Hotmail troubles
Also, as of Thursday, Microsoft reported on its support site that some Mac users attempting to send or retrieve mail from an MSN Hotmail account or to configure a new account may find that their Hotmail folders have disappeared or are not displayed. In offering a workaround, the company said that the behavior stems from a security update to Hotmail servers that disabled client programs' ability to access or send mail.
A spokesperson for Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit said that a fix was in the works and that the problem affected no other e-mail clients.
As the browser lockout entered its second day, accusations and counteraccusations of software incompatibilities and hardball exclusionary tactics began to fly.
Microsoft on Thursday contended that the upgraded MSN site uses World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards and that browsers that don't conform to the standards are being blocked out.
"We supported the latest W3C standards when developing the content and services delivered from MSN," Bob Visse, the director of MSN marketing, said in an e-mail Friday. He added that Microsoft wants users to visit the Web site "regardless of the browser they choose."
But Visse recommended that for the best experience with MSN, customers should use a browser that tightly adheres to the W3C standard.
"If customers choose to use a browser that does not tightly support W3C standards, then they may encounter a less then optimal experience on MSN," he said.
On Thursday, he had said that the company expected to have MSN.com fully accessible to the browsers later in the day