Windows Game For Live Download

[Kristin Banyas]

WindowsLive is a discontinued brand name for a set of web services and software products developed by Microsoft as part of its software-as-a-service platform. Chief components under the brand name included web services (all of which were exposed through corresponding web applications), several computer programs that interact with the services, and specialized web services for mobile devices.[1]

According to Microsoft, Windows Live was "a way to extend the Windows user experience".[2] As such, Windows Vista's welcome screen provides a link to download Windows Live Messenger or to subscribe to Windows Live OneCare. Also, Windows Mail, Windows Photo Gallery and Windows Movie Maker were not offered with Windows 7 and became an exclusive part of Windows Live.[3] Microsoft announced that Windows 8 would have Windows Live apps included out-of-the-box, and would include built-in synchronization technologies powered by OneDrive (then SkyDrive).[4] The Windows Live brand was phased out during August 2012, when Microsoft released Windows 8 to manufacturing. Active Windows Live services remained active but were gradually renamed. The "live.com" domain, however, continues to be used in the URLs for Outlook, OneDrive, and the Login and Signup pages.

Windows Live was first announced on November 1, 2005. In its initial release, several Windows Live properties were rebranded and enhanced from Microsoft's MSN set of products and services. However, MSN still exists alongside Windows Live as a means of delivering content (as opposed to customized content and communications).[5] In May 2012 Microsoft began renaming Windows Live services, partly in anticipation of Windows 8, which integrates many of the Windows Live products and services into the operating system.[6]

My Windows Phone was a free online companion service for Windows Phone mobile devices that provided users with a free mobile phone back-up solution by wirelessly synchronizing contacts, calendar appointments, photos, and OneNote notebooks with a password-protected online portal. Users could access and manage their information stored on their Windows Phone devices via the online portal using their Microsoft account, as well as accessing a set of features for remotely ringing, locking, mapping, and erasing their lost phones. This service integrated tightly with other Windows Live services including Hotmail.com People and Calendar, and SkyDrive.[8]

Microsoft released a Windows Live Messenger application on the iOS App Store, which allowed users on mobile devices running iOS to communicate with their contacts via the Microsoft Messenger service. In addition to the instant messaging functionalities, the application also allowed users to view their Messenger social feed, view their friend's Profiles, and integrate with Hotmail and Photos.

Bing, a replacement of the search engine Live Search, was originally named Windows Live Search (and MSN Search prior to that) and was once part of the Windows Live family of services. Windows Live Search once occupied the homepage of Live.com, the domain for all Windows Live services. However, on March 21, 2007, Microsoft decided to separate its search developments from its Windows Live services family, forming part of the Live Search and Ad Platform. As part of this reorganization, the new search brand, Live Search, was consolidated with Microsoft adCenter, a part of Microsoft's Platform and Systems division.[10] However, Microsoft recognised that there was a brand issue as the word "Live" continued to remain in the brand.[11] As an effort to create a new identity for Microsoft's search services, on June 3, 2009, Live Search was officially rebranded as Bing.[12]

Live Connect is a collection of APIs and common controls that allow developers to have a deeper control and offers access to the core Windows Live services and data through open and easily accessible application programming interfaces (APIs). Live Connect is built on standard web technologies such as OAuth 2.0, Representational State Transfer (REST), and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), and is designed to work with any technology or device. Live Connect unites the previously separate APIs of Windows Live into a single API that is based on industry standards and specifications.

Microsoft has released several computer programs with "Windows Live" brand, a summary of which is included below. All except Windows Live OneCare are freeware and published in a software suite called Windows Essentials (formerly Windows Live Essentials). Essentials programs are designed to integrate well with each other, within Windows, and with other Windows Live services such as OneDrive and Outlook.com.[14] Windows Live OneCare on the other hand, was a commercial consumers utility marketed with a software as a service licensing model.

The Windows Live Butterfly awards program (formerly the MSN Butterfly program) was a program whose members were given the benefit of new Microsoft software to test before the beta releases went public and they were in direct contact with the program managers for Windows Live products.

Microsoft had initiated the Windows Live Butterfly program in order to recognize the contributions made by exemplary beta testers. Prospective 'butterflies' were selected by the Windows Live product team and were nominated for a term of one year, after which they could be renominated.[15]

All Windows Live websites sport a common theme. Different themes have been used on the sites with each phase of product release, called "Waves". Each Wave has a set of online services and desktop programs (Windows Essentials). The web services are labelled by each Wave, for example, Hotmail Wave 4. The programs from Windows Essentials are usually called by a year number, for example, Windows Live Messenger 2011.

Microsoft released a set of new themes for their Windows Live Wave 3 services, which allows users to customize their pages on Windows Live using a set of predetermined background pictures. Several of these themes are dynamic and change according to the time of day and the current weather condition of the user.[18]

In addition to the themes provided in Windows Live Wave 3, the release of Windows Live Wave 4 provided additional themes for users to customize their pages on Windows Live, with several dynamic themes that changes according to the time of day and weather conditions at the user's location. Several of these newly added themes are similar to wallpapers originating from Windows 7.[19] In addition, the Windows Live Wave 4 header features a reorganized dynamic navigation menu that displays the number of the user's current online contacts and the number of unread e-mails,[20] as well as an in-built Windows Live Web Messenger service allowing users to connect to the Microsoft Messenger service and Facebook chat service to chat with their online contacts while browsing any Windows Live properties using a web browser.[21]

Why is this blog post called "Download Windows Live Writer 2012?" Because that's all I wanted to do. I love Live Writer. If you love it too, put a note in the comments and maybe the team will notice, because I will carry Windows Live Writer with me until you pry it from my cold, dead hands. I use Windows Live Writer exclusively for writing my blog posts and I recommend you use it too. Windows Live Writer is the best windows blog authoring application I have found so far.

When I googled with Bing for "Windows Live Writer 2012" I got this mess. Three results from a bunch of evil download sites that I don't trust because they will just install toolbars and I'm generally afraid of them.

Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.

We are all pretty familiar with Games for Windows - Live, Microsoft's ill-fated Steam competitor from 2007 and discontinued in 2013, which tried to bring Xbox Live-like features to Windows XP, Vista & 7, including achievements and cross-platform play between PC & Xbox 360 gamers. Unfortunately, the latter feature was very short-lived with only five games on PC & Xbox 360 ever utilizing it.

Sadly, as of today, the service is now no longer functional or online anymore, as Microsoft broke the ability to re-download previously purchased DLC since the marketplace deactivated itself in 2018, and in 2020 they removed the Games for Windows Live download page and the Windows Live Sign-in Assistant was removed from their servers and therefore the vanilla Games for Windows - LIVE installer fails to install.

Although this hasn't been confirmed, they also likely shutdown the key generator servers for PC games that required the service, which was notable with what happened with Grand Theft Auto IV on Steam, as Rockstar Games couldn't generate the additional keys needed to sell the game, which lead to the multiplayer being removed with the current PC version of GTA IV.

In it's currently broken state, it appears the final activation & online gaming servers for Games for Windows Live finally went offline by no later than 2020, causing all PC games that utilized the service to become permanently unplayable, to no longer be activated via the internet, online multiplayer servers shutting down, new keys for existing games to no longer be generated, and PC games that utilized the service no longer being playable in Single Player & Multiplayer, even with No-CD & No-DVD cracks.

I'm guessing Microsoft closed the remaining GFWL servers down, probably due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which made older software platforms, including digital & physical distribution, as well as the old PC gaming DRM solutions like SafeDisc, SecuROM & StarForce pretty much less profitable, and Microsoft themselves wanting to focus more on releasing their PC games on Steam, the Microsoft Store, and Xbox Game Pass.

It's also possible that GWFL was the victim of Microsoft's plan to discontinue SHA-1 updates from their Windows Update service for Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003 & Vista users, which means that all games on Steam that requires GFWL are now permanently unplayable, and any physical copies you might own on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM are now just paperweights and display pieces.

In conclusion, it's pretty much made clear that Games for Windows - Live had it's remaining services & servers shutdown with no warning from Microsoft, as they have high priorities to redesign the Xbox website to remove any mentions of discontinued hardware & software products like the OG Xbox, the Xbox 360 & Games for Windows - Live for example.

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