[Arkcon]

Are you blocking some cookies that Microsoft wants you to allow? Or have you set the browser to verify every switch from unsecured to secure to unsecured pages? I do, and Hotmail used to balk at it once, or maybe twice, before it let me through. Microslime's products and services are designed with morons in mind apparently, any sign of free will and forethought boggles them. I'm getting some more pauses as I log in today, but nothing keeping me from connecting. I'll check my cookie list for new additions.

[EDIT]
Nothing new, just the same cookies there always were:
hotmail.msn.com
login.passport.net
loginnet.passport.com
msn.com
passport.com
I have thise set to session only in Firefox, and Hotmail works fine. Funny, I block or end of session expire practically all cookies these days. The only ones I leave the Shrapnel cookies and PBW.