The computing industry that as we know today is changing very fast into one in which everything we need can be accessed online. Microsoft is onboard with this new computing paradigm popularly known as “Cloud Computing” which folks at Redmond more like to call it as “Software + Services”.

For the past several years, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has always emphasized in his various keynotes and speeches on how important a role a Windows PC plays as the center of everyone’s digital life. Sure people have moved beyond the PC with connected devices, and has engage with others online, but the PC was always at the center. When you think about it, putting a PC in the center of our lives.. it makes a lot of sense … but the trend now is changing, people now are more looking for these portable form factors that utilize Internet that work  online in ways that, as it turns out, don’t actually require Windows or traditional PCs.

Now this to me is a very important time for Microsoft, the time when Bill Gates and some of other oldies reign ends at Microsoft. While these people did a lot for us to change about how we perceive computers today and I have tremendous respect for them but now I also think that there is a need for a change, a change that can change Microsoft’s outlook(not Office Outlook) on how they work today.

Microsoft more recently turned towards the outside talent and promoted them to its executive ranks, Ray Ozzie being one of them who filled the big boots of Bill Gates last year as Chief Software Architect with ease. His appointment as CSA Microsoft to me has been one of the best decisions Microsoft took in the period of like say last few years. He’s the real man behind Windows Live and many of the new S+S applications which we are now seeing. This is the guy who has been involved with some of the major computing trends. Its now finally after a period of couple of years that we’re seeing the positive effects of this new blood at Microsoft.

Ozzie is now in charge of setting the future direction for the world’s largest software maker and unlike his predecessor, he has little interest in milking past successes. He is the guy behind Microsoft’s cloud computing efforts and the products and services he’s working on have little do with Windows, Office, or Server. He knows that the world is moving on and he’s trying to move Microsoft with the same pace to this new world. Some people there will go willingly. others will go screaming, while some may simply retire, unable to handle the future Microsoft. Regardless, change is happening and its clearly visible now..

So the result of all this is that you see the birth of Live Mesh. Microsoft’s Software + Services initiative promotes the best of the old (what Microsoft does best) with the best of the new (what Microsoft will do increasingly more frequently in the future).

But at this years WWDC, Apple unveiled a service that allows users to wirelessly sync and access information across multiple devices and has yet again beaten Microsoft in first releasing a complete product out the door of which Microsoft already showcased a Tech. Preview in May. Apple announced replacement to their .Mac in the form of MobileMe, a service which syncs data between PCs, Macs, iPhone & iPod Touch. The service works with Microsoft Outlook on a PC. Mail, Address Book, and iCal on a Mac and Mail, Contacts, and Calendar on the iPhone or iPod Touch. It allows us to access and manage our email, contacts, calendar, photos, and files at me.com.

Here is what Mary-Jo has to say about this:

Apple’s introduction of the successor to .Mac — a k a, MobileMe — raises the question as to what’s taking Microsoft so long to roll out Live Mesh.

There aren’t a whole lot of details yet available on MobileMe, other than that it will allow cloud-based synchronization of data and devices. (And will make use of Microsoft’s ActiveSync technology, which Apple licensed from Microsoft in order to bring push e-mail to the iPhone, creating its “Exchange for the rest of us.”)

While I haven’t tried MobileMe as yet primarily because it isnt available until July 11, I have played quite a lot with Live Mesh ever since it was released to a small group of testers in May and even though its is still in early development phase has already become a central part of my daily computing life.

Lets look at what these two services offer and how do they compare against each other?

First up lets see what Live Mesh offers?

You dont often see Microsoft getting credit for something they introduce first in the market. Live Mesh truly is a game changer for Microsoft as far as their online services are concerned and its in a league of its own. It is currently only open to a small group of private testers. It offers free 5GB cloud storage to synchronize and store data in the cloud. The best thing about Live Mesh is that it integrates extremely well into Windows shell which allows us to synchronize our files and folders between various devices but the catch is that it also has an option which keeps the file in cloud making it available whenever and wherever you want. The service also promises to support Mac’s and Windows Mobile (iPhone anyone?) phones to sync files within multiple platforms. Remote Desktop is also a great addition that enables us to remotely access our computers within our Mesh network from anywhere around the world. Live Mesh also includes a cloud storage component, called Live Desktop. It is an online service that allows synchronized folders to be accessible via a website and it looks extremely similar to Windows Explorer found in Windows OS. One of the bigger benefits of Live Mesh would be when later this year, an API would be release which would allow us to build app’s that would run online under Live Desktop environment.

All an all, Live Mesh works great for a service which is currently only available as a technology preview and so I have great expectations from this promising service which will be released later this year.

Now lets see what MobileMe has to offer?

MobileMe gives you access to 20GB of space in the cloud for a fee of $99/year. You can upload photos or documents. You can share your calendar across multiple platforms. You also get email service which can be used with Microsoft Outlook.

So MobileMe is basically a simple way to keep everything up to date. You can have the same data everywhere i.e. your computer, web and your phone and is always up to date. Apple’s idea behind this is that when something changes in one place, it will automatically change in all of the others. In essence, it will “push” the changes across your devices.

Besides all this, MobileMe also offers web versions to the native client applications found in Mac like iCal, iLife and Mail. This is where the main difference lies between Live Mesh and MobileMe. MobileMe offers beautiful looking web versions of the native applications in Mac whereas on the other hand Live Mesh offers synchronization with remote computing and Live desktop capabilities. It is also worthy to note that Microsoft already offers web based Mail and Calendar through their Windows Live platform but ofcoarse they dont collaborate or work as well as what Apple showcased at this years WWDC.

MobileMe stores all your email, contacts, and calendars on an online server - or “cloud” - and pushes them down to your iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, and PC. When you make a change on one device, the cloud updates the others. Push happens automatically, instantly, and continuously. You don’t have to wait for it or remember to do anything - such as docking your iPhone and syncing manually - to stay up to date.

Do everything you need to do on every device you own. MobileMe works with Mail, Address Book, and iCal on a Mac; Microsoft Outlook on a PC with Windows XP or Vista; and the built-in applications on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Check your email, change your calendar, edit your contacts, and more at me.com. Accessible anywhere, me.com is an ad-free suite of web applications — Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Gallery, and iDisk — that are elegant and easy to use. You can drag and drop, click and drag, use keyboard shortcuts, and even switch between applications with a single click. Me.com is such a great web experience, it seems as if you’re using desktop software.

This subscription-based service will be available on July 11. It’s priced at $99 per year with 20 GB of storage.

Both the services differ from each other in many areas as stated above but they do have same idea behind i.e. to synchronize user data so that they dont have to worry about updating multiple devices all the time.

In my opinion Live Mesh has more potential because the platform is open for others to develop on Live Desktop once the API is released later this year.

Taimur Asad (Via Startup Meme)

Live Maps team has updated maps of Beijing just in time for the upcoming summer Olympic games at Beijing.

Here is the full list of updates courtesy LiveSide:  

• Real-time Traffic in Beijing
• Send-to-Mobile for free for local search and transit routing result
• Transitdata refresh for existing 11 cities including 3 new subway in Beijing (No.10, Airport and Olympic).
• Expandedcoverage from 11 to 31 cities.
• Geocoding and Local Search
• Datarefresh for existing 114 cities including Olympic Venues.
• Support city and county name geocoding for areas outside of 114-city coverage.
• Olympicquery relevance improvement
• Local search category refinement
• Maprefresh for 10 existing major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou etc.
• Expandedtile coverage for 30 more cities, totally 289 cities now.

Too bad they didnt add support for Birds Eye View which in my opinion is the best feature of Live Maps and the one which really differentiate it from Google Earth/Maps.

So if you are planning to go to Beijing for this years Olympics, make sure you take a portable device such as Windows Mobile to keep you up to date with all the cool site seeing and live traffic updates with the help of Live Search Maps on one of the most busiest city I have ever been to.

Taimur Asad (Via Startup Meme)

Last week I reviewed MSN Toolbar which is built using Silverlight technology. Today morning I noticed a slight change in the toolbar as it got updated automatically. The toolbar now features local weather forecast which in my opinion is a very nice touch and adds more value to the toolbar. The Windows Live search portion has also been updated. Previously we could only search for Web, Images, Video, News, Maps & Local from the toolbar but now more options have been added so now we can also search for Products, QnA and xRank.

You can see your local weather forecast on the right corner of the toolbar.

Clicking on weather pops up a nice looking window which shows the forecast in detail.

The new MSN Toolbar version is 3.0.270.0 and the Application version is 3.0.0426.0.
Download MSN Toolbar from http://toolbar.msn.com

Taimur Asad (Via Startup Meme)

Do you use toolbar with your web browser?

Toolbars for me are the thing of the past. Gone are the days when I used to try toolbars from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo or AOL to be able to have features such as tabbed browsing, searching from the browser etc because back then such features were not a standard part of any of the available web browsers. Later Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and likes started pushing these toolbar just to get more market share in search as their respective search engines were built into the toolbars. This resulted in toolbars getting bloated with unnecessary features which halted our web experience. This was the time when I stopped using toolbars

Then came Opera and Firefox who in their newer versions of browsers added tabbed browsing, built-in search as the standard feature of their web browser. Microsoft later too added these features as a standard in Internet Explorer 7.

All this changed when a few months ago I was invited by Microsoft Connect to test out their upcoming Silverlight based toolbar. I tried a couple of builds of this toolbar and ever since then I have been using this toolbar and its now a part of my daily web browsing experience.

Last month MSN \ Windows Live team released the final bits of this toolbar. Its supported by both Silverlight 1.0 and Silverlight 2.0 Beta 2 however it will not run on Silverlight 2.0 Beta 1. Based on Silverlight technology, the toolbar feature not only sleek & sexy look but its also very rich when it comes down to features. The toolbar allows us to search & browse the entire MSN categories from the browser without going to the msn.com site.

On the left we have a Live Search textbox to search the web(pretty useless for me because I rarely use Live Search but its a neat feature nonetheless). On the right we have 3 buttons; one for flip, next one for settings and the last one for help. The flip button flips(animated ofcoarse) the MSN category options into Live options.

Clicking on Windows Live brings out(animated) a sub menu for running Windows Live apps installed on the system.

Search box works very well. As soon as you search for anything, the MSN categories side flips into animation and transforms into options from Windows Live to assist in search as shown in the image above.

Color chooser is a nice touch and is now becoming almost a standard in all of the Windows Live apps. As expected, it allows us to colorize the entire toolbar into a color of our choice!

Being based on Silverlight techonology, the entire toolbar looks flashy and has got smooth animations on almost all mouse clicks.

Overall its a nice toolbar and the best looking out there and most importantly its light and doesnt slow down the web experience. I wish it had the option to change the search provider from Live to Google but oo.. well..

I’ll recommend you all to try it atleast once. Head over to toolbar.msn.com to download it!

Taimur Asad (Via Startup Meme)

LiveSide & Steve Clayton has reported that Microsoft has silently updated their Live Mesh client-side application. The newer version is 0.9.2815.17 as opposed to version 0.9.2815.12

Live Mesh team is yet to publish any change log about the changes that this new update brings to the table but Scott of LiveSide has found out that after Live Mesh update is installed, Vista users are now no longer required to turn on the UAC for Live Mesh to work.
You can update your Live Mesh client app by right clicking on the Live Mesh tray icon and click on ‘Update Live Mesh’.

Stay tuned here for any updates regarding the changes which we get with this new update.

[update]
Nadia at Live Mesh forums has posted the change log:

The Live Mesh team has been working hard to fix bugs reported by our Tech Preview users and to address top requested features (such as removing the requirement that UAC be enabled in Windows Vista).  Below is a list of the most prominent fixes implemented in the latest Live Mesh release.  Thank you for all your great feedback!

Fixes

·         Live Mesh is now available in all English-speaking countries (not just the U.S.) 
·         Index for Desktop Search now works with Live Mesh folders
·         Removed the User Account Control (UAC) requirement when installing and using Live Mesh with Windows Vista SP1
·         Fixed bug where an underscore in a Hotmail account name returned an “Invalid Hotmail Address” error
·         Fixed bug with Silverlight 2 Beta 2 failing to load in Silverlight Media View
·         Fixed bug where the notifier tooltip incorrectly indicated that Live Mesh Remote Desktop was unavailable for a computer  running in non-admin mode
·         Fixed bug where the Live Mesh folder icon was not displayed in the e-mail inviting someone to share a folder
·         Fixed one of the bugs that caused Live Mesh to fail to start
·         Fixed problem with Live Mesh returning errors when waking from sleep/hibernate

Taimur Asad (Via Startup Meme)

With Live Wave 1.0 & Live Wave 2.0 well behind us, Windows Live team at Microsoft has been working on the next version of its online services (Windows Live Wave 3) for quite a while now and it is said to carry a new theme for header UI. While Live Wave 2 Suite brought us an All-in-one online installer which included Windows Live Messenger 8.5, Mail, Writer and Photo Gallery, it also introduced a new theme for header UI for all the Windows Live services that actually marked the end of Flair (version 1.0 UI for Windows Live).  

LiveSide is reporting about the new header that will be released when Windows Live Wave 3 launches. This new header while in many ways looks much better & cooler than the current one also marks the end of Live Orb. Orb has become a standard symbol in many of Microsoft services and applications. Introduced first with Windows Vista (replacing the Start button) and Office 2007 (replacing the File menu), Orb is basically a trademark button that provides sub menu options. Rumor has it that even Internet Explorer 8 when released will feature an Orb.

Here is a quick run-down to the history of Window Live UI’s:

Flair (Live 1.0)

Flair or Blue Vapor was the first UI for Windows Live. my.live.com and Windows Live Favorites still uses this interface.

Live 2.0

Windows Live Wave 2 introduced a new theme for Windows Live services. This theme replaced the Flair which was part of Live 1.0

Live 3.0

Windows Live Wave 3 will feature a new theme UI for Live header. This theme has got some resemblance to the Zune theme and it looks very cool. However one thing which it really misses is the Windows Live Orb which as shown in the image below has been replaced by a simple Windows Live logo.

Image Credit [LiveSide]

Changes include (from LiveSide):

- No orb: Windows Live is seemingly following the MSN approach, providing links to the key services and then a drop down menu with the other services on offer. This should make it easier for users to discover the less main-stream services.

- Customisable background: Users can choose from a range of standard backgrounds to appear across the Windows Live sites, but we’re also hearing that users can use a custom background too.

- Search: The box is less intrusive, blending in with the background. Also of note is the removal of the ugly green button, which goes a long way to making this design much more aesthetically pleasing.

- No product names: In an attempt to seemingly clean up the branding issues once and for all, Microsoft is making the product names less obvious. Instead products are referred to by a basic, self-explanatory name, Files instead of Skydrive, for example. That’s not to say the product names are necessarily being cut, but this simplification is a move which is long overdue.

In my opinion Live Orb should be included simply because it is now a trademark symbol for pretty much all the flag ship services (Windows Live) and applications (Windows Vista, Windows Media Center, Office 2007, Internet Explorer 8(Rumor) ) of Microsoft. Plus it also brings some sort of uniformity & consistency between all the services & applications of Microsoft and gives them all an overall impression that they belong to one hut.

So what do you think? What can we do about this?

Well one thing which we can do is to provide feedback about this to Windows Live Team at their email address livefb [at] microsoft [dot] com
So if you really want to see Live Orb in the upcoming update to Windows Live then start sending your requests at the email address provided above.

Remember: Together we can and we will make a difference!

Taimur Asad (Via Startup Meme)

Its been ages since we last heard or read anything from Windows Live team about Windows Live for TV (codename Orbit), let alone any working build for Windows Live for TV. When the project was first announced (I managed to get on the beta program), there was lots of interest specially when Windows Messenger was left out of Vista Media Center.

But now if you check out the official team blog of the Windows Live for TV team, you would notice that the last post which they posted was on 10th April 2007 which gives us a clear indication that this service is not going anywhere in fact it probably also means that this Live service like a few others is now officially dead.

It’s a real shame that this very promising & one of the most awaited service for Windows Media Center is looking like not coming after all.

For those of you who dont know what Windows Live for TV was supposed to offer: Windows Live for TV was built for Windows Media Center to bring popular Windows Live services like Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Spaces & Phone calls right to our 10-foot Media Center experience (Windows Vista only).

I wouldn’t be surprised if some parts of this came back from the dead for the upcoming Media Center update codename Fiji or even in the Media Center of Windows 7, but I don’t think we will ever see Windows Live for TV as the plug-in it was once meant to be.

Taimur Asad (Via Startup Meme)

Windows Live & Xbox.com has released a Windows Live Messenger theme pack for GTA IV enthusiasts which enhances the overall experience of Windows Live. The theme pack includes display pictures, emotions,
backgrounds(skins) and Hotmail signatures from Grand Theft Auto IV.

Grand Theft Auto is a popular cross platform video game franchise Developed by Rockstar North. It is available for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and is in stores worldwide since April 29, 2008.

Download GTA IV Messenger Theme Pack
Download GTA IV Hotmail Signatures

Taimur Asad (The Microsoft "Wow" Blog!)

Earlier this week, SkyDrive team rolled out the much awaited update to their already popular file sharing service!

Here’s what’s been added to Windows Live SkyDrive:

• More places. The service now is live in 24 additional locations, bringing the grand total to 62 countries and regions!
• Comments. The ability to add comments to the files uploaded has now been added as also been illustrated by the screenshot below:

• Captions. Now you can add captions and descriptions to your files and photos to better describe your files/folders to your friends & families.
• Click control.  When you click on any file, you can speed through all the files in the folder:

• Larger photo previews - Photo previews are now even bigger!

Some other features like Details view and Photo Thumbnails view have also been added which give SkyDrive users an experience similar to Windows Explorer.

Taimur Asad (The Microsoft "Wow" Blog!)

Given Long Zheng's passion for Microsoft promo videos, I thought it only fitting that we pay tribute and post about the Live Mesh one that has appeared on YouTube from the Web2.0 Expo. While I can't offer high-res stills of Mesh bringing animals back to life, there's still a few points you can take away about the high-level vision Microsoft has for Mesh.

At first glance it seems a lot like the generic Microsoft "next-generation" videos that occasionally pop up, full of ideas for the future, most of which will probably never materialise.. Then you remember that actually the products it is showing are already here and Mesh, the link between them all, has just entered initial public testing. Score +1 point for lack of vapourware.

Mobile: say hello to your new Windows Mobile Mesh client. The two screenshots show show before/after when you get a new file synchronised to a Live Mesh folder. Oh it looks good on the HTC Touch Dual too!

There's a Mac in the video! I can't think when the last time I saw one of these make an appearance in a Microsoft promo was. The client for Mac was also demoed at Web 2.0, so its definitely on the way.

Xbox: Not quite sure what the "File Share" aspect relates to as the shared content doesn't tie in with the rest of the video (it looks like they are sharing a screenshot from a game). Still, its not impossible to imagine that Mesh would eventually tie in with Microsoft's gaming platform, just like Windows Live Messenger does already.

Ok so I lied when I said no vapourware. Zune makes an appearance too, synchronising a playlist collection from the Zune device at one location, through to an in-car mp3 player somewhere else. You gotta have dreams though, right?
Perhaps one of the most potent applications that Mesh can offer is the ability to access your media library from anywhere, on any device. While this is definitely achievable now for Vista and Windows Mobile devices, the challenge will be making that available elsewhere: iPod and iPhone applications anybody?

Source: LiveSide

Taimur Asad (The Microsoft "Wow" Blog!)

Today Microsoft is unveiling a technology preview to a really neat new software+services platform called Live Mesh. Live Mesh is a brand new platform that helps your devices act together through the internet enabling users such as you and me to manage, access, and share their files and applications from nearly anywhere. By bringing user's files, applications, and devices together along with the combination of social networking (such as with news feeds) - Live Mesh creates a unique platform experience.

First and foremost Live Mesh is a new platform.  The first phase of the technology preview process provides a foundational experience that exposes core concepts and functionality of the platform.  In the near future developers can expect to be able to take advantage of Live Mesh to extend their software to the Web, and their services to the desktop and devices.

Today's technology preview is a pre-Beta release designed to get early feedback to make the platform even better.

I've been lucky to be given the chance to play with Live Mesh for the last couple weeks. I've had a great experience with Live Mesh so far and thought I'd share my experiences with you.

So the first thing I did was logged in to http://www.mesh.com/. Live Mesh of course supports Windows Live ID. After logging in with my Windows Live ID - I am taken to the screen where I can add/remove devices to my "mesh".

To set up folders to sync with my devices in my "mesh" I need to go to my Live Desktop. This is essentially your device in the cloud where I can manage all my Live Mesh Folders when I'm not in front of one of my usual PC or mobile. You create folders in your Live Desktop and choose which devices you want to sync them with (after you add them to your Live Mesh of course). You'll notice I have three PCs added to my Live Mesh.

On my Live Desktop I have three folders I've created. The first Live Mesh Folder I created was the one you see here called "Mesh". I use this folder to toss files that get synced to the Live Mesh cloud - and then synced to all my Live Mesh devices. You'll notice that the Live Mesh folks have tried to present a familiar approach to file management. You can even drag the folder window to any place on your Live Desktop.

After creating a folder on my Live Desktop, I can choose to sync it with specific devices in my Live Mesh. I chose to sync with all devices. Because the Live Mesh client was installed on my PCs, the "Mesh" Live Mesh Folder automatically appeared on the desktop of all of those PCs I chose to sync with.

When I open the "Mesh" Live Mesh Folder on any of my Windows Vista PCs the standard Windows Explorer window opens but with a Live Mesh addition on the right-hand side. The Mesh Bar on the Windows Explorer window lets me access my Live Mesh information for that folder.

Each Live Mesh Folder has a News Feed where it displays a history of information like when files were added, when they were removed, as well as who added them and notes. This experience exists both on my Windows desktops as well as my Live Desktop.  

A Live Mesh client sits on my Windows PCs in the taskbar. I can use it to quickly access my Live Mesh "stuff" (Live Mesh Folders, devices and news).

I have three tabs that you can switch between my news feed for all my Live Mesh Folders, my Devices, and my news.

From the Devices tab, I can use Live Mesh Remote Desktop to easily access any of my PCs. Building on the awesome Windows Remote Desktop technologies - I can login to any of my PCs running Live Mesh. You'll see that Live Mesh Remote Desktop also has a Mesh Bar.

I can also login to my PCs remotely using Live Mesh via the website as well.

I continue to use Live Mesh for syncing data and the overall all-out access to my information and devices. The above is just a quick overview of my experiences. To quickly recap - Live Mesh provides me with a way to manage and interact with all my data, devices and people.

You can read more about today's Live Mesh Technology Preview announcement from Amit Mital who is the General Manager for Live Mesh on the Windows Live Dev Blog. Keep your eyes on the Live Mesh Blog as well. Noah Edelstein, Group Program Manager for Mesh Platform Experiences, has a in-depth post discussing Live Mesh and possibly answering your questions about Live Mesh - like why you should care about this platform experience.

Channel 10's Nic Fillingham has a great hands-on video of Live Mesh worth checking out! Watch it here in Silverlight bliss:

Hands on with Live Mesh

I believe this is Nic's first video since joining the Channel 10 Team. I look forward to seeing more from Nic in the future.

Oh and Jon Udell over on Channel 9 got a chance to sit down with Ray Ozzie to discuss his role as Chief Software Architect and discusses Microsoft's overall software+services strategy.  

You can sign up to get an invite to test Live Mesh for yourself here by logging in with your Windows Live ID.

Source: windowsvistablog.com

Taimur Asad (The Microsoft "Wow" Blog!)

Microsoft today launched a private beta program for a new service, code-named “Albany.”

PressPass spoke with “Albany” Group Product Manager Bryson Gordon to learn more about what consumers can expect from the service and what it will enable them to do.

PressPass: What is “Albany”?

Gordon: “Albany” is the codename for a new all-in-one subscription service of essential software and services consumers told us were most important to them. We’ve pulled together the productivity tools people need to organize their lives, security to help keep their personal information safe and online services that make it easy for them to keep in touch with friends and family, and folded them all into a single service that also ensures the user’s PC is running the latest security and productivity software.

With just a few clicks, “Albany” subscribers will be able install the whole package, which includes Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007, giving them the latest versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote for their personal and school projects; Windows Live OneCare to help keep viruses at bay and their computer fast and healthy; and Windows Live Mail, Messenger and Photo Gallery so they can connect and share with others. Albany also installs the Microsoft Office Live Workspace connector on the Microsoft Office toolbar, so users can save documents to their own dedicated online workspace and invite friends and classmates to collaborate and share.

Additionally, with “Albany” consumers get the latest versions of Microsoft Office Home and Student and Windows Live OneCare as they’re released. Combined with ongoing security updates, consumers can have the peace of mind that they have protection from the most recent security threats and that their PC is running at its peak.

The beta program we’re announcing today spans a broad cross-section of users and is an integral part of bringing a new service to market.

PressPass: Why is Microsoft making this offering and why now?

Gordon: We asked consumers what they needed and wanted most on their PC, and the overwhelming response was that they primarily want productivity and security software. Consumers also expressed frustration at having to spend time and effort installing different types of software, keeping current on new versions and getting their computers set up. We’re just making it really convenient and painless for consumers to get up and running in a few mouse-clicks with the best-in-class Microsoft Office suite that they love and software and services they’ve told us are indispensable to getting the most out of their PC, while staying up-to-date with the latest versions of their software without having to purchase subsequent versions.

We expect “Albany” to resonate broadly with consumers – whether they’re buying a new primary PC, a second one for their household or trying to get more from an existing PC. Because each “Albany” subscription is good for three PCs, “Albany” is ideal for individuals with one or several computers, as well as families.

“Albany” is also another prime example of how we are delivering on our software plus services strategy of offering customers a combination of the rich performance and capabilities that you only get from software running on a client PC with the convenience and connectivity of the Web. “Albany” seamlessly connects the Web and desktop to improve customers’ productivity and computing experience, and harnesses the unbeatable convenience of the Internet as a delivery mechanism to ensure people’s software is up to date.

PressPass: Why is Microsoft using a subscription-based pricing model here?

Gordon: We’re breaking new ground by delivering Microsoft Office in combination with security and communication tools, plus ensuring our customers are on the cutting edge with the very latest versions. We found from our research that when you bring these categories together and keep them automatically updated, a subscription model makes a lot of sense.

At the same time, we are definitely not straying from our traditional software sales model. There will always be a significant number of users for whom purchasing a perpetual license to the latest version of Office is still the best choice. “Albany” just gives customers more choice and addresses the needs of those customers who value having the latest and greatest version of Microsoft Office.

PressPass: How does “Albany” relate to the next version of Office?

Gordon: “Albany” is not the next version of Microsoft Office; it’s just another way to get the current version plus other software and services that consumers consider indispensable for getting the most out of their PC. With the subscription model, when the next release of Microsoft Office comes out, “Albany” customers with an active subscription will automatically get an upgrade to this version – at no extra cost, as part of their subscription.

PressPass: When will “Albany” be available, how much will it cost and where will consumers be able to get hold of it?

Gordon: We’ll be providing more information later in the year on “Albany’s” availability, pricing and how people can get their hands on it.

Source: Microsoft

Taimur Asad (The Microsoft "Wow" Blog!)

Live Mesh is expected to be a service that synchronizes data between a number of different devices. Microsoft has talked about a long-term vision in which you need to only store things once, in the cloud, and have them appear on various devices. For example, music could be licensed once and appear on multiple gadgets without having to go through the more cumbersome process of transferring it from the original source. Likewise, contacts and other data could more easily be sent down to PCs and other devices.

The invitation was short on details, reminding me more of Apple's typical strategy than Microsoft's. A big headline screams "Mesh it up with Microsoft," and it says the evening event will be invitation-only.

Additional details have come out since Ozzie's Mix presentation, however, with ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley saying a beta test version is due this month and noting that the product's general manager, Amit Mital, is due to speak at the Web 2.0 conference on April 23.

Read the full story here.

Taimur Asad (The Microsoft "Wow" Blog!)

Thanks for your patience while we roll out our first major update. Some users have reported having problems with the new website and the new version of FolderShare for Windows. We’re happy to anounce that we've posted updates to address the majority of those concerns.

What we've addressed

• The problem some users had with Windows Vista and Windows XP failing to respond.
• All known website sign-in and library management problems.
• The version number typo on the download webpage.
• The difficulties that users of the IOMEGA external hard drive had with the website. Users may need to re-sync their PC libraries now that we've fixed that. (By the way, syncing with the actual devices isn't supported anymore, which we warned about in the previous blog post.)

Please use the latest version

All Windows users should be using version 14.0.1329.0317, which is available on the FolderShare download webpage. If you have any problems after installing it, please tell us by posting to the FolderShare newsgroup.

Also, please note that we've posted a couple more FAQs to the previous post.  Thanks for all your support and feedback...and a special thanks to the users who helped us perform some swift investigative work!

The FolderShare team

Taimur Asad (The Microsoft "Wow" Blog!)

Remy has just blogged on the Silverlight Streaming blog on dev.live that you will soon be able to put advertising into your Silverlight Streaming app. The pilot scheme is due to start soon this Spring.

So how will this work? The ads will be provided by the Microsoft AdCenter platform and deliver contextual ads based on the keywords associated to the Silverlight video and these ads will appear actually in the playback. To register your interest for this, head on over to http://advertising.microsoft.com/publisher/sls and provide the requested information.

Unfortunately, it is important to note that this is, as usual, only open to US participants, but as Remy is keen to highlight:

This is a real program, with revenues paid in US dollars, and it will include revenue sharing for the accounts participating in the trial.

So, if you are in the states and using SLS, good way to bring in some cash for doing nothing!

Source: LiveSide

Taimur Asad (The Microsoft "Wow" Blog!)

I use about 2-3 different PCs throughout the week for work - including my laptop when I travel away from the office. In doing this - I have files scattered on multiple PCs. I'll go to one PC and find I need a file from another PC. So to make sure all my PCs are in-sync with all the important files I need and use - I use Windows Live FolderShare. Windows Live FolderShare is a service that lets users sign-in to set up Libraries that consist of folders on multiple PCs. These Libraries are synced using the Windows Live FolderShare client that sits on each PC. Users can have multiple Libraries setup as well as Shared Libraries with friends.

Today, the FolderShare Team is shipping a Beta Refresh of both the Windows Live FolderShare website and client that offers some great improvements to the Windows Live FolderShare service at http://www.foldershare.com/. Those improvements include:

• Improved usability with the Windows Live FolderShare website - UI aligns with other Windows Live services.
• Updated Windows Live FolderShare Client.
• Back-end improvements.
• Full Windows Vista support with updated Windows Live FolderShare Client.

Today's Beta Refresh supports Windows Live FolderShare's already supported countries and regions: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.

If you are already a Windows Live FolderShare Beta user - it is recommended you upgrade to today's new beta client. Your account information, folders, device, and settings should migrate over just fine. Users who don't upgrade to the new Windows Live FolderShare client Beta should expect to be asked to upgrade in the near future.

I thought I'd do a quick over view of my experience with the new Windows Live FolderShare website.

To login to the new Windows Live FolderShare site - I logged in with the same credentials I did with the previous Windows Live FolderShare site. You account remains exactly the same despite the awesome new site.

After logging in, I was able to view all my Libraries and PCs configured with the Windows Live FolderShare client. Here I can create and manage Libraries (both shared and private). I'll get to the remote access stuff here in a second but essentially this is where I can see which of my PCs (running the Windows Live FolderShare client) are online. I can also use remote access to access files on the PCs that are online.

I was able to click on one of my Libraries I have set up and see the sync status. You'll see here my "Microsoft_Work_Docs" Library. I have 37 of 37 files synced between two PCs with another PC offline (this is my laptop).This is a Library I have set up that syncs up all my blog posts I write. I write my posts in Word or Windows Live Writer and save them to a specific folder on my PC which is then synced with Windows Live FolderShare and my other PCs. I sometimes write posts on my laptop when I'm out traveling but want to come back to them later on one of my desktop PCs at home. The Library makes sure all my drafts for blog posts are all synced on all my PCs.

As mentioned above, PCs that are shown as online under "Remote access" allow me (via the Windows Live FolderShare website) to access files and folders remotely. This is an absolutely wonderful feature. Here I am accessing my Dell XPS 420 desktop PC.

I can access the specific storage devices I have on my XPS 420 (darddrives and removable media like external harddrives and USB sticks) or pre-determined folders.

NOTE: The pre-determined folders are folders under which ever user account Windows Live FolderShare is running under.

If I click on the "Photos" folder, I can view all my photos.

I can pick and choose any file - in this case any photo - and download them to the PC I am using to access the Windows Live FolderShare site at that time. This works for music, videos, or any other files stored in specific folders.

Beyond the Windows Live FolderShare website - we have the updated beta client. The Windows Live FolderShare client sits on the taskbar in Windows Vista and runs in the background. By clicking on the Windows Live FolderShare client icon on the taskbar, I can view all the Libraries I am syncing on my PC.

I can also use the client to quick go to the Windows Live FolderShare website to set up new Libraries. It's very easy to set up new Libraries and they show up almost immediately. You can also view the Activity of the files being synced to your PC as well through the Windows Live FolderShare client.

Windows Live FolderShare is an amazing way to sync your files with multiple PCs and access your files remotely. It really saves a lot of time from bouncing between multiple PCs. Thanks to Windows Live FolderShare, all I have to do is sit at any of my PCs and I have all my important files I need.

To get started with today's Windows Live FolderShare Beta refresh - just head on over to http://www.foldershare.com/!

UPDATE: The kinks are still being worked out after migrating to the new Windows Live FolderShare. If you are having a problem downloading the client installer - you can download it directly here: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=111309

Source: windowsvistablog.com

Taimur Asad (The Microsoft "Wow" Blog!)

Later today we should see the reincarnation of MSN Toolbar in beta form (codename Salsa). Like many older MSN products, it migrated over to the new Windows Live brand early 2007, however as part of the gradual drift back, its been revamped with a new look.

So what's new apart from the Vista styled UI? Well perhaps the biggest thing is that the toolbar is powered by Silverlight, which adds an extra dimension to the features on offer. This enables the drop-down MSN chanel previews, showing the latest content from within the MSN portal without requiring the user to move from the internet page they are currently browsing. From the same preview pane users can also chose to search that part of the site, which brings us onto the 2nd main feature - Live Search.

Although web search and toolbars have gone hand in hand for as long as I can remember, the new MSN Toolbar beta adds a few twists. Firstly, and definitely most controversially, when you perform a search query on another search engine, the toolbar search box will auto-populate itself should you wish to view results from Live Search. This seems like a bit of a grey area in terms of user privacy, so I'm sure we'll inevitably hear complaints about it soon enough. As mentioned above, the toolbar also allows users to tailor their search to specific MSN channels using the preview panes.

Finally there's a breaking news feature, bringing the latest news direct to your browser. At the end of the day though, a toolbar is a toolbar, so there's not a huge amount to get excited about - what is exciting is seeing just how much Silverlight could be used for. Of course there is the added bonus for Microsoft in that requiring users to install Silverlight for core products such as this will increase penetration into the mass-market. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Users who want to participate in the managed beta on Connect will be able to sign up soon through the Available Connections page. The toolbar homepage is also up, however there is no download available yet.

Source: LiveSide.net

Taimur Asad (The Microsoft "Wow" Blog!)

This month’s online video stack-up saw a major reshuffling with 3 of the Top 5 players trading places amid heavy shifts in traffic. YouTube continued to outperform the market, growing 1% in October to 213M visits on nearly 52M unique visitors. The Top 20 video sites as a set contracted 6% in October.

Extraordinary gains were realized by the Microsoft family of video sites, which includes MSN Video and Live Search Video, catapulting the Redmond rival into 2nd place, three spots ahead of its rank in September. MSN/Live Video grew 25.3% to 35M visits on the strength of 21M visitors.

Meanwhile, major losses struck Yahoo! Video, MySpaceTV and Heavy.com. MySpace’s decline is particularly troublesome given that it’s the 3rd straight month of double-digit losses for the social networking giant. Since July 2007, MySpace has seen its online video market share halved to 7.6%.

At Yahoo! Video, unique visitors held relatively steady while visits declined 27.5%. The drop indicates that visitors to Yahoo! Video were less inclined to return than they were in September and August.

Continue At Source

Taimur Asad (The Microsoft "Wow" Blog!)

Today’s families increasingly have more than one PC at home, and with Microsoft internal data suggesting the average U.S. household now owns approximately 2.5 PCs, households and small businesses have a strong need to simplify the way they provide security and care for all of their PCs. With increased mobility and the rise of the home computer network, ensuring a stable, secure computing experience has become more complex, yet important as ever before.

To address this complexity, Microsoft introduced Windows Live OneCare, one of the first software products to provide a comprehensive PC care solution. Today, Microsoft announced the next version of Windows Live OneCare, which provides even greater security for home or small offices, and delivers features that make it easy to back up data and manage multiple PCs.

PressPass spoke with Amy Barzdukas, senior director for Windows Live OneCare, about the launch of Windows Live OneCare and how it can provide customers with an easier way to manage their computers and protect their information.

PressPass: What is Windows Live OneCare?

Barzdukas: Windows Live OneCare is designed to be an all-in-one PC care solution for security and performance issues that can plague the home PC computing experience. Personal computing should be about being more productive, having fun, and having access to the information and tools that help us do what we want, without having to worry about security or performance issues.

Unfortunately, this isn’t always easy. Ensuring that a family has a safe computing experience is becoming more complicated. It can be time consuming and cumbersome for families to configure their wireless networks and to back up important data like their digital photos—their digital memories. That’s the beauty of Windows Live OneCare. We offer one easy solution that is automatic, so maintaining and configuring PCs becomes quite simple.

In addition to using its own anti-virus and anti-phishing capabilities, Windows Live OneCare supports up to three computers on one subscription. At my house, that means one subscription covers the PC in the family room, the office, and the laptop the kids use for homework.

PressPass: Can you tell me more about this concept of PC care?

Barzdukas: The average household that owns a computer today actually has about two-and-a-half PCs and they're using them in many different ways, both online and offline. Like in my house, one PC might be used primarily by the parents for managing family finances and storing family photos, another PC might be used by the kids for playing games and doing homework, and there could potentially be a third that’s used by the whole family, and which stores all of their music and entertainment. Any of these machines will certainly be used to access the Internet as well, and odds are that they're also connected to each other by a wireless network.

The whole concept of PC care is designed to help these customers stay safe, keep their PCs well maintained, and protect their data automatically. Towards that end, Windows Live OneCare is designed for use by even the most non-technical user.

PressPass: How does Windows Live OneCare address the increased number of PCs?

Barzdukas: Making it easier to manage multiple PCs has been one of the primary areas of focus for us. With this launch, we are introducing the OneCare Circle, a feature that links all of the PCs together using a wireless network that’s already in place. Once linked, a person can monitor the status of all the computers on their circle through a simple "red, yellow, green" status indicator located on the system tray of the “hub” computer, which the customer can designate. From the hub computer they can also correct a lot of PC care issues throughout their entire circle with a single click. For example, suppose a child who's playing a role-playing game thinks they can get better performance by turning off their computer’s firewall. That child’s parent can see that the firewall has been disabled and turn it back on with one click from the hub machine. I wish, of course, that this were a hypothetical situation and not something had happened in my house.

For those homes with more than one PC, the OneCare Circle also makes it easy to back up photos, financial data, music and home videos onto a single, centralized device. So moving from machine to machine with a stack of disks is no longer necessary. Nor do customers need to take a removable hard drive from machine to machine to do backup. Customers can simply plug in a hard drive to any one of their computers that is on the OneCare Circle and use that as a centralized storage device for all of their important data, whether it’s financial documents or photos.

PressPass: What are some of the other enhancements in Windows Live OneCare? 

Barzdukas: In addition to simplifying the management of multiple PCs, Windows Live OneCare provides enhancements in two important areas -- performance and wireless networking.

For example, Windows Live OneCare customers can use the new Start Time Optimizer to monitor what applications launch during a computer’s start-up process. Using the enhanced monthly reports they can then remove programs that are rarely used from the start-up process. For example, suppose a bookkeeper has a specific application that they only use during tax season, but which prolongs their computer’s start-up time. Start Time Optimizer allows them to remove that program from start up, and any others that they infrequently use, so their computer will start more quickly. Windows Live OneCare also has a new “Proactive Fixes and Recommendations” feature that monitors known performance issues and automatically helps resolve them before they become a problem for the consumer.

Those households and small businesses that have multiple computers frequently depend on their wireless network to access the Internet. What many people aren’t aware of is that that same wireless router also enables them to connect computers to each other and share peripheral devices. Windows Live OneCare makes it easy to connect a new printer to all the PCs on a network.

Windows Live OneCare also provides an easy way to maintain a wireless network with security. Ensuring that a network is as secure as possible from hackers or, for that matter, from your neighbors stealing bandwidth, usually requires that computers that are connected wirelessly using some sort of password or key. Windows Live OneCare makes it easy to enforce the highest level of security possible and add new computers without any hassle.

PressPass: Speaking of security, how is Microsoft working to improve the strength of Windows Live OneCare's anti-virus features?

Barzdukas: We're deeply committed to investing in our ongoing anti-malware efforts. For example, we recently opened new research centers in Europe and Australia, and to staff our labs we've built a world-class anti-malware team that's composed of established industry experts.

It's worth noting that Windows Live OneCare is certified by the International Computer Security Association and by West Coast Labs. And we've also received the VB 100 Award from Virus Bulletin. Certifications such as these demonstrate that Windows Live OneCare provides anti-malware protection that's strong enough to protect our customers from known threats.

PressPass: How does Windows Live OneCare differ from the Microsoft enterprise security product? Is it primarily for consumers or is it appropriate for business use as well?

Barzdukas: Windows Live OneCare is designed for smaller networks and licenses up to three computers -- so our primary audience is consumers and people with small businesses and home businesses. We think that all-in-one PC care, and features such as centralized backup and multi-PC management, will provide the security and ease-of-use from which both of these audiences will benefit greatly.

PressPass: What has been the industry’s response to Windows Live OneCare since it was first released?

Barzdukas: When we introduced Windows Live OneCare in 2006, we really pioneered the whole concept of PC care: covering up to three PCs with a single subscription, and combining PC protection, performance, and backup into a single service. Since that time, we continue to focus on meeting the demands of today’s consumers. We are extending our leadership in the industry by introducing multi-management features I talked about today, which builds upon the three-PC license.

And, since we're a subscription service, all of our customers whose subscriptions are current will receive automatic upgrades. That will help them enjoy all of the new benefits that we're introducing without having to lift a finger.

Links:
Windows Live OneCare

Taimur Asad (The Microsoft "Wow" Blog!)

Windows Live team today renamed Windows Live Custom Domains to Windows Live Admin Center. LiveSide.net has full report on this:

"Windows Live Custom Domains has today undergone its Wave 2 update that sees it renamed as Windows Live Admin Center, though the old url of domains.live.com still works. This name change reflects the wider array of features now offered by the service, which has transitioned from a hosted email service into a more complete Windows Live package. The update now allows those who manage a domain to redirect a subdomain to a Windows Live Space, a Windows Live Map of a location you specifiy, a Live Search page complete with custom macros or even a customised live.com page. To see what this means, check out the urls we've redirected:

http://spaces.liveside.net/
http://maps.liveside.net/
http://mail.liveside.net

The new Windows Live Admin Center now allows co-branding of Windows Live sites. Users who manage a domain through Windows Live have the ability to add their own logo to the Windows Live Header, which is the same experience as that provided by Windows Live partners such as Verizon and Qwest.

Additionally this update extends the Windows Live @ Edu scheme to two new markets.

• Windows Live @ Net enables IT managers to host their services

• Windows Live Community builder allows communities to host their services

Although a basic service, Windows Live Admin Center does the job well and with the minimum of fuss. We've been using it as our mail service for over a year, as it allows you to use both Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Mail to manage your inboxes. What would be great to see is statistics for the redirected subdomains, showing just how many people are using your Windows Live pages. Maybe a redirect for your personal SkyDrive folder too. Any other improvement suggestions?"

Source: LiveSide.net

Taimur Asad (The Microsoft "Wow" Blog!)