I’d say No. Yes, that was my answer when I first created a Hotmail account 10 years ago and it is the same now. It’s been around half a year since we are hearing about the Live Wave 4. There has been a lot of talk all around the internet and Microsoft did roll out some videos featuring the Wave 4 – the revamped Windows Live Essentials suite and Hotmail. But is it really worth the wait? Especially when we have better options already at our disposal?

To be very frank, when I first saw the official video of the Hotmail Wave 4 featurette, it urged me to at least check what’s in store for me. But all I have been seeing since months are the never ending screenshots of the Wave 4 on sites like LiveSino and random posts on Microsoft blogs about the upcoming features without getting the real taste of it. Now that the Hotmail Wave 4 is said to have been rolled out a couple of days ago, it’s pathetic to see no one (at least I don’t know of anyone) actually getting the update. Is it so hard for a giant like Microsoft to deal with any kind of difficulty whatsoever, to roll the update simultaneously for all users?

I have never been a ‘Live’ fan. The interface and the navigation of the whole ‘Live Services’ arena is very mediocre and that’s just me using a euphemism for downright horrible. Ah.. and not to mention the occasional requests from strangers to join your network. I hoped the Wave 4 update will be able to atleast rectify the glitches, let alone new features, but looking at the delay being caused just to slip out an update, I seriously doubt the level of efficiency of Microsoft.

What are your views about Live Hotmail Wave 4? Is it really worth the wait? Will it be efficient enough to compete with the security and swiftness of Gmail?