Windows Live 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]
I use windows live mail. Sometimes I get attachments inWord, Excel, etc. If I open the document from mail, and hit "save" I can notfind out where it saves. It does not save in any temp file that I can see.
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.
On a lighter side..though after reading, all those steps could be a selling point for converting a hotmail account to Plus and use
pop3
--
...winston
ms-mvp windows live mail
"Ildhund" wrote in message news:OBI1xkle...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
Two points:
(a) If you'd seen all the posts in a variety of fora from people who have
lost all their messages from Hotmail, you might want to reconsider. I don't
think I'd ever regard Hotmail storage as anything other than a secondary
backup for valuable data.
(b) There have been far more posts here from people asking how to *avoid*
keeping their messages on the server once they have been downloaded. People
have different wants and needs; WLMail and Hotmail balance these off and try
to achieve a happy medium. The problem with that is that those who are
satisfied don't say anything; it's only the ones who aren't that make
themselves heard.Perhaps someone else in a similar situation to yours will try out my
complicated procedure and tell us whether it works...
--
Noel
The world seems to be divided into two camps, those who like webmail
("keep everything on the server"), and those who prefer their local mail client to
store mail locally. It boils down to personal preference. Since email originated
with the POP model, it seems normal (to me) that email clients still favor that
approach. Webmail users who don't care about have locally stored email are
expected to use their web browser for mail access.By the way, if you travel with a laptop, you don't always have connectivity, and
you may want to use that downtime to compose a lengthy reply to some
important email you received earlier. That's hard to do when the original
message is not accessible.
--
Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP (WLMail)