Jo Foley

By for All About Microsoft |

Microsoft is finally applying the Metro look and feel to its Web-based calendar.

outlookmetro

On April 2, Microsoft officials revealed that the new Outlook.com calendar is rolling out now and will be available around the world this week at https://calendar.live.com/.

More from today's blog post about the calendar refresh:

"Outlook.com uses Exchange ActiveSync to sync your mail, calendar, and address book on your smartphone, tablet, in the new Outlook 2013 and with the Mail, Calendar and People apps on your new PC or tablet running Windows 8. You can also use the Outlook connector to integrate your calendar with previous versions of the Outlook desktop software. Connecting your calendar to your mobile device is easy."

Microsoft officials hinted last summer than the calendar refresh was coming shortly after the new Outlook.com Web mail service was announced, which was July 31, 2012. But up until today, officials have declined to say when users could expect the updated Calendar.

Because I get this question often from Hotmail users who are in the midst of moving to (or being moved by Microsoft to) Outlook.com, I'd like to point out the way to see your Calendar in Outlook.com is to click on the downward arrow next to the Outlook logo (upper left). By doing so, users will find their contacts (now known as People), Calendar and Skydrive cloud-storage options.

Update: One feature some were expecting, but that seemingly didn't make it into this calendar update is Skype integration. Supposedly that is still coming, but it's yet another one of those things for which we don't have an official date target.

 

Topics: Collaboration, Microsoft

About

Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

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32 comments
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  • Boy is that Ugly.

    Maybe they'll all be flashing as well......how terrific that would be.......NT
    Over and Out
    Reply 4 Votes

    • You work so hard at it

      but still fail no matter what.

      I have to admit, you're the most frightened person here in reference to anything MS related.

      Grow a backbone and move on.
      William Farrel
      Reply 8 Votes

      • William Farrel you were supposed to get back to me with the latest

        Sales figures for Surface RT........what happened?.....I guess sales are so slow slow that you didn't anything to report.......asked the same thing of old Owllll1net, but he had nothing to report either.

        Best Buy will be closing out their Surface RT any minute now unless Microsoft gives them plenty of advanced mark up money to keep them in stock for awhile.
        Over and Out
        Reply 2 Votes

        • Best Buy tablet best sellers

          According the Best Buy's best sellers list of tablets, the Surface RT is at #15 out of 275 tablets.
          James_SB
          Reply 5 Votes

    • Thats your reflection.

      You and CB7 must be best pals.
      Owllll1net
      Reply 4 Votes

      • 30 different shades of lipstick

        I hope you have 30 different pigs to go with that

        lol...
        CaviarGreen
        Reply 1 Vote

    • What's wrong with it?

      Compared to much of the Metro interface it's actually not as busy or loud. Perhaps you are frightened of change?
      NonFanboy
      Reply 1 Vote

    • Subjective opinion...

      Not everyone thinks it's ugly. I think it looks MUCH better than before. Of course, you probably hate Windows 8, too. If so, that pretty much tells me everything I need to know.
      ScubaDog
      Reply Vote

  • Microsoft's Outlook.com calendar gets Metro-ized

    Looks nice, easier on the eyes. Fits along with my Microsoft Windows 8 metro theme quite nicely. Microsoft is reinventing their style.
    Loverock-Davidson
    Reply 1 Vote

  • Really...

    Billions in R&D, years of development, their very best minds on the product... and the very BEST they can come up with for the new wave of systems is... it really doesn't suck THAT bad!

    Only for Microsoft would "journalists" find that totally acceptable...
    beaner1111@...
    Reply 1 Vote

    • We'll need a link for that claim

      "Billions in R&D, years of development"

      You surely have a link supporting your claim that MS spent billions of dollars and years of work updating the Outlook.com calendar, right?

      You don't?

      Oh.
      toddbottom3
      Reply 4 Votes

      • MS

        Spent 9.8 billion on total R&D in 2012 and the initial marketing budget for Win 8 was widely reported to be in excess of 1 billion dollars. While the article focused on Outlook's calendar upgrades, I took beaners comment to mean that the new version doesn't reflect the kind of product you expect from a company that is spending billions on overall R&D and marketing. I use Outlook everyday. Most business people do. The Metro GUI has been widely panned and in my opinion deservedly so. The posted screenshot looks like something only Loverock Davidson would appreciate.
        krossbow
        Reply 1 Vote

        • personal opinion

          Its actually superb, I love the look of it.
          And that's the thing with aesthetics, its a personal opinion - not fact as you would have it.
          A very small minority of whiners like you don't like it (which you are entitled to) but then claim everyone else does "widely panned". That's classic trolling.
          When used with a touch device Metro (and in fact much of MSs product websites) are super usable. Phones, tablets all look and play really well on Metro. I should know, I've been using this stuff on an MS Surface tablet for months.
          Its a little under powered for me, and I need that full Outlook. So I am swapping it out for an HP Envy this week. But pls, don't assume that Metro is bad because you don't like how it looks, cos it loads super fast and works really well with touch. For once, MS are riding the curve rather than being years behind. I am really enjoying using their new software which I haven't felt like for a long time (I've even switched away from all my Mac stuff). So there :-P
          hwangeruk@...
          Reply Vote

  • more Metro

    Just what I need, more Metro. Loud colors, wall to wall, not much for display options.
    Please tell me this thing is not going to eat my entire display with no way to over-ride it.

    I don't mind on a 7" tablet, but on the wide display at home this crap gets in the way of getting the work done.
    lars626
    Reply 1 Vote

    • be wise

      and change the view to week/ month and you'll have more information. put a bit of effort to try the product before giving a stupid opinion
      dugbug11
      Reply 2 Votes

    • Wow

      You don't know how to resize a browser window?

      Wow...who lets you near a computer?
      allusernamestaken
      Reply 1 Vote

  • Outlook.com Calendar; a few questions.

    I use the Calendar feature in the Windows Outlook Program on my Office 2010 suite running on Windows 7.
    I have a few questions about this newest amazing feature being foisted upon the world by the Mickey Soft (in the head) club.
    How does this thing synchronize with what is originating from the Windows Outlook Calendar?
    Will there be a means to sync the whole mess with the Windows Phone8 calendar app?
    If so when?
    And the same goes for People (which is now OK since the supreme court declared businesses as people.) and others I have in my address book.

    Interesting that they are still using Live as an address when that was supposed to have been eliminated over a year ago. Is Live really another name for Sky Drive? And, is the SkyDrive calendar also the Hotmail soon to be Outlook .com Calendar? How does Exchange.com Calendar fit into this whole picture?

    Am I confusing you? Well, I'm in that club. The proliferation of Microsoft calendars by several different entities and names is really a bit confusing.
    It seems that Microsoft is getting a bit dysfunctional. Or did I miss a memo somewhere?
    320vu50@...
    Reply Vote

    • please break it

      into multiple comments..i lost interest in reading after first two lines
      dugbug11
      Reply 1 Vote

    • Yes there is an

      add-on that the outlook desktop app will install when you add an outlook.com, Hotmail, or live address. You can then sync you calendar with the outlook.com calendar, the windows 8/RT calendar, and the calendar in wp8. Essentially making them all the same calendar that you can access whatever way you prefer.
      Sam Wagner
      Reply 1 Vote

      • In fact ...

        ... since Outlook.com uses EAS to sync, you shouldn't need the Hotmail adapter any longer.
        bitcrazed
        Reply 1 Vote
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