Test Results for Post Office Protocol (POP) Support in Patchou's MSN Messenger Plus! 2.0
I have tested this on Windows Messenger 4.7, Plus! 2.0 which runs along with Messenger and always runs in the background, the automatic checking of up to 4 POP email accounts in background (without running the pop mailer) would always let you know about the email status of not just the hotmail or MSN, but up to another 4 POP email accounts. Sounds great, isn't? But is it really worth?
POP email account, every internet user get at least one POP email account by the ISP, if he changes the ISP the POP email changes, this is the main reason people turn to hotmail or yahoo. You either purchase the POP email account, or you get POP account along with your web host. There are hardly any free POP accounts which can be stable (if you change your ISP or web hosting), I know of one service that is free, but with limited support.
www.hotpop.com
Hotmail until the release of MSN 8 supported checking of POP accounts via hotmail that allowed you to download all the POP account emails to hotmail so that you can check your POP accounts on the move.
It’s really nice, that Plus! can check up to POP accounts, but how many of us have proper and regular POP accounts? And how many of us have multiple Passports? My point is, Plus! should have supported checking of multiple .NET passport account email rather than POPs. But it’s great that it supports POP for those who use POP.
I have tested Plus! with two POP accounts and one my regular .NET Passport.
1. Hotmail
2. My ISP POP Account
3. Free POP Account from
www.hotpop.com
There are two unread emails in my Hotmail account, there are three unread/undownloaded emails in my ISP POP account, and there is one unread/undownloaded email in hotpop POP account.
Now what Plus! shows us?
Time 10:21: 2 new e-mail message.
Time 10:23: 1 new e-mail message.
Time 10:25: 3 new e-mail message.
Time 10:27: 3 new e-mail message.
Time 10:29: 1 new e-mail message.
Time 10:31: 3 new e-mail message.
Time 10:33: 2 new e-mail message.
Now you see that you have 2 new e-mail messages, you click on it, you go to hotmail email account, you check both, then sign-out, looks at the messenger.
3 new e-mail message.
You again click on it, it takes you to your hotmail email account where you can't find any new email messages, you get confused, and you again look at the messenger
1 new e-mail message.
You get more confused, you again click on it, and it takes you to hotmail email account again... no new emails...
You say, there is a bug in Plus! coz you have installed Plus! new version, until you remember that you also have used Plus! to check your POP emails.
Now suppose I use Outlook Express for ISP emails and Microsoft Outlook (MS-Office package) for hotpop.
Now suppose I don't have any new email on my ISP POP email account and 1 new email on my hotpop email account. Which should I open? Outlook Express or Microsoft Outlook, you check both.
Now is the POP email account supported by Plus! really worth?
What is the solution, my idea of this could be simpler,
1. The new email notification area in the messenger should show the total unread emails (hotmail and POP) like XP shows on login page (total POP unread emails, both in your Outlook Express and Microsoft Outlook or any other).
2. It shouldn't not take us to the hotmail web site but to a dialog box which shows the details of the new messages in each account, and in which the hotmail details will point to the hotmail email.
3. Advance user configuration for POP email accounts, where I can tell Plus! to take me to Outlook Express if I have any new email in the POP account that I use for Outlook Express (Which I would of course configure before)
well unfortunately for you "No", go ahead and find one, would do anything if you succeed 
