Microsoft is preparing a host of new services to join its burgeoning Live brand of web-based and downloadable products. We take a tour of the new features and show you how to get the most from them.
Going Live
With the launch of Windows 7 due on the 22nd October, Microsoft will be moving some features off the operating system and into the realm of Live Services. This was done to cut down the size and improve the performance of Windows 7, but will also help to drive users to take a look at these services and hopefully make use of them. These programs will work on any edition of Windows, not just Windows 7.
Alongside old favorites, such as Live Mail, formerly Hotmail, Messenger and Web-based Photo Albums, you can add SkyDrive, the free virtual storage space, Live Writer for blogging and those apps moved from the operating system, now badged as Movie Maker beta and Photo Gallery. Something else to be found on Live is the rebranded Microsoft search engine called Bing. Before you use any of the Live services, you will need a Live account, which we will show you how to setup first.
Signing up for Live
As with most other online services, you need to sign-up first. If you already have a Hotmail account, you can use this as your login. Visit the Live site here and click the "Sign up" button if you need to create an account. You will need to create a unique user name, a password and enter some personal details. If you are having trouble creating a unique name add some memorable numbers to your name such as year of birth, area code or similar to help distinguish you from the many other users who may have a similar name.
Once you have found a unique name and chosen a suitably strong password, watch the strength-meter on the right and use a mixture of numbers and letters to create one that is unlikely to be guessed. You can read and accept the terms and conditions, and start using Live Services. You will notice that the first page is actually called Bing, this is Microsoft's rebranded search engine but you can still access all Live services and programs from here.
Also note that if you want to install more than one program, try installing Messenger first and you are given the option to install anything else you want as well. It will tell you how much disk space is required and is faster than installing each progam individually.
Old Favorites
Mail used to be known as Outlook Express, then became Windows Mail in Vista and is now just plain old Mail. If you need a desktop mail program, either to use as a backup store for messages in your web mail account, or if your ISP does not offer Web mail services, this is just the program. Another popular utility is Messenger. It used to be called MSN Messenger but has now adopted the Live branding and is one of Microsoft's most popular downloads, allowing you to chat with one or more friends, send files to each other and follow each other's status. While it is slowly being made irrelevant by sites like Facebook, it is still useful for private chats.
Continue on to the next page to find out more about the features of Windows Live.
