Date: 08/02/2012
Virginia Supporters,
For those of you that currently have a Hotmail email address you need to be aware that Outlook has acquired them.
Microsoft Reinvents Hotmail as Outlook
http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/31/technology/hotmail-outlook-overhaul/
From the numerous articles we’ve read through it sounds like you might be able to keep your current address or you may be given the ability to choose your address at a time that is convenient for you and that is extremely important. Other email service providers have changed subscriber’s addresses with no notice in the past and here in Virginia that can be a huge issue.
But each article we’ve read is different and it sounds like they haven’t worked out all the details. They haven’t even set a date for the change to occur.
So this is just a heads up. Don’t just delete any e-mail’s you receive from Hotmail or Outlook thinking they are ‘junk’, they may have important instructions for you to follow or dates to know about for an email switch.
At this time it sounds like current users can keep their hotmail address but no new provider is going to retain an old providers name for the long haul.
By Virginia law all registered offenders are mandated to register all email or instant messenger changes within 30 minutes. You must register in-person and as we all know VSP Barracks are only open Mon-Fri 8:30-4PM to accept these changes. Failure to do so would result in a Class 6 Felony charge. Most Virginia citizens live more than 30 minutes from a VSP Barracks, not to mention traffic. Then there is the during business hours issue, many RSO’s are lucky enough to have a job and leaving work to get to a VSP location is not always an option.
This VA requirement is almost an impossible task that we’ve attempted to correct it at both the 2011(HB1628) and 2012(HB416) Virginia General Assemblies, http://www.rsolvirginia.org/news/bulletin-board/posting-454/ and we’ll continue to get this impossible Virginia statute changed at future GA sessions.
So if you have a Hotmail address we strongly suggest you keep an eye on any notices you receive from the company and if you are given an option to change your address you should consider doing so, that way you stay in control of your address and getting it registered instead of a possible mass change weeks or months down the line if Outlook decides to no longer support the hotmail domain at an inopportune time making compliance even more impossible than it normally is.
Thank you for your support.
RSOL of Virginia