Windows 7: Windows Live Essentials

Windows Live Mail has been considerably streamlined since its Vista incarnation: not only can you now sign up to email services such as Gmail without having to enter server addresses, but the whole app looks far more attractive.

A Quick Views mode lets you filter email using predefined criteria, such as "Unread email" and "Unread from contacts". And it’s more secure than before, with phishing alerts built in as an extra line of defence.

Microsoft has also gone back on its decision in Vista to split Mail and Calendar. Both launch in the same window, and there’s more integration: you can now add emails to appointments with a single click, and the "Add contact" option is more obvious.

The Contacts application still launches in a separate window, but it benefits from better integration too, and is now linked directly to your Windows Live contacts. Anyone you add here will be available to Messenger – and vice versa – as well as to Windows Live webmail and Windows Mobile users.