For the globe icon, you don't need it at all. It work, so don't wory about it. Windows 7 or 8 no longer show that globe icon.
For hotmail.
Try another browser like Chrome, Firefox or Opera. All are beter and faster than IE.
Hotmail have been replaced by Windows.live. Try connecting to login.live.com instead.
If you use outlook to access your e-mail, you should get a way beter e-mail client like Eudora, Thunhderbird, Pegasus, or do a search for "e-mail client" to find other alternatives.
Electro
May 2013