14 DAY TRIAL // End-users now have the chance to impact the Windows Live suite of application and services. They will be able to do so via feedback, and the Redmond company has debuted a new e-mail address designed to centralize customer input. Livewish at microsoft.com is conceived to nothing short of break down the barriers associated with providing Microsoft with feedback on the applications and services reunited under the Windows Live brand umbrella.
“Invariably, after a company puts in place a feedback system, there are a few people who say ‘why should I give my ideas to company x just so they can make money from them.’ They have a valid point, and for those people who have the inclination and talent to write software, maintain it, support it, globalize it, etc. I encourage them to get coding—the world needs more great software developers and applications. However, the feedback we want as a product group is much more granular, think feature-level or simplifying the steps it takes to get x done, not ideas for an entirely new product,” Kent Compton, product planner, Windows Live Essentials, revealed.
In fact, what Microsoft is looking for is feedback that will catalyze changes, which will ultimately impact the vast majority of users. This is precisely the reason for the introduction of the new email address, set up to simplify feedback harvesting and to ensure that the product group will be able to implement customer input into the Windows Live development process.
“Please understand, that we receive numerous ideas just because you’ve sent your suggestion doesn’t mean it will make it into the product in question in the next version, or the version after that, or the version after that version. This is due to a process called prioritization where the release’s theme, overall usefulness in lieu of another feature is determined (since resources such as developers and their time are finite), a target audience is defined (a power user feature versus an average user feature), etc.,” Compton added.