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Revision as of 13:55, 7 November 2014
Windows Live was the brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft; part of their software plus services platform. In April 2013, the website was closed down. A majority of these services are Web applications, accessible from a browser, but there are also client-side binary applications that require installation. There are three ways in which Windows Live services are offered: Windows Essentials applications, web services, and mobile services.
Microsoft said that Windows Live "is a way to extend the Windows user experience". Windows Vista provides a link in its user interface to download Windows Live Messenger, and Windows 7 saw the removal of applications such as Windows Mail, Windows Photo Gallery and Windows Movie Maker and replaced with the Windows Essentials suite, a software package that allows the downloading and installation of similar offerings from Windows Live. Microsoft announced that Windows 8 will see Windows Live apps included right out of the box, and will include built-in synchronization technologies powered by SkyDrive. The Windows Live brand was phased out during August 2012; coinciding with the RTM of Windows 8. Most services kept their name, but with the removal of "Windows Live" in front of them.
Besides Windows Live, which is mainly aimed at individuals, there are some other Web properties from Microsoft that are branded as "Live": Xbox LIVE multiplayer gaming and content delivery system for the Xbox brand of consoles, and the Games for Windows - LIVE multiplayer gaming service for Microsoft Windows. Another "Live" service, Office Live, was converged into Windows Live during the Wave 4 update, when Microsoft merged Office Live into the Windows Live team in January 2009.
History
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). 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.
Services
Online services
The following services were once part of Windows Live but are still online even after the brand name is dropped.
| Name | Later renamed to | Website | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admin Center | — | domains |
Provides e-mail hosting for web site owners. As of 2014, this service is still using Wave 4 user interface. Discontinued but not offline yet. |
| Calendar | — | calendar |
Calendaring web app that allow users to organize appointments, schedule meetings, set reminders, and share their calendar events. |
| Hotmail | Outlook.com | outlook |
Free webmail service using AJAX technology |
| ID | Microsoft account | account |
Provides single sign-on service, allowing users to log into various Microsoft products and services with the same credentials. Users can manage their accounts and link multiple IDs together using this service. |
| Search | Bing | bing |
Microsoft search engine and advertisement platform. |
| People | — | people |
An address book service, which allows users to keep track and synchronize their contact's information. Allow users to add contacts from other social networks including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, Flickr and soon Sina Weibo and Skype to their Microsoft account. |
| Profile | — | profile |
Allow users to manage their profile information and displays information about the particular user, their recent activities, and their relationship with other Windows Live users. |
| Office | Office Web Apps, Office Online | office |
Free-to-use web app versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. |
| SkyDrive | OneDrive | onedrive foldershare |
Password-protected file hosting service. Enables file sharing and content synchronization. Can preview images, Microsoft Office documents and ZIP files. Integrates tightly with Office Web Apps and Outlook.com to serve as an online storage for their needs. |
| Service status | — | status.live.com | A diagnostics web page that Microsoft uses to announce the status of its online services. It gathers a status history. |
Mobile services
Windows Phone
Main article: My Windows PhoneMy Windows Phone is a free online companion service for Windows Phone mobile devices that provides 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 can 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 integrates tightly with other Windows Live services including People, Calendar, and SkyDrive.
iOS
Main article: Windows Live Messenger MobileMicrosoft released a Windows Live Messenger application on the iOS App Store, which allows users on mobile devices running the iOS to communicate with their contacts via the Microsoft Messenger service. In addition to the instant messaging functionalities, the application also allows users to view their Messenger social feed, view their friends' Profile's, and integrate with Hotmail and Photos.
Feature phone
Windows Live also provides customised services specifically created for feature phones. It is offered via three channels — through Client-based (for Windows Mobile and other supported mobile devices such as Nokia phones), Web-based (for WAP or GPRS-enabled mobile web browsers), or SMS-based services.
| Mobile Service | Offered through | Exchange ActiveSync support? | Description | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Client | Web | SMS | ||||
| Calendar Mobile | Yes | Yes | Yes | Web-based version of Calendar designed for mobile devices to view, schedule and manage calendar appointments and events. SMS service for users to query today and tomorrow's appointments in their calendar | Final | |
| People Mobile | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Web-based version of People designed for mobile devices for access to contact information. Client-based version allows integration of the contact list with the mobile device's address book. Also allow users to query contact information via SMS | Final |
| Windows Live Groups Mobile | Yes | Web-based version of Windows Live Groups designed for mobile devices | Final | |||
| Outlook.com Mobile | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Web- and client-based version of Outlook.com that targets mobile devices, and allow new email alerts via SMS | Final |
| Windows Live Messenger Mobile | Yes | Yes | Yes | Web- and client-based version of Windows Live Messenger that is designed for mobile devices, and allow users to send instant messages via SMS | Final | |
| Windows Live Profile Mobile | Yes | View and update user's own Windows Live Profile information using a mobile device | Final | |||
| Microsoft SkyDrive Mobile | Yes | Yes | Web-based version of SkyDrive designed for mobile devices for accessing documents stored on the cloud. Client-based version allows upload of photos directly from a mobile phone camera. | Final | ||
Search services
Main article: BingBing, 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. However, Microsoft recognised that there was a brand issue as the word "Live" continued to remain in the brand. As an effort to create a new identity for Microsoft's search services, on June 3, 2009, Live Search was officially rebranded as Bing.
Developer services
Main article: Live ConnectLive 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.
Software
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. Windows Live OneCare on the other hand, was a commercial consumers utility marketed with a software as a service licensing model.
| Service | Description | Fate |
|---|---|---|
| Family Safety | Parental controls similar to Windows Vista's Family Safety feature | Integrated into Windows 8 and later |
| Desktop mail and calendar client designed to succeed Outlook Express on Windows XP and Windows Mail on Windows Vista, with full RSS support | Integrated into Windows 8 and later | |
| Movie Maker | Video editing software for editing home video | Discontinued |
| Messenger | Instant messaging app | Replaced by Skype |
| Messenger Companion | An add-in for Internet Explorer that allows users to share a webpage with their friends on Windows Live, see links to webpages the user's friends have shared and comment on these shared pages. | Discontinued |
| OneCare | A suite of computer security programs with antivirus program, backup utility, and a personal firewall. | Discontinued; functionality is partially offered by Microsoft Security Essentials, Windows Defender, System Center Endpoint Protection, Windows Backup and Windows Firewall. |
| Toolbar | A toolbar plug-in for Windows Internet Explorer, which allows quick access to a user's Windows Live Spaces, Hotmail, Favorites and Live Search from a button on the toolbar. | Replaced by Bing Desktop and Bing Bar |
| Photo Gallery | Image organizer that make posting photos to SkyDrive and Facebook easier | Discontinued |
| Writer | Desktop blog publishing tool that can publish to popular blogging services and make use of SkyDrive for photo storage. | Discontinued |
Discontinued services
| Name | Description | Replaced By | Discontinued Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admin Center | Enabled users with domain names to change their domain MX record(s) (mail server records) so that all features of Outlook.com will be available on their own domain names. | Microsoft Office 365 | 10 April 2014 |
| Agents | Interactive chatterbots through Windows Live Messenger that allowed users to get more information about specific topics. | — | 30 June 2009 |
| Alerts | Sent information updates to the user's email inbox, mobile device or Messenger. | — | 30 September 2010 |
| Barcode | 2D barcodes that can be used to store information or link to the mobile web. | Microsoft Tag | Never launched |
| Call | Allowed users to make PC-to-PC and PC-to-Phone voice and video calls. | Skype | 1 June 2010 |
| Devices | An online device management service that allowed users to centrally access and manage the synchronisation of files stored on their computers and mobile devices. Also allowed users to remotely access their computers from the internet via their web browser. | Integration into OneDrive | ? |
| Events | Enabled managing and planing different types of events and share them with others using Calendar, Spaces and Alerts. | Windows Live Groups (now discontinued) Calendar |
3 September 2009 |
| Expo | Allowed users to post online classifieds and search for listings posted by other users. | — | 31 July 2008 |
| Favorites | Synchronized the user's favorites between computers and allows for the sharing of favorites. | OneDrive | 14 April 2009 |
| FrameIt | Extended the functionality of digital photo frame devices, allowing users to customise the content delivery from multiple sources such as RSS feeds. | — | 15 December 2010 |
| Gallery | A center for collections of developers' add-ons for Windows Live Messenger, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Writer, Toolbar, Spaces, and Live.com, as well as Windows 7 and Windows Vista Sidebar and SideShow gadgets. | Windows Live Plug-ins (Discontinued) |
1 October 2011 |
| Groups | Enabled users to create their social groups for sharing, discussion and coordination. | Integration into OneDrive | ? |
| Home | Provided a central location to access Windows Live services, monitor status information, and navigate to other Windows Live sites and services. | — | 18 February 2013 |
| Help Community | Collection of forums and message boards that allowed communication with other users of Windows Live products. | Microsoft Answers | 6 June 2008 |
| Mesh | File sharing and synchronization service based on FolderShare and Live Mesh technologies. Supported PC-to-PC and PC-to-Cloud synchronisation, and synchronisation of program settings such as Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office between multiple computers. Also allowed users to remotely access their computers via the internet. | OneDrive | 2012 |
| Office Live Workspace | Offered 5GB of storage space for storing Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook documents and lists online and sharing them with others. Office Live Workspace did not offer collaboration or editing capabilities however. | Office Online | 21 January 2011 |
| OneCare Safety Scanner | Free PC scanning and health service to help delete viruses and other threats. Included a registry cleaner, disk cleaner and defragmenter, network open port scanner, and comprehensive virus and spyware scanner. | Microsoft Safety Scanner | 15 April 2011 |
| Personalized Experience | An all-in-one home page featuring a customisable RSS aggregator, gadgets and search tools. | My MSN | 30 March 2010 |
| Plug-ins | A central repository for collections of developer plug-ins for Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Live Writer. | — | ? |
| QnA | A question and answer service which allowed users to ask questions, tag them according to topic, and gain points and reputation for answering other users' questions. | MSN QnA (now discontinued) |
21 May 2009 |
| Search Center | A desktop search program which provided a unified local and remote indexed search from a unified interface. | Windows Search 4 (now part of Windows Vista and Windows 7) |
12 December 2006 |
| Shopping | An online shopping comparison website which allowed users to compare items and prices of over 40 million products from more than 7000 online stores. | Bing Shopping (now discontinued) |
20 February 2007 |
| Spaces | A blog and social networking service which allowed users to create personalized blogs, add friends, and upload photos. | Migration to WordPress or Sina blogs in China | 16 March 2011 |
| Sync and Live Mesh | File synchronization which allowed files and folders between two or more computers be in sync with each other or with the cloud storage on the web. Live Mesh also enabled remote desktop access via the internet using a web browser. | OneDrive | 31 March 2011 |
| TV | An additional program for Windows Media Center which provided access to Windows Live Spaces, Messenger, and Call on large-screen monitors or TVs. | — | 24 June 2008 |
| Video Messages | Combined digital video with e-mail into a service that allowed all webcam users to create, send, and receive video messages to anyone in their contact list, even when they are offline. | Skype | 21 July 2010 |
| Web Messenger | Online version of Windows Live Messenger which allowed users to talk online and in real-time with others from within a web browser. | Integration into all services | 30 October 2008 |
| WiFi Center | Allowed users to search for wireless networks that are available and displays information about them. | — | 16 February 2007 |
| WiFi Hotspot Locator | A website which allowed users to locate wireless internet hotspots worldwide and view their positions on a map using Bing Maps. | MSN WiFi Hotspots (now discontinued) |
16 February 2007 |
Windows Live Butterfly
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.
The Windows Live Butterfly program was closed in June 2009.
User interface
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.
Blue Vapor/Flair
The Windows Live Flair header
Most original Windows Live applications and services used a visual theme known as Blue Vapor or Flair. This theme no longer exists on any of the current Windows Live properties.
Wave 2
Windows Live 2.0 header
With the public beta release of the Windows Live Wave 2 Suite ("Wave" refers to the group or wave of products to be released), a new visual theme was released to enable the Aero transparency effect in Windows Vista. This theme no longer exists on any of the current Windows Live properties.
Wave 3
Windows Live 3.0 header
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 pre-selected background pictures. Several of these themes are dynamic and change according to the time of day and the current weather condition of the user. This theme remains in use on sites such as Windows Live Admin Center.
Wave 4
Windows Live Wave 4 header
In addition to the themes provided in Windows Live Wave 3, the release of Windows Live Wave 4 provided additional themes for users to customise 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. In addition, the Windows Live Wave 4 header features a reorganised dynamic navigation menu that displays the number of the user's current online contacts and the number of unread e-mails, 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. This theme remains in use on sites such as Family Safety.
Wave 5
File:Windows Live Wave 5 header.png Windows Live Wave 5 headerAll Windows Live apps for Windows 8 are designed with a Metro-style user interface. All web services also feature a new Metro-style user interface and stop using "Windows Live" in their names. The UI's header contains a pull-down element with allow users to easily switch to Outlook.com, People, Calendar, and OneDrive. The header's color also changes depending on the web service the user is using, with the exception of Outlook.com which allow users to customize the header's color according to their preference. The new interface also has an in-built Messaging sidebar that allow users to view presence of, instant message, audio call and video call their contacts on Messenger, Facebook chat, as well as Skype.
In February 2014, Wave 5 services and Office Web Apps were consolidated and rebranded as Office Online.
Renamed services
The Windows Live services are renamed as listed:
| Service type | Service name | Previous name | Website | Desktop app | Metro-style app | Windows Phone app |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search | Bing | Search | bing.com | Bing Toolbar, Bing Desktop | Bing | Bing Mobile |
| Account | Microsoft account | ID, Passport | account.live.com | — | Integrated into Windows 8 | Microsoft account |
| Storage | OneDrive | FolderShare, Mesh, SkyDrive | onedrive.com | OneDrive | Integrated into Windows 8 | OneDrive, Office Mobile |
| Outlook.com | Hotmail | outlook.com | Outlook Express, Windows Mail, Live Mail, Outlook | |||
| Contacts | People | Contacts | people.live.com | Live Mail, Outlook 2013 and later | People | People Mobile |
| Web-based chat | Integrated into all services | Web Messenger | — | — | — | — |
| Photos and videos | Integrated into OneDrive | Photos | — | Photo Gallery, Movie Maker | Photos | Photos, Camera Roll |
References
- "Windows Live Wave 3 Reviewers Guide" (PDF). News Center. Microsoft. 2008-11-12. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
- Thurrott, Paul (2006-01-18). "Windows Live Preview". SuperSite for Windows. Penton Media. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
- "The Complete Windows Experience – Windows 7 + Windows Live". The Windows Blog. Microsoft. 28 October 2008.
- "Windows 8 Developer Preview Guide" (PDF). Download Center. Microsoft. 2011-09-13. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ "Microsoft Previews New Windows Live and Office Live Services". News Center. Microsoft. 1 November 2005.
- "Looking ahead and bringing you even more". Office Live Workspace Team Blog. Microsoft. 2009-01-23. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
- Stross, Randall (May 27, 2012). "Goodbye to Windows Live (and Whatever It Meant)". New York Times.
- "Status history". Microsoft. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
- Woodman, Aaron (13 July 2010). "Windows Phone 7 – Getting Connected". Blogging Windows. Microsoft.
- "Windows Live for mobile Wave 3 – take your social life on the go". LiveSide.net. 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
- Foley, Mary Jo (21 March 2007). "Microsoft severs Live Search from the rest of the Windows Live family". ZDNet. CBS Interactive.
- Keynote with Kevin Johnson at Microsoft
- Singel, Ryan (2009-05-28). "Hands On With Microsoft's New Search Engine: Bing, But No Boom". Wired. Condé Nast.
- Foley, Mary Jo (25 August 2006). "Microsoft Seeks Testers for 'Windows Live Essentials'". eWeek. Quinstreet.
- ^ "Cloud services for Windows 8 and Windows Phone: Windows Live, reimagined". Building Windows 8. Microsoft. 2012-05-02. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
- plugins.live.com/developer/information
- Excerpt of Windows Live Butterfly acceptance e-mail from Windows Live Beta Team
- "Windows Live 2.0 Release Notes". Microsoft. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
- "The Death of Flair — Windows Live's New Look". LiveSide.net. 2007-06-15. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
- "Windows Live Wave 3: New Header UI". LiveSide.net. 2008-06-05. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
- "Recapping the rumors: what we "know" about Wave 4". LiveSide.net. 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
- "More information about Windows Live Wave 4's dynamic header". LiveSide.net. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
- "A new wave, a new look: First look at the Windows Live Wave 4 header". LiveSide.net. 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
- Jones, Chris. "A preview of Windows Live for Windows 8". Inside Windows Live. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- "Meet Office Online, Microsoft's slightly tweaked Office Web Apps replacement". PC World. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- "Bing". Windows Store. Microsoft. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
| Windows Live | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Web services | |||
| Developer services | |||
| Discontinued |
| ||
| Microsoft Azure | |
|---|---|
| Azure Platform | |
| Compute | |
| Storage | |
| Messaging | |
| Developer Tools | |
| Related | |
