You're a rock star. ^

Bookmarked for tinkering later.

I was really looking forward to doing this, so I checked out the link. Here's an extract:

Step #2: On the next screen, you’ll be provided with a list of custom DNS records that you will have to add to your domain. The following two records are essential:

MX record for handling your mail traffic
It usually reads like abc.pamx1.hotmail.com
SPF record to authenticate your outgoing Outlook emails
It has a fixed value v=spf1 include:hotmail.com ~all
Related reading: Prevents your emails from getting marked as spam

Step #3: While you are on your domain registrar’s page add these custom DNS records for Outlook, create an additional CNAME record if you wish to access the Outlook.com website as a sub-domain of your main website.

For instance, if your website is yourdomain.com, you can setup a CNAME record called “mail” and you will then be access to access Outlook.com from mail.yourdomain.com. The value of the CNAME record should be set as “go.domains.live.com.” (no quotes but period at the end).

BUT but but...what the #*!+ does Step 2 MEAN? What is an MX and an SPF record? Where do I find out what they should be for my purpose? "It usually reads like ....."; what help is that?

This is not "easy", at least not for me, it's techno-babble for techno literates. Might as well be calculus. Anyone got the instructions for dummies? :confused:

First two questions...

1. Who hosts your domain name?
2. Do you host a website with said-domain name? If so, who with?

The MX record indicates what server handles incoming mail for your domain.

The SPF record indicates which servers are allowed to send outgoing email for your domain. The internet is designed so that someone can start up a mail server, say, somewhere in Uganda, and start sending emails out from RobCH.com. The SPF record says "No, emails from RobCH.com that are originating from Uganda are not legitimate" (i.e. they will be treated as spam).

Thanks for the interest.
123-reg.co.uk
No, domain name only used for emails. Currently just forwards incoming to my hotmail inbox.

There's no reason you couldn't just forward them to outlook.com (or just access your hotmail box through outlook.com)

While I'm not familiar with 123-reg.co.uk, for most domain providers offer you an administrative panel where you can change those settings. It's not for the faint of heart, and you should make careful note of what they are before you change them.

Each provider has a different way of doing it, the easiest way to figure it out is to search for mx record in their knowledgebase, they probably have a page explaining how to get to those settings.

Perhaps calling their tech support people is another option? They may be able to walk you through the process.

I used Godaddy for my custom domain for hotmail, and in the help section I seem to recall they had step by step instructions on how to configure your domain including the MX and SPF settings. I suspect you can find similar instructions for your domain registrar - I'd do a Google/Bing/Yahoo search for it.

Thanks again all. I have done as cordelli suggests and simply changed the forwarding arrangements from hotmail to outlook. It all works, even if it's not as clean as it could be.

I still think that GMAIL is best and with gmail hacks that you can use for earning bonus miles and points...its hard to beat...just IMHO

#2 isn't true. While they list that as their preferred method, I followed their instructions to get it set up with our own DNS service.

For #1, $4 per month per user, including a cloud based Blackberry Enterprise Server equivalent and 25gb of storage seems like a decent price compared to other hosted exchange solutions.

Did you change your Hotmail address to an Outlook.com address?
 

Has anyone signed up and switched over their Hotmail address to a Outlook.com email address? Is there any known benefit to doing so?

I couldn't see a benefit. Right now the user interface is identical.

Did create an Outlook.com address, as I was able to grab a name I liked that was available. But for now it is just one of ten email accounts I have floating around.

This previous thread may help

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...e-changer.html

I went to the new interface the day it was announced and love it, and grabbed a few outlook.com addresses before they were taken.

People either like it or they hate the new look and features, there are some changes that are listed and argued in the other thread