Microsoft updates Windows 8 Mail, Calendar, and People apps

The Windows 8 Mail app now lets you create folders to store your messages.

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)

Microsoft hath giveth and taketh away with the latest updates to its Windows 8 and RT Mail, Calendar, and People apps.

The three core apps, which are bundled as one single app, received some long overdue tweaks last night that make them a bit more user-friendly. But along with those improvements come one negative - the Calendar app will no longer sync with Google Calendar appointments.

The Mail app now offers full folder management. You can create, rename, and delete folders and subfolders to better organize your e-mail.

Managing individual messages is also much easier. You can select multiple e-mails to delete, move, or print them. You can flag a message as important, mark it as unread, or banish it to the spam folder. A dedicated print button in the Mail app quickly opens the Print panel, so you don't have to manually navigate to the Print button on the Charms bar.

On the plus side, you can still access your Gmail account and contacts in the Mail app, though you'll need to resync your account after updating the app.

The Calendar app is now easier on the... [Read more]