But here’s a little-known fact: you can still create a Hotmail email account today, even though the brand itself is long gone.

Those without a Microsoft account can make a Hotmail account in moments, offering access to Outlook email, calendar, contacts and many other functions across Microsoft’s Outlook email platform.

Windows Live Hotmail has a new trick up its sleeve--one that's aimed directly at getting users with e-mail accounts on other services to use it exclusively, even if they keep that address. That ...