more space for hotmail

i don't use my hotmail account very often. in the past it was because of the incredible amount of spam but microsoft has done a decent job of fighting spammers, so that's less of an issue these days. the reason i haven't used my hotmail account recently is a lack of space- only 2 megabytes for people who signed up to hotmail years ago like i did.

the relatively paltry 2mb (in comparison with other services, like gmail) means my mailbox is constantly full, not with my mail but with incoming 'junk' mail that is quarantined by hotmail. this junk mail is mail that the system isn't sure is spam, so hotmail gives users a chance to review it before deleting. there is always enough junk mail to almost fill the 2mb- if i delete it more quickly arrives, so i'm always having to clear the junk mail folder.

i heard about hotmail giving new sign-ups 250 megabytes in an attempt to compete with gmail's 1 gigabyte. no such luck for many existing users, though.

today, i found that there is a way to increase one's space from 2mb to 250mb if one does the following:
- from hotmail select 'options' then 'my profile' and change your location to be in america, using a valid zip code
- exit hotmail and go to passport services
- select 'close my .net passport account' and follow the various steps (including the button 'contact hotmail') to close your account. although it says one's mail will be deleted, don't worry- so long as you activate your re-account it'll still be there
- follow the link to re-activate your account. can also be done by simply signing into hotmail

you should instantly have 25 megabytes worth of space, which supposedly will increase to 250 megabytes in a few weeks.

it's a bit of a pain to go through (especially as msn tends to be very slow in asia) but worth not having to constantly clear one's junk mail folder.