About three weeks ago I logged on to Hotmail and ended up with an "OUTLOOK" Display. I could see my emails but could not open, send or make the help functions work.  I "could not" open help to request help. I was using IE8. A forum member suggested using Firefox which works.  I access all others Internet Stuff via IE8 and would like to continue doing so. I have seen comments about some type of upgrade/move to Outlook and can not seem to make my account work.  I have a secondary hotmail account that does not. at the present time, have the same problem.  I have a lot of folders in my primary email which I can not access via IE8. I have read of many other users experiencing the same problem and am wondering if it is going to be fixed.
Automatic address for hotmail.co.uk doesn't work with IE8. When replying to an email, the sender's address doesn't automatically appear.  Further, when starting a new message and typing in the addressee, nothing happens but a rotating green circle of dots appears.  This has only happened in the last month or so.  Have the security settings in IE8 changed?  How can I get back to what it was before?

There is no such problem when using Firefox.

Any helpful suggestions gratefully received.