Is Windows Live Mail Still Available?

Microsoft will end back up for the Windows Essentials 2012 suite on January x, 2017. If yous use any of the suite'due south component apps—Movie Maker, Photo Gallery, OneDrive, Family Safety, Mail, or Live Writer—here'southward what you demand to know.

Windows Essentials 2012 has been a pop suite of apps since its release, and a surprising number of people however use some of those component apps today. On January 10, 2017, Microsoft will end official support for the suite. You'll even so be able to use it, of class, but the apps will no longer receive updates of any kind, including security updates. You too won't be able to download the installer software anymore, either. If you notwithstanding use Windows Essentials 2012, read on to find out what the end of official back up means to you and where you lot can look for alternatives.

You Can Continue Using Windows Essentials 2012

Official support for Windows Essentials 2012 volition terminate, but that doesn't mean you take to quit using information technology. If you've already got it installed, you can keep on using it just like you always have. Just be aware that in that location will be no future updates, including security updates. For users of Windows Live Mail, having no security updates will thing the most. For the other apps in the suite, it's less important.

Microsoft no longer offers the installer for Windows Essentials 2012 for download. There are copies of it floating effectually the spider web, but we generally don't recommend installing from third-party sources you don't know or trust, and so nosotros won't link to them here. Y'all're probably better off with ane of the beneath alternatives anyway.

Yous Don't Need to Replace Family Safety and OneDrive

And so what if you want to supercede Windows Essentials apps with modern equivalents? We'll showtime with the easy stuff: All the features of the Family unit Safety app and OneDrive have been built into Windows eight and x, so if you lot apply either of those, you're good to go. In fact, if you are using either of those, yous won't even get the option to install the Family Safe app along with the suite.

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If you're using Windows 7, there are Parental Controls built in. They're not quite as fully featured as those that the Family Safety app offered, but they should do nearly of what you need.

OneDrive is likewise now built into Windows eight and x. If you're using Windows 7, yous will demand to download the OneDrive app, but it's all new since the one offered in Windows Essentials 2012 and information technology's continually updated.

The Best Alternatives to Windows Live Mail service

Windows Alive Mail service is probably the nearly important component of Windows Essentials 2012 for yous to replace. Though y'all can still keep using it if you want to, nosotros don't recommend it. Having new security updates available is pretty of import in an email client.

To exist fair, most people these days accept switched over to using a web-based email service like Gmail or Outlook.com. And those are probably your best bet in terms of continually updated features, spam protection, and increased security. If you favor a desktop client, the Windows Mail app built into Windows viii and 10 is really a pretty solid option if you don't need extra features like rules-based sorting.

If yous already ain a copy of Microsoft Part that includes Outlook, you lot should explore that selection. It may have more features than y'all need out of an email client, merely aesthetically it still feels very much like Windows Live Mail.

And if you want to check out third party options, nosotros recommend taking a look at eM Client, Mailbird, and Thunderbird. All iii are free—or have free versions—and have been around long enough to develop total feature sets.

The All-time Alternatives to Windows Photo Gallery

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Photo Gallery has long been a favorite for organizing, viewing, and editing photos. Though it will not get any more than feature updates, yous can go along using the version from Windows Essentials 2012 considering security updates won't matter much in your image viewer.

If you're hankering for something a little more than modern, the Photos app congenital into Windows eight and ten is not a bad choice. It offers features for viewing, organizing, and performing mild edits to your photos. For a bit more power and easy sharing ability, you lot might also want to check out online offerings like Google Photos, Prime Photos (for Amazon Prime number users), and Flickr. All three offer loads of online storage, automatic and manual organizational tools, and various degrees of image editing features.

The Best Alternatives to Windows Movie Maker

Motion-picture show Maker is an odd beast. A version of it that was exceedingly pop was included with Windows XP and Vista. When Windows vii came along, Microsoft separated the app from the OS and released a new version every bit part of the Windows Essentials suite. While the new version wasn't quite as powerful, it still offered a slap-up residue between power and ease of use that a lot of people nevertheless appreciate today.

The good news is that the electric current version available in Windows Essentials 2012 all the same works merely fine in Windows 7, 8, and 10. The app hadn't really been updated in years anyway, so the finish of support likely won't matter much to everyone. The possibly fifty-fifty improve news is that Microsoft plans to release a new version of Movie Maker to the Windows Store sometime in the near time to come. Nosotros're guessing that the new version volition be limited to Windows 10 users, only beyond that we don't actually accept any details on the features or timing of the release.

In the meantime, if yous're looking for something a little more modern than the electric current version of Motion-picture show Maker and don't desire to wait for the new version, we recommend Ezvid. It's free and, similar Flick Maker, it strikes a expert rest betwixt ease of utilize and features. If y'all're ready to movement onto something more advanced—but still costless—DaVinci Resolve is fantastic for the depression cost of $0.

The Best Alternatives to Windows Live Writer

Live Author is one of those apps that you either love…or have never heard of. It's a blog publishing app that offers a pleasant and feature-filled interface. It features WYSIWYG editing and links up to multiple blogging platforms, including WordPress, Blogger, LiveJournal, and many more. You lot can also switch around easily if you piece of work on multiple blogs.

The good news here is that in 2015, Microsoft released an open up source fork of Live Writer nether the proper name Open Live Writer, which you tin can download and use for gratis from the Open up Live Writer site or the Windows Store. Just similar Live Writer, Open Live Writer works with a number of pop blogging platforms, including WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, Moveable Blazon, and DasBlog. Information technology's existence actively adult and new features are released regularly.

With the right alternatives in place, you won't mourn the death of Live Essentials—in fact, you'll probably exist using something improve.