MSN Hotmail - Meet the First Free Web-Based Email Service

When Sabeer Bhatia heard, in a few words, about the idea from Jack Smith, his coworker, on a cell phone, he urged him to hang up immediately --- and call later on a secure line to make sure nobody overheard them. The idea inspired Bhatia, it kept him awake all night, it forced itself into a business plan.
The idea, of course, was free web-based email. Jack Smith and Sabeer Bhatia had it in 1995, and Hotmail (then HoTMaiL), the first free email service launched in June 1996.
Today, Hotmail, long in Microsoft's hands, is still one of the biggest, though arguable not currently best, free email services. Here's what it has to offer:
›› MSN Hotmail comes with solid security features and a straight forward, easy to use yet quite powerful interface.