Chances are slim that we will get any detailed information about Windows Live Wave 5 on the upcoming MIX11 conference. Internal documents reveal more than what’s published for the public. Yet.

As Microsoft is pushing toward Cloud Computing for many web services, the next logical step is to bring the richness of Windows applications to the Web. This is why you will be able to run the Windows Live Essentials 2012 (Wave 5) applications directly from the Web.  

Imagine editing videos with Movie Maker, tagging your friends in Photo Gallery, writing blog posts with Writer — from any computer, right inside your Windows Live account.   The Essentials installer will be trimmed down to create some Windows-integrated shortcuts in the Start menu and Quick launch bar (IE9-pinned sites…).  Harrison Hoffman, Product Manager for Windows Live, says:

I would like to see Windows Live continue to work with more web services to build in deep integration, like we’ve done with Active Views in Hotmail or Facebook in Photo Gallery/Movie Maker and Messenger.  That’s the kind of stuff that really shines for me.

The development version of the Windows Live website reveals how the Windows Live team is progressing on making this possible.  This is what Movie Maker looks like in this internal Web currently:

The technique that is used to bring the Essentials applications to the Web is — you guessed it — Microsoft Silverlight.  Silverlight allows to access the host computer’s graphics card, which is essential to edit videos or make possible the effects used in the user interface.  It also grants access to your local disk, so you can edit files from your computer, even while the actual Essentials app is running in the Cloud.

Windows Live Writer is one of the programs currently in the process of being ported to the Web.  John Thornton, Lead Program Manager for Windows Live Writer, says:

Until now, folks had to set up Writer on each and every computer that they use.   In Wave 5, you’ll just need to sign in to your Windows Live account with your web browser and launch any Essentials app you need, for example Writer.  Your blog account and editing settings will already be there — regardless of which computer you are using to launch the app.  We’re currently looking into how to make possible to run plug-ins that extend Writer’s functionality, in the cloud.

Please note that the shown screenshots don’t have any new features included yet.  The development team is still working on implementing the feature set planned for Windows Live Wave 5.

What do you think about this news?

Update: Please remember that this post was published on April 1.

Thereby, we see three major points: Connecting to Social Media got stronger, future-proof steps toward Cloud Computing were made, and connected with these two, the Wave 4 updates for all Windows Live services and Essentials.

Wave 4

The first half of the year was dominated by Wave 4, the fourth development wave of the Windows Live services.

With this update, the Windows Live team focused efficiently on selected products: Messenger, Hotmail and Photo Gallery were much revamped and enhanced, Office Web Apps were developed from scratch.

Social Networking

Since the beginning of this year, Windows Live is active on Facebook and Twitter as well. In the meantime, many thousand fans use the provided offers to inform themselves or exchange Windows Live news.

With this focus, Windows Live reached out to more partners from the social networking sector, e.g. with Facebook and LinkedIn. The intended goal is not to be the best in all sectors, but to offer the best features in Microsoft’s central tasks. Partnerships are a way to shorten your ways on the web and to provide you with existing offers that you already use, now connected with Windows Live.

For instance, Windows Live Messenger 2011 puts the focus more on social networks. Using the new social networking view, you can follow all updates from your favorite services from one central location. In the new Windows Live Hotmail, the one click filter “News from social networks” helps you to remove clutter in your inbox.

Cloud Computing

In Photo Gallery and Movie Maker, it got much easier to share your fresh Photofused images, your slideshows or movies with your friends on social networks. Windows Live Skydrive gives you great flexibility — from numerous devices with Web access, you can upload and backup your data from wherever you are, share them with your friends, send them to collaborate with your colleagues or publish them to the public.

For the new year, Windows Live is again preparing various enhancements and news for you — Happy New Year!

Long awaited, now available: The Windows Live team has released the latest version of its application suite Windows Live Essentials, code-named Wave 4. Essentials extend your Windows computer with photo, video and blog editing and enable you to communicate with your friends.

Essentials 2011 was designed to make full use of the new interface features introduced in Windows 7. For example, task bar jumplists are now supported. All Essentials applications have been updated with the Ribbon interface. And finally, Messenger is getting tabbed conversations.

Chris Jones, Vice president, Windows Live engineering, declares:

I want to offer a special thank you to the millions of people who installed the beta! Our beta users helped us identify and address issues, with over two thousand forum posts and comments. In today’s release, we’ve addressed 95% of all bugs reported by beta users, leading to improvements that you’ll see across the suite.

Windows Live Essentials 2011 includes the following programs:

• Windows Live Photo Gallery
• Windows Live Movie Maker
• Windows Live Mail
• Windows Live Messenger
• Windows Live Family Safety
• Windows Live Mesh
• Windows Live Writer
• Messenger Companion Internet Explorer add-on
• Bing bar

For installing Essentials 2011, your computer should run Windows Vista SP1 or higher.

Free download: Windows Live Essentials 2011 15.4.3538.0513 (48 languages)

Live Mail

Windows Live Mail now handles Gmail’s IMAP folders correctly, so Sent Mail and Trash get handled correctly. I’m sure you have noticed the new start-up splash screen, too.

Live Photo Gallery

The new SkyDrive icon has been integrated, and there are Quick Previews for edit actions.

Live Movie Maker

You can now take snapshots of a still frame in your project and save them as image files. Windows Live’s connection to flickr has been extended from only Photo Gallery in Beta 1 to Movie Maker too. This lets you upload videos from Movie Maker directly to your flickr Account.

Live Writer

Besides the obviously new splash screen, “Writer has significantly improved the quality of its spell-checking,” says Chris Jones, Vice President, Windows Live Engineering.

Update: Writer now also supports emoticons. Was about time, I think… Thanks to @MissDazee for the tip!

Live Messenger

The first thing you will notice is a new sign-in animation for Messenger. The application has been speeded up wherever you look, from the sign-in to interface animations. Furthermore, Messenger video chat now uses 30% less memory resources by delegating some work to your graphics card.

Perhaps the most important news for this Beta refresh is that you’re now able to chat with your Facebook friends directly from Messenger. This applies if you live in either the United States, Great Britain, France, Brazil, Germany or Russia. Chris Jones explains:

Many of you have been asking for Facebook chat, and it’s finally here. More than half of all Messenger customers also use Facebook. With the new Facebook chat integration, you now also have one place to chat with all your friends.

[Connecting Messenger to Facebook Chat] is a significant task. We’re connecting Messenger’s ~300 million customers (who are already connected to Yahoo! Messenger and Office Communicator) to Facebook’s ~500 million customers.

How can I connect Messenger with Facebook Chat?

I will explain you step-by-step in a minute.

Get the Beta refresh

Free download: Windows Live Essentials 2011 (Wave 4) Beta 2

In June, Microsoft is going to release a Public Beta of Windows Live Essentials 2011 (Wave 4). Are you wondering what’s new? Read on.

Windows Live Photo Gallery will add Multitouch support on all devices running Windows 7. Furthermore, you don’t have to import photos and videos manually anymore — Windows 7 Libraries are fully supported.

When you know Office, you will feel comfortable with the user interface of Photo Gallery and Movie Maker, as they are using the same Ribbon technics. Photo Gallery can filter your images according to various criteria, like faces, names, or tags. Photo Gallery now includes a new face recognition system.

The Photo Fuse feature helps you to merge multiple images. Retouch and Batch Auto Adjust are two additional new features in Photo Gallery 2011. With Retouch you can make small adjustments and changes to photos, while Batch Auto Adjust helps you to enhance multiple images automatically, like adjusting their sharpness and color balance.

Movie Maker brings you a new feature called AutoMovie Themes. You can use it to add titles or sound tracks into videos or slideshows. Microsoft paid attention to make this feature as easy as possible to use, while retaining high-quality results.

Viewing and handling e-mail the way you want it is the central task for Windows Live Mail. With efficient inbox management tools, you can sort and mark messages in order to find them later on. Slim Cal lets you check your calendar without having to leave the Inbox mode.

Windows Live Sync gets better by taking advantage of the Live Framework Runtime. You can synchronize documents and folders on multiple computers. For syncing application settings across your computers, there is Program Settings Sync, enabling to you use the same custom program preferences on all devices you use.

Another new feature is the Remote Desktop functionality. When you do not turn off a Web-connected computer running Windows Live Essentials, you can access it over the Web via devices.live.com.

• Finestra di conversazione di Windows Live Messenger: Cinese/Giapponese/Coraeno IME (Input Method Editor) si reimposta in Inglese nella finestra di conversazione di Messenger.
  Su un computer con su installato Windows XP Sp2 o SP3, se ricevi un messaggio istantaneo mentre la finestra principale di Messenger è chiusa, e poi provi a scrivere caratteri Cinesi, Giapponesi o Coreani nella conversazione usando IME, la modalità input si resetta alla lingua Inglese e non potrai inserire caratteri Cinesi, Giapoonesi o Coreani. Per risolvere questo, riapri la finestra principale di Messenger e ricomincia a scrivere nella finestra di conversazione.
• Video: I settaggi e gli effetti per le webcam potrebbero non funzionare più e non appaiono per le webcam
  Alcuni produttori di webcam offrono dei settaggi per le operazioni di camera o effetti che possono essere applicati al video attraverso Messenger. Con la nuova versione di Messenger queste opzioni potrebbero non funzionare più. Se non vedi nessun controllo di camera e nessuna icona per gli effetti sotto la tua immagine di Messenger durante una video-chiamata o una sessione webcam, consulta il produttore della tua webcam cercando un aggiornamento.
• Windows Live Mail: I certificati S/MIME devono essere ristabiliti
  S/MIME (Secure/ Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) è una sicurezza standard per chiavi pubbliche di criptazione e la firma delle e-mail con un ID digitale o un certificato. Quando usi la funzione Secure Mail (certificati) di Windows Live Mail per inviare o ricevere posta, devi necessariamente ristabilire il tuo certificato S/MIME e i certificati di tutti i contatti coi quali scambi e-mail sicure.
  Puoi settare il tuo certificato personale S/MIME selezionando il certificato corretto in Windows Live Mail:
  • In Windows Live Mail, clicca il tasto menu sulla barra degli strumenti, poi clicca Opzioni per la protezione.
    Clicca la scheda Protezione.
  • Nella sezione Protezione Messaggi, clicca ID Digitali.
  • Nella finestra Certificati, seleziona il certificato che utilizzi per le tue mail S/MIME

  Puoi impostare il certificato per ognuno dei tuoi contatti aggiungendo il certificato alla tua lista contatti:

  • Nella finestra principale di Windows Live Mail, seleziona un messaggio e-mail che hai ricevuto da un tuo contatto che include un certificato digitale.
  • Cliccca l’icona del certificato per quella e-mail.
  • Clicca Visualizza certficitati.
  • Cliccca Aggiungi ai contatti.
• Windows Live Movie Maker: non installato con Windows Live Essentials
  Movie Maker richiede Windows Vista o Windows 7. Se installi Windows Live Essentials usando qualsiasi altro sistema operativo, Movie Maker non verrà installato.
• Movie Maker potrebbe non partire correttamente con alcune schede video
  Movie Maker richiede un uso estensivo del processore grafico. Un PC con una scheda video poco performante potrebbe riscontrare problemi di rendering video e di effetti in Movie Maker.
• I video potrebbero non renderizzarsi se è installato Nero sul tuo PC
  Alcuni programmi di Nero installano filtri che potrebbero andare in conflitto con Windows Live Movie Maker. Se riscontri questo problema, contatta il produttore del programma per verificare la disponibilità di un aggiornamento del loro software. Per una veloce scappatoia, puoi cancellare il NDParser.ax installato da Nero Ahead. Nota che sarà necessario ri-registrare NDparser.ax se vuoi che Nero funzioni di nuovo correttamente.
  Per cancellare o ri-registrare NDParser.ax, segui questi passi
  1. Sul menu Start di Windows, clicca Tutti i Programmi, e poi clicca Accessori.
  2. Click-destro sul Prompt dei Comandi e poi clicca Esegui come amministratore.
  3. Scrivi: CD %programfiles%Common FilesAheadDSfilter e poi premi Invio.
  4. Per cancellare o ri-registrare NDParser.ax, fai una delle due cose:
     a. Per cancellare, scrivi: regsvr32 NDParser.ax /u e premi Invio.
     b. Per ri-registrare, scrivi: regsvr32 NDParser.ax e premi Invio.
• Movie Maker supporta solo font TrueType
  Movie Maker supporta solo le font TrueType. Se selezioni una font Raster, Movie Maker ritornerà alla font predefinita Arial.
• Dopo aver aggiornato a Windows 7, non potrai scaricare foto da photos.live.com
  Per risolvere questo problema, è necessario riparare l’installazione di Windows Live Photo Gallery.
  1. Sul menu Start di Windows, clicca Pannello di controllo, clicca Programmi, clicca Programmi e funzionalità, e poi nella lista, clicca Windows Live Essentials.
  2. Clicca Disinstalla/Cambia.
  3. Click Ripara, e poi clicca Continua.
  4. L’installer mostrerà il tuoi programmi Windows Live.
  5. Chiudi tutte le istanze di Microsoft Internet Explorer, e poi riavvia Internet Explorer.
  6. Apri tutti gli album che ti hanno dato problemi, e prova a scaricarli di nuovo.
• Potresti riscontrare un errore se hai un file DLL in più nella tua cartella System32
  Quando apri il Family Safety Filter su un computer su cui è installato un Windows XP potresti ricevere il seguente messaggio:
  “The procedure entry point IsThreadDesktopComposited could not be located in the dynamic link library USER32.dll”
  Questo vuol dire che probabilmente è presente il file dwmapi.dll nella cartella System32 del tuo Windows XP. Per risolvere questo problema, rimuovi il file .dll usando questa procedura:
  1. Clicca su Start, e poi clicca su Risorse del Computer.
  2. Doppio-click sul disco rigido C:.
  3. Doppio-click sulla cartella WINDOWS, e poi doppio-click sulla cartella system32.
  4. Trova il file dwmapi.dll e cancellalo.
• Windows Live Family Safety: Nessun ID Windows Live necessario per i bambini
  Family Safety può supervisionare anche gli account Windows. Non è necessario, per i genitori, registrare un ID Windows Live per tutti i bambino da supervisionare.

Scarica: Note di Rilascio completo per Windows Live Essentials 2009 QFE2 (PDF; ~ 700 kB)

Introduzione e Panoramica —Windows Live Movie Maker

• Scarica gli update Essentials

Numeri delle versioni degli Essentials Wave 3 QFE2 Aggiornati

• Windows Live Messenger 2009, 14.0.8089.726
  
• Windows Live Mail 2009, 14.0.8089.726
  
• Windows Live Movie Maker 2009, 14.0.8091.730
  
• Windows Live Photo Gallery 2009, 14.0.8081.709
  
• Windows Live Sync 2008 ^[sic], 14.0.8089.726
  
• Windows Live Writer 2009, 14.0.8089.726
  

Questi programmi fanno tutti parte di Windows Live Essentials—perché non c’è una finestra di Diagolo comune a tutti?

mynetx: Technogran, it is nice to welcome you as my guest! Please tell me a bit about yourself. How is your life involved with Windows Live?

Technogran: Thank you very much mynetx, it’s nice of you to invite me! I am very flattered to be asked, especially following others such as Angus!
I am on Windows Live and also use all of the Live Essentials Suite of programs on my desktop.

mynetx: Since when are you using Live? Tell me a bit about your history.

Technogran: Oh, I have been using all of the Windows Live applications and also the site itself since it was first thought of, although it doesn’t show that via my Space because I kept deleting it and starting from scratch. When the applications began appearing, they were all in beta, but I downloaded and tested them, and I loved them all.

mynetx: Do you think the Windows Live team cares for their users’ demands? Why?

Technogran: Tricky one this to answer, but I will be as frank as possible. I think that like a lot of Microsoft, the Live teams tend to listen to the wrong users. They take notice of the feedback from the more able user, such as the MVP’s, their ‘in-house’ users, and the more technically able, and the more ‘ordinary’ users views don’t tend to get heard. Microsoft isn’t alone in this, I hasten to add, lots of ordinary users just don’t know how to get their views across, because they are not as computer savvy as the more proficient user is. I am neither. I’m a sort of in-between user if you like, an ordinary user, but capable of making my views known on behalf of the ‘little everyday user’.

mynetx: You like posting tips and tricks in your Space using Live Writer. Do you think the software does its job correctly? Why did you choose Writer?

Technogran: LOL. What else is there? I love Writer, and in my opinion, Microsoft should be shouting from the rooftops about it! I have done my homework and tried to find an equivalent program that does everything that Writer does, and come up with zilch, so I consider it unique and for blogging (which let’s face it, every man, woman and their dog does these days) it’s a must have. I also like it because it’s on my desktop. I am a desktop person, that’s where I spend most of my computer time, and I love the way I can start a post, change it, save it to draft, and work on it at my leisure, only posting it when I feel it’s perfect.

mynetx: Any tip about Writer that you want to share with us?

Technogran: Hmm. Hard one because Brandon has been doing some great tips for Writer lately. My tip to anyone using it (because it annoys me more than anything that more users don’t make use of it) is to use the Margins feature to put a gap between a picture and their text. It tends to look so unsightly when the text ‘butts’ up to the edge of a photo or picture, and it’s so easy to do!

mynetx: Within the next five years, where could you picture Windows Live?

Technogran: I think it all depends on where the Live Teams want to take it, and which direction. There does seem to be a ‘mis-match’ between how they view Windows Live and how the majority of users view it, as was ably illustrated after the Wave 3 updates. Lots of users saw Windows Live first and foremost as a blogging platform and site which then produced a ‘blogging’ community, but it seems that the teams don’t quite see it as such, and to be honest, have never ever referred to it as such.

mynetx: Please provide two positive and negative comments about any outstanding Windows Live product.

Technogran: Hmm, you ask some difficult questions mynetx! Let me see…
Positives. Windows Live Mail, its ability to set up your e-mail accounts quickly and easily. The way it can fetch down all your e-mails, RSS feeds, and Newsgroups all to one place! Love it.
Negatives. Live Calendar. Wish it had incorporated into it a ‘to-do’ feature. I’m not too keen on having all those different calendars either. And Live Photo Gallery, wish it let me ‘geo-tag’ my pics.

mynetx: Do you run Windows Live Mail 24/7? Do you have some kind of a routine with Mail and the other parts of Windows Live?

Technogran: Yes I do. Windows Live Mail is the first program I open in a morning to check my e-mails, then I check all my RSS feeds and read them all. Also most of the newsgroups (about Windows Live natch). Obviously I only open Gallery if I am doing something with my photos, and Writer is open when I am constructing a blog post.

mynetx: Use your fantasy: how do you think Mail will look like within the next five years? What new features could it present?

Technogran: Hmm. Again a toughie because I think a lot will hinge on Google Wave, and whether or not us ‘ordinary users’ take to that or not. Mail has been around for a long time without really changing its format, and it IS based on the letters arriving on your doorstep. IF Google Wave does take off, especially with the ordinary user, then it’s ‘all change’ as they say, and Mail as we all know it will wither and die. It all changes so quickly these days, and change is speeding up, so who knows, but obviously as we have all seen with Windows XP and IE6, there are loads and loads of users who will resist change to the end, no matter how good the replacement is!

mynetx: Comparing these ideas with Mail’s current features, which of these might be added in the next release, Wave 4?

Technogran: Well, we know that Calendar is getting Alerts added—and hopefully for Gran, reminders or even better ‘pop up on your taskbar’ to-do’s. (to aid lousy memories! You’ll all get there some day!) I think the team will want to keep the clean interface, and I know that I am one of its fans, though many don’t like it and think it looks ‘washed out’. I would personally LOVE to see the return of Active Search which was in the old incarnation of Windows Live Mail when it was better known as Windows Live Mail Desktop (and was a pig to type each time you mentioned it!). I loved it but again, lots didn’t and it was eventually removed from the completed product, despite the fact that the team made it ‘choosable’.

mynetx: Windows Live Movie Maker—does its release, only some 24 hours ago, contain any surprises? What do you feel when thinking about it?

Technogran: I love the way the guys were brave enough to take Movie Maker (which was already well liked) and just begin again from scratch. I also love the fact that their new ideas all hinge around making Movie Maker easier to use for a newbie! This is an attitude that this Gran is all for, then everyone benefits! Sure if you are more technically able, there is all the features that you want, but for anyone who has never used a Movie making application before, I applaud their use of the ‘Ribbon’ interface, lovely large easy to see icons, etc. Bet you it won’t be long before we see the video out of a seven year old who has single handedly created a movie with his/her pictures! (Mind you, less of the youngsters, they should show one of a 80 year old Granny or Granddad using their apps as well!)

mynetx: Nice that you already tried the new version of Movie Maker and that you blogged about it.
—Are you satisfied with the Windows Live services that are provided to you? Why?

Technogran: Yes I am. However, I wish their was an easier way to give feedback, and to get feedback back. When the Essentials programs were first in beta all those years ago, I can remember conversing with the teams responsible for all of them via e-mail! Yes it’s true! And you really felt that your feedback was actually not only being read, but also being acted upon. I know it can be time consuming to sift through, but it just makes users feel closer to contributing to a program or application.

mynetx: What is your favorite feature in Photo Gallery?

Technogran: The fact it’s free! LOL. No, that’s difficult because I love all of it. As different features have been added over the course of time, it has become a really powerful photo manipulation program, and I just hope that this continues in the future. I love using the Panoramic Photo feature for example, I love how easy it is to edit your pictures and improve them as well. I would love it if Photosynth and DeepZoomPix were also added as well. That would make Photo Gallery really one of the most awesome free photo programs out there (although it already is in my book!).

mynetx: Ever heard of Live Mesh? What was your first impression of it? Could it be a new diverse method of file sharing among peers, or could it improve the current system at hand?

Technogran: Yes I am beta testing Live Mesh and have it on my computer at all times. Trouble is, I don’t really have any other computer to sync with, but I tend to use it to allow my eldest son to access my files that I need to share with him. I have also used it with a few others who I needed to see a video for example.

mynetx: Do you wish one of the Live Services/Essentials would have a feature that a third-party service/software already has?

Technogran: Yes! I wish Windows Live Mail had a reminder feature such as the one for Thunderbird/Firefox called Reminderfox! I love that program, and found it almost indispensable but no one has ever made one similar for IE or Live Mail. Drat!

mynetx: What is your intention behind talking with everyday users in your section “Living with Live”? What inspires you?

Technogran: Why the newbies of course! It has always annoyed me that we ‘ordinary users’ don’t get heard. Especially this applies to what has become known as ‘silver surfers’ meaning us users who are now retired and now beginning to get to grips with using computers for the very first time. All of the coders, engineers, and those who work in Information Technology as a whole tend to forget that we didn’t have computers at school, no one taught us how to use them, we don’t know you can ‘right click’ to find another menu list, we are of a different mindset and age where we have always used pen and paper, and full words, not all this ‘messenger speak’ that the younger end use today! (I have to often ask my grandchildren to interpret most of what they send in a messenger conversation! In fact my messages usually consist of ‘what does that mean?’) So getting back to your question about what inspires me, it’s that someone has to try and help those users in an easy to understand manner, and as it’s not all that long ago since I was in that position of not knowing anything about using a computer, it’s still all pretty fresh in my mind. Besides, they might listen more to someone who is just an ordinary user like themselves. My ‘how-to’s’ on the Clubhouse are often posted in response to someone on my Network having trouble with either the Windows Live site OR one of the desktop applications.
When Wave 3 was launched I was at my busiest, trying to do posts to help users find their friends, or find their Space etc.

mynetx: Are you working on any project related to Windows Live currently?

Technogran: Not at the moment, although it’s the ‘lull before the storm’ of course, as we all wait for the Wave 4 updates to arrive. I shall most likely be glued to the keyboard night and day when all that occurs as users post up with ‘can’t find this’ or ‘can’t find that’. I would rather do a post to help than give an answer in a forum, simply because you can illustrate the steps to take with pictures and it’s easier then for a user to follow. Also they can always print it out to follow it as well. It’s time consuming doing them, as I like to get my ‘how-to’s’ just right, and make them as easy as possible, but I love doing it and being helpful to other users on here. After all, the last thing we want is users getting so frustrated that they either don’t bother joining and using Windows Live or they just give up because it’s all too much trouble.

mynetx: Technogran, seeing Windows Live from your point of view was very interesting. Thank you for sharing this all with us!

Technogran: No problem!

You liked this interview?

Technogran and me have started a cooperation—look forward to regular rant conversations about the most recent news and happenings in the world of Windows Live!

More about Technogran

• Follow her on Twitter
• Read her Windows Live Space

Pra falar a verdade, me acostumei ao sistema Ribbon no Word, e de fato ela ajuda a aumentar a velocidade para encontrar a funcionalidade que esteja procurando, oferecendo todas as funcionalidades que eu precise e sem mostrar vários elementos gráficos de uma só vez. O Windows Live Writer, como parte do Windows Live Essentials, também oferece textos ricos e edição de documentos, por que não colocar a Ribbon ali também? Compare essas duas screenshots do Windows Live Movie Maker, e do Live Writer atual:

Obrigado a LiveSino pela screenshot do Movie Maker.

mynetx: Please tell me a bit about yourself. Is your life directly or indirectly involved with Windows Live?

Lance: I go by the name of Salem. I’m 22 right now, originally from South Africa (the country, not Southern Africa); however I am currently residing in the Cambridgeshire in the UK. My life doesn’t directly involve Windows Live actually—in fact, I consider myself rather new to the whole MSN/Windows Live community.

mynetx: New? Since when are you in the Live business? Tell me a bit about your history with it…

Lance: Okay, maybe not “New”; I just see myself as new to the whole community when I compare how long some people have been involved. I first started using MSN software in 2003 when I first moved to the UK from South Africa. As can be expected, the first MSN software application I used was MSN Messenger, that’s when I first became a regular user at least. I tried a couple of times before that back in South Africa to chat to my relatives in the UK, but due to terrible internet access (high cost and unreliable) I was only ever able to sign-in twice. (OK, maybe it wasn’t a South Africa-wide internet issue, maybe just our budget ISP. [laughes])

But yeah, I really got into it in 2003. Don’t ask me what version I used, I can’t remember if it was MSN Messenger 6.2 or 6.5, but somewhere around there. I applied to take part in MSN Messenger Beta testing (thinking I’d never get in) back in, I think, 2004. To my surprise, I got in…

mynetx: Do you think the Windows Live team cares for their users’ demands? Why?

Lance: I think people (Messenger users) can be very demanding. Well, Windows Live users can, too; but I’m saying Messenger users as it is by far the most used Windows Live product. Users can be very demanding: wanting things, and expecting to get a feature, just because they ask for it. Yet again, it can be kind of frustrating when specific suggestions/demands get made over and over and over again, and they are just dismissed by the developers.

I think it is easy for the casual users to demand things and not fully understanding the behind-the-scenes work that needs to be done to satisfy that demand.

mynetx: What might be the motivation behind dismissing user’s suggestions, especially when they are made really frequently (example: tabs)?

Lance: Haha, yes, tabs was one of the suggestions I was thinking about. I honestly don’t know, but I think the most likely reason would be, as I mentioned before, the scale of the work involved in getting it to work. However, considering that even a third-party developer (like Patchou) can get it working well enough in an add-on, surely Microsoft can get it working in their own software.

mynetx: Well, the Messenger Plus! creator, Patchou, is just one person and is able to implement it…

Lance: Yes, it is certainly possible. I think of the most frequent suggestions, tabs would be one of the easiest to reliably implement (compared to something like polygamy, the ability to sign-in to multiple accounts from one client).

mynetx: Use your fantasy: how do you think Messenger will look like within the next five years? What new features could it present?

Lance: Wow, really difficult question! I would like to see Silverlight/WPF used more. I mean it is Microsoft’s own technology, yet they are not using it.

mynetx: Like in the Twitter desktop client “blu”, you mean?

Lance: I have not heard of blu myself, will need to look it up!

mynetx:

Lance: I just mean, Messenger needs a total visual overhaul. I like the different look they introduced in the first beta of the renamed Messenger (from MSN to Windows Live), the orange one. I think many people complained at first about it because it was so “different” (people don’t like changes) so Microsoft reverted back to a GUI similar to previous versions.

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mynetx: Wasn’t Wave 3 (2009) visually overhauled enough?

Lance: Apart from the new colors etc., there is not that much difference in Windows Live Messenger from MSN Messenger 6.x. Maybe I’m wanting to much but: think of the visual overhaul from Windows 9x to Windows XP, XP to Vista, and Vista to Windows 7—big changes, not these minor “tweaks” we are getting.

mynetx: I see… Apart from the user interface, what new features could Messenger present in five years?

Lance: Well… I don’t know what it could have, but I do know some things I’d like to see. Among the top items on my wish list are (in no particular order):

1. Official Polygamy Support — The ability to sign-in to multiple Messenger accounts from one Windows Live Messenger client, and have separate statuses/personal status messages/display names/display pictures for each account.
2. Tabs (although this can be done in add-ons like Messenger Plus! Live, so not that important to me).
3. Multi-party audio (or even better, video) chats.
4. The ability to export your whole WLM Contact List including the structure (groups, categories, favorites etc.). It’s a real pain when you try and migrate to a new account, as you can now only export and import the contacts, you then have to manually re-sort them in the new account.

mynetx: True, I have recently experienced the need for that, when I changed my Live ID.

Lance: It has taken me 2 years to migrate to a new account for this very reason. I just cant resort/rearrange them all; it’s a pain.

Oh, and “Bring back the MSN video carousel in the UK”, lol.

mynetx: I have always wondered that the “Video Carousel” was in 8.5? *-)

Lance: We had it in the UK when it was introduced in Windows Live Messenger, but it did not last long. It is gone now…

In fact I don’t even know if it made it past WLM 8’s beta.

mynetx: Any bugs that need fixing?

Lance: Yes, here is a “bug” I want fixed: Try adding a Yahoo! contact to your contact list (a localized one, not Yahoo.com) as a buddy. Messenger changes it to Yahoo.com even though you enter the localized one (in my case, Yahoo.co.uk). Thus, you cant add Yahoo! Messenger users who have a localized Yahoo address to your contact list. I have requested this a number of times, still not fixed.

Suggestion No. 2: Get rid of the bloody roll-over flash ads in the contact list! (That’s not a “feature” though.)

mynetx: Interoperability with other IM networks is a great field to improve, in my opinion. Yahoo looks like “hacked” into Messenger, instead of implemented correctly…

Lance: Yes, they need to add support for other Chat / instant messaging clients / protocols: Facebook Chat (as they have a stake in Facebook), definitely Jabber support please. Jabber is an open protocol, so an agreement should not be needed. I could then dump Google Talk for chatting to my MXit contacts.

mynetx: A propos Yahoo, what is your opinion on the final deal to use the Bing engine on Yahoo! websites, after all those never-ending ramblings about a cooperation, search deal, whatsoever?

Lance: Well, Microsoft needs to do something especially in search/online advertising, as Google is way ahead in market share.

mynetx: How does Bing relate?

Lance: I have tried Bing a few times. It is definitely much better than MSN Search/Windows Live Search/Live Search (whatever the last time was, lol). It also seems to be improving Microsoft’s market share. Though, I am wondering if this is because people like it, or if people are just “trying it out” as it is new—only time will tell.

mynetx: Mentioning the word “Butterfly”, what comes into your mind?

Lance: A colorful insect that flies!

mynetx: And adding “Windows Live…”?

Lance: Ahh, lol, I knew what you meant.

mynetx: What comes into your mind? What was so special about this group of exclusive people?

Lance: The Windows Live Butterfly program/group goes way back to the MSN days (hence the groups name being “Butterfly”). It was a group of beta testers who have “excelled” in Beta testing Windows Live products. Participants of the group were chosen by Microsoft and in some cases by those who were already butterflies from testers of Windows Live (and previously MSN) products/services. The group had a private discussion “area” on the Microsoft newsgroups. That’s just one of the benefits of being a member of the group. You can think of it as something similar to the MVP program, although only for MSN/Windows Live products, and lower down the hierarchy.

mynetx: Did you like being a butterfly?

Lance: I certainly did enjoy most of my time being a butterfly. It was a really good experience, not only testing, but also socializing and getting to know those with similar interests as yourself. As with any “cyber-community”, the group had its ups and downs but generally it was a good experience. It’s a shame to see the community go!

I think also what made the community so good was the way main person who managed it as he really helped things out.

mynetx: Let’s bring out a toast on Eric Chen!

Lance: Haha indeed.

mynetx: Please provide two positive and negative comments about any outstanding Windows Live product.

Lance: Hm… I choose Windows Live Mail.

Positives: Contact list/Address book synchronized with Live Messenger—that is my main reason for choosing it over other applications.

Negative: Slow (!), especially in IMAP mail downloading; furthermore it can only synchronize/use Contact list of one Windows Live ID even if you add a different Windows Live ID as account to Live Mail.

— Look how easy it was to think of negatives, and how hard it was to think of positives: it makes Live Mail not look good at all…

mynetx: OK, thanks for these.

Let’s talk a bit about your personal customs. Do you run Windows Live Messenger 24/7? Do you have some kind of a routine with Messenger and the other parts of Windows Live?

Lance: Yes, Windows Live Messenger is on 24/7—as long a PC is on it is running and signed in. Routine? Not really. I usually check if any people I chat to often are online (Messenger Plus! Live Desktop Contacts), see if I want to talk to them. I may then open Live Mail, but as it doesn’t auto-run on startup/login nor auto-run in system tray, I have to do this manually, so I often forget. However, as these are the Windows Live applications I use most, that is usually the order I would do things.

mynetx: Comparing your ideas we talked about before (like UI enhancements, tabs, multiple accounts per endpoint, more IM networks, etc), with Messenger’s current features, which of these might be added in the next release, Wave 4?

Lance: I think more IM network interoperability may be the most likely, especially as we heard rumblings about it for this version (although unconfirmed). Like I said also, Jabber could come as it is an open standard and wouldn’t need any agreements (as with other IMs like AIM).

I’d say UI change is next—but not likely. (Again, by UI change I mean a big change, not minor tweaks/changes.) Tabs would be next, and polygamy last, as I foresee this to be more work.

mynetx: Are you satisfied with the Windows Live services that are provided to you? Why?

Lance: Mostly yes. They just satisfy my communications needs, whether it be IM, social networking or e-mail. They are things I think that can be worked on (as mentioned earlier); but yes, overall I am satisfied.

mynetx: Will Windows Live be able to fill the position as overall Windows (and Office) add-on, especially when looking at Windows 7?

Lance: I think so, it is a good suite of applications for the average computer user. I think it would be better to be just integrated with Windows, but the European Union will not be happy.

mynetx: Windows Live and Office Live, along with cloud power in behind—is this the solution? Better than legacy software?

Lance: That depends on the market, in my opinion. In markets where a decent (that is, broadband) Internet connection is easily available/accessible, it is good; but otherwise it isn’t, no. I think people in Europe/the US forget about computer users in places without broadband Internet connections, not to mention those with no Internet at all.

mynetx: So, is the gap between industry lands (high-tech nations) and economically less strong areas increasing?

Lance: I don’t know whether it is increasing, but I don’t think it’s getting smaller. Take my home country for example, South Africa. Broadband Internet (ADSL) access has only become available to the general public (that is, not business) in the last 3-4 years. Here though (in the UK), it was already very common. Now, in South Africa citizens can get a broadband connection, but at a price: for example, they pay the ISP and phone line (as we do), but they also pay a charge for the phone line to be used for broadband/ADSL. So it costs at least three times as much there, plus they still have ridiculous caps/quotas making only basic net usage possible; whereas here, we are using it for much more. Just imagine cloud computing in places like that…

mynetx: To summarize: using cloud web applications is problematic for regions where no broadband web access is available.

Lance: Exactly! I’m all for it, but I wouldn’t want everything to go “to the cloud” soon as it will leave such nations behind.

mynetx: What is your favorite feature in Messenger?

Lance: Video chat is got to be.

mynetx: Why?

Lance: Being someone that lives in a different country than family and friends he grew up with, it’s good to be able to see and hear them.

mynetx: What was your first impression of Live Mesh? Could it be a new diverse method of file sharing among peers, or could it improve the current system at hand?

Lance: I loved it as soon as I tried it, and I am using it all the time now. It is what Windows Live Messenger Sharing Folders should have been. Well, apparently Mesh is intended to be more than just a file sharing service. I’m yet to see the others though, but it makes file sharing/synchronization available to the masses, for free.

mynetx: We can expect some Mesh love in Windows Live Wave 4, as it will play an important role in the upcoming “Windows Live Devices” service. How could it be connected tighter with the other services? What might we see?

Lance: No idea actually; though, I am excited and looking forward to see what they have planned.

mynetx: Me too. I will tell you as soon as I know more details…

Lance: It looks like Wave 4 will be a better release than Wave 3 (I honestly wasn’t happy with Wave 3 at all.)

mynetx: What was wrong or missing in Wave 3, the 2008-2009 release of Windows Live?

Lance: The beta ran extremely long to me—too long for what we saw as changes. Sure, Movie Maker joined Windows Live; but apart from that and minor visual changes, there wasn’t much. I don’t know, maybe I just expected too much.

mynetx: Do you wish Messenger would have a feature that a third-party IM software already has?

Lance: Well, I don’t use any other IM apps (apart from Google Talk, which is crap considering its features; the only reason I use it is for communicating with MXit people), so I don’t really know what other IM applications offer.

mynetx: Ahh, so you are a loyal Windows Live user?

Lance: (laughes) Not loyal; there is just no real need to use anything else. Most of my contacts are on WLM or Skype, but Skype doesn’t offer anything different that I want in Messenger.

mynetx: As Messenger user, I’m sure you’ve got a good tip that not everybody might know about yet—any tweak, counsel, suggestion, whatever comes into your mind.

Lance: One good tip is allowing two WLM instances to run at the same time. It is a registry setting that needs modifying; the only thing is it won’t auto sign-in to a second account (Live ID). [Read more about this tip soon.]

mynetx: How would you summarize your overall experience with Windows Live in a brief sentence?

Lance: Windows Live services help me keep in touch and share my views/stories.

mynetx: Lance, I found it very interesting to talk with you about all of this!

Lance: I enjoyed it too; thanks for thinking of me as some to interview and for taking the time to do so.

Thanks to thirteen23 labs, Alto Voltaje Design, Bram Vandeperre, Messenger Stuff, BuddyFuse and LiveSino for the images.

mynetx: Wonderful that you take some minutes to talk with me about Windows Live and You.
Please tell me a bit about yourself. Is your life directly or indirectly involved with Windows Live?

Sean Bradford: Windows Live is my central hub for online communication. I’d have to say my life is involved directly with Windows Live. Most people know me as RebelSean but my name is Sean Bradford. I’m a journalist over at Neowin.net, where I focus on Windows Live. I’ve followed Windows Live’s development since the initial rebranding.

About the interview, I don’t know what I can and cannot answer right now as I am under quite a few NDA‘s.

mynetx: Well, I suppose that’s good news, seeing as things make progress.
Since when are you in the Live business? Tell me a bit about your history.

Sean Bradford: I’ve been involved with the Messenger community since about 2002. I’ve been beta testing Windows Live products and services since 2006, and I’ve been a Windows Live Butterfly since 2006.

mynetx: So quite long already…

Sean Bradford: Indeed. I’ve been a Microsoft enthusiast since as far back as I can remember.

mynetx: Do you think the Windows Live team cares for their users’ demands? Why?

Sean Bradford: Definitely, as the Windows Live ecosystem evolves so does the products. Windows Live Homepage is a perfect example. When the “What’s new” feed was launched back at CES 2009, users requested more feeds be added. Since then Microsoft has added 40+ services to the list of partners, including Facebook, Digg, Twitter, and much more.

mynetx: That happened only recently, true? Why did the complete Web Activity Provider list take so long (from January when Brian Hall announced it), until it was live?

Sean Bradford: Indeed it was only recently. That’s a good question. As with all Microsoft products, it takes time to roll out updates especially world-wide. I don’t know the specifics on that certain rollout, but I’m sure Brian wouldn’t mind answering that.

mynetx: If Microsoft took over Facebook, would you be using it then? Why?

Sean Bradford: Although I don’t foresee that happening, and I’ve not heard any plans on that, I would still use Facebook. Simply because it’s great social networking site to keep in touch with real life friends. And if Microsoft ever took over Facebook I don’t believe they would change the core business model, only improve it.

mynetx: Let’s talk about last summer’s big story. If Microsoft managed to take over Yahoo!, how do you think Yahoo!’s future would have been affected?

Sean Bradford: If that acquisition ever took place, Microsoft’s only gain would be in the search engine market. Live Search has came a long way, and it has a bright future thanks to Bing. With or without a Yahoo! partnership, Bing will continue to grow more and more.

mynetx: I think that the story isn’t finished yet… So far for the past. Looking into the future: Within the next five years, where could you picture Windows Live?

Sean Bradford: Your right, it’s not finished. Microsoft and Yahoo! are still in talks regarding a search partnership. It’ll be interesting to see the outcome of those talks.

Sean Bradford: Windows Live has grown tremendously since its initial launch. I think the main focus on Windows Live has turned to its online services. As more and more online services are launched, I foresee Windows Live becoming a central hub for communication and collaboration for users.

mynetx: Please provide two positive and negative comments about any outstanding Windows Live product.

Sean Bradford: I don’t think that I have anything negative to say about any Windows Live product, although I am glad to say that Windows Live Movie Maker is making great progress and there was a recent announcement by the team that a non-beta version will be released later this year.

mynetx: Positive?

Sean Bradford: There are a lot of positive things to say, I could name at least a hundred that comes to mind. But I guess I’d say that the development of Windows Live Messenger has been phenomenal over the past few years. From version to version the team has added innovation, and has taken the consumer experience to the next level.

mynetx: That’s something I can only confirm! Do you run Windows Live Messenger 24/7? Do you have some kind of a routine with Messenger and the other parts of Windows Live?

Sean Bradford: I do run Windows Live Messenger 24/7 but that doesn’t mean I’m online and available 24/7. No routine though, but I do check my home.live.com page every morning when I wake up to see what’s going on in my circle.

mynetx: Use your fantasy: how do you think Messenger will look like within the next five years? What new features could it present?

Sean Bradford: I’ve thought and thought, cannot answer that .

mynetx: Too difficult to imagine, or if you decide deliberately not to answer it?

Sean Bradford: I just don’t have an answer, too difficult to imagine…

mynetx: Well, looking at Messenger’s current functionality, what might the next release, Wave 4, feature?

Sean Bradford: Can’t comment on that my friend .

mynetx: OK! Are you satisfied with the Windows Live services that are provided to you? Why?

Sean Bradford: Of course I am, I use almost every Windows Live product and service to date. It offers me the tools I need to communicate and collaborate online.

mynetx: What is your favorite feature in Messenger?

Sean Bradford: My favorite feature would have to be a video conference. It works smoothly, great quality. And I use it on a day-to-day basis with folks around the world.

mynetx: What was your first impression of Live Mesh? Could it be a new diverse method of file sharing among peers, or could it improve the current system at hand?

Sean Bradford: My first impression of Live Mesh was W.O.W. Finally a piece of software that is free and I can use on all of my machines at home, at the office, and at my relatives house. It’s one of the easiest ways for me and my family to share pictures, files, and at work we use it to send documents and larger files. I’m not much of a developer myself, so I don’t have an answer to the later part of that question.

mynetx: What about its correlation to the rest of Windows Live products? I see various ways of getting them more connected.

Sean Bradford: More to come with Wave 4 my friend .

mynetx: Do you wish Messenger would have a feature that a third-party IM software already has?

Sean Bradford: Indeed, and I think it’s well known across the spectrum and is probably still the #1 requested feature for Windows Live Messenger: Tabbed Chatting.

mynetx: I still hope this will be one of the breaking news in Wave 4!
As Messenger user, I’m sure you’ve got a good tip that not everybody might know about yet.

Sean Bradford: Can’t think of anything off the top of my head .

mynetx: What about the easiest level of tips? Doesn’t need to be complicated!

Sean Bradford: I guess I’d have to say that the best tip I’d have for people is that if they don’t want people who are not in there circle seeing there status updates or random people sending them IMs to make sure they have that option checked in the privacy sections.

mynetx: You mean, the options you can find at http://profile.live.com/Permissions/ ?

Sean Bradford: No in Messenger’s settings.

mynetx: You said development of Messenger has been phenomenal. Somebody else just stated that ‘with the absence of joint voice conversations or video conversations, it has been anything but phenomenal. User interface is the only improvement we get.’ (Imran Hussain; via Twitter) What is your opinion on this?

Sean Bradford: Well as an avid user of video and voice conversations via WLM, I hardly ever have the need to have multiple users. If that is the case then I use Skype or another conference application.

mynetx: Right… Are you working on any project related to Windows Live, currently?

Sean Bradford: I am not, besides beta testing products like Messenger Plus! Live and Windows Live Messenger itself, I hardly ever code or develop anything .

mynetx: And finally—is there anything you’d like to tell our readers?

Sean Bradford: Just keep up the great feedback and suggestions for the Windows Live Team. You guys rock, and thanks for the opportunity to participate in these interviews .

mynetx: I have to thank *you* for your time! It was really interesting to discuss Windows Live and You with you.

mynetx: Nice that you got some minutes to talk with me about Windows Live and You. To get started, please describe yourself and your connection with Windows Live, in one sentence.

Will: Well my name is Will Ingles, I am known in the community for my work in customizing the Messenger user interface with skins.

mynetx: Skins – good word. Is customizing the Messenger interface fun for you? Or a serious business? Or in between?

Will: Well a bit of both really. Originally I started skinning as a hobby so that I could help improve my abilities as a multimedia designer. I was hoping that by working with an established user interface I would be able to gain a deeper understanding as to how the user interprets UI’s.

I never really expected to be doing it for that much mainly because I didn’t think that audience was big enough at the time. But it seems that has changed in recent times so now I do treat it more seriously.

But yeah for the most part there is still the original sense of fun which attracted me to doing it in the first place.

mynetx: To be honest I don’t think you would put that effort into your skins if it was just “work” for you.

What is your favorite feature in Messenger?

Will: My favorite feature in Messenger, and I know a lot of people out there would disagree, would be PhotoShare. Although in its current state it is still a bit tedious to get used to, there is a lot of potential in the feature to make it work more seamlessly with Messenger.

Just the fact that you can have a large preview of an image you want to send is a big step forward. I am looking forward to see what else Microsoft does with this as this is only the first iteration of it.

mynetx: And what could be the next steps in this iteration?

Will: Well, at the moment one of the main complaints of PhotoShare is the fact that you have to have your window maximized to be able to see the larger photos. The next logical step to improving PhotoShare would be adding the ability to zoom into the image, that way you can explore photos with fine detail and not always having to have your window covering the full screen.

Microsoft could also add some integration with some of the social networks where you could select an album you have on your Facebook page and have that display rather than have to load every single image. There are lots of possibilities, that is why I think it’s a feature to keep an eye on in the future.

mynetx: Let’s see what the Windows Live Team improves with PhotoShare in Wave 4! By the way, what is the thing you’d love most to be added in Messenger?

Will: Well seeing as though I am skinner, it would no doubt have to be skins. While Microsoft did kind of ease the need with scenes, it still isn’t really enough. Every person is different and they have different tastes when it comes to how they want a product to look. You can see this when you ask people whether or not they like the look of the new Windows Live Messenger, you will get people who like it and people who hate it. It is impossible to cater for everyone’s tastes, but it would be good if the ability was there for people to make their interface from their own experiences.

Scenes can only offer so much, while skins offer a more rich and immersive user experience. The best example would be with some of the advanced shaped skins which are offered by the Messenger Plus! community, there is no way that scenes could ever take the user experience that far.

What I would love to see would be a community for like what already exists for Windows Media Player, where people are free to make their own plugins and skins without any real restrictions. That would really be great.

mynetx: And do you think this will be added in Windows Live Wave 4?

Will: Sadly its highly unlikely, Microsoft does not really add any high levels of customization in their products because the market for it is really small. People who customize their user interfaces are generally enthusiasts who form a small percentage of their user base. While the demand is starting to increase, it still isn’t enough for Microsoft to make any real effort to add something like this in. Which is sad I think because generally it is the enthusiasts who recommend products to the general public so it isn’t really a good move to ignore them entirely. I suppose the best way to get this feature to become a reality would be to get as many people you know interested in customizing their Messenger and continuously nag Microsoft. Who knows they might give in one day. Until people will just have to settle for what us skinners make.

mynetx: Skins with Messenger Plus!. Or what?

Will: Yes, skins with Messenger Plus! There are the old DLL patching skins but those are becoming more and more rare these days. This is mainly to do with the fact the Patchou has made the skin developing process much much easier with Messenger Plus! and also due to the changes Microsoft made with Messenger 2009 which nearly gave customizers a heart attack.

mynetx: Well, we don’t know the reason for Microsoft switching over to the binary interface format (known as UIB). Mind having a guess nevertheless?

Will: We will never know the real reasoning behind the change, but I like to think it was a performance thing. Messenger 2009 does have a few new visual effects and those would have probably caused the old system some trouble. There were only so many effects you could have happening with the old UI system before you got weird graphical glitches occurring on screen. With Messenger 2009 there isn’t any of these weird glitches happening – at least that I have noticed anyway.

mynetx: Moving away from our focus on Messenger, which feature of other programs / web services do you like most?

Will: One of the things that has caught my attention was the ability to create fan pages on Facebook. I think this is pretty cool because it gives people such as independent artists, designer or even customizers like my self the ability to have a spot on a site with millions of users and be able to grow an audience from it.

It also allows you to interact with the people you want to please the most, your users. Also just how all the web services are beginning to integrate with one another is good to see as well. We are moving away from how things were a few years ago where networks were isolated.

mynetx: And what about the other Windows Live services?

Will: Windows Live Mail is one of the other products that I enjoy using. It’s simple and I can have all my mail accounts in the one place, the integration with the other Windows Live products is a bonus as well.

I haven’t really toyed with things like Movie Maker and Writer but I have seen some of my younger relatives playing with some of these and they seem to enjoy themselves so Microsoft is doing their job.

mynetx: Heh. So if you’re focusing, besides Mail, only on Messenger, are you running it 24/7? Maybe you’ve got kind of a daily routine.

Will: I have Messenger running the majority of the time, even if I am busy doing work. Because of the nature of work I do, there are a lot of times where I ask the opinion of my friends on the particular thing I am working on.

It is always good to see things from someone else’s point of view, it makes you a better designer if you consider as many aspects of a project as possible.

It has gotten to the point where Messenger is part of my daily routine. Just because of the convenience of being able to access anywhere I am. It’s really one of the best forms of communication there is today.

mynetx: I’m sure you’ve got a breaking tip for an “aha” effect. Give me a Messenger tip you consider precious.

Will: The best tip I can offer is to go through the options menu and file menus in Messenger. There is a lot of functionality there that a lot of people miss. Often I get skin requests to add certain things and what people don’t realize is that it is already all there. You just have to look for it. That, and: ignore any URLs with your email in it.

Seems to be a common trap these days.

mynetx: Or nickname as subdomain, hmm?

Will: Yes hehe, just follow that rule and you should be fine!

mynetx: And finally, what’s the Live-related project you’re currently working on?

Will: At the moment I am currently working a few skin projects. The main one I am working on is a skin called Phunk’n. I created it last year and the response I received from it was really great. I get numerous emails and messages asking me to update it so I finally gave in and decided to update it.

It is probably one of my best designs and I am extremely proud of it. I am also playing with a few ideas here and there for a new original skin design but that won’t come for a while.

mynetx: I’m sure people will like what you create. Do you think?

Will: Well I hope so hehe so far it looks like I have been doing things right.

mynetx: Wonderful!

I find it great that you took the time to talk with me about Windows Live and You. Thanks for your time!

Will: Thanks, it was my pleasure.

We’re getting very close to the final release. But before we get there, we’re refreshing the beta versions one more time to make sure we’ve ironed out all the kinks. [...] We’re working hard to get the final versions ready to go as soon as possible. So let us know what you like and don’t like, and if you’re running into any issues that we need to take care of before we take the “beta” tags off.

Herunterladen

Du kannst du neuesten Release Candidates direkt herunterladen von http://download.live.com/ . Jedoch wirst du auf diesem Weg nur den Web-Installer erhalten. Falls du die direkten Downloads zum Offline-Installieren bevorzugst, solltest du dich bei den direkten MSI-Downloads umsehen (momentan nur Englisch).

Installation

Das Installieren der neuen Versionen ist genauso einfach wie es bei den früheren Versionen war, denn das Team hat wieder einen hübschen Installer gepackt. Natürlich siehst du den nicht, wenn du die direkten MSI-Dateien von obigem Link nutzt.

Verwendung

Du wirst in den kommenden Stunden / Tagen weitere Beiträge über die Nutzung der aktuellen Windows Live Essentials Release Candidates sehen. Momentan kann ich nur sagen: Die aktuelle Betaversion von Messenger Plus! Live (4.79.342) ist schon fast kompatibel mit dem neuesten Live Messenger RC (14.0.8050.1202). Falls du dich wegen Skins wunderst, wir kümmern uns darum und melden uns bald deswegen.

Last but not least, so sehen die neuen Benachrichtigungen aus:

Update: Numerous sources confirm that the Web Services (not the Clients) will roll out from December 1st until December 8th, 2008.

What does this Wave 3 phase 3 feature?

• Applications (“Windows Live Essentials”): Full release
• Services: All released, except Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Calendar