14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft isn’t quite the biggest supporter of open-source software, but the company is making really good progress towards this side of the world, so it’s now working to open-source one of the apps that have enjoyed a terrific success despite the little marketing push put together by the parent company for its rapid adoption.
Windows Live Writer, a tool that allows bloggers to write their posts in offline mode and publish them when they go online, will be released as an open-source application very soon, Microsoft confirms, but no specifics have been provided as to when this is expected to happen.
WLW was included in the Windows Live Essentials pack, and although it has received so little love from Microsoft, plenty of bloggers out there are still using it simply because there’s no other good tool like this available online.
Needless to say, Microsoft also seems to have abandoned development of Windows Live Writer, as only small improvements have been released in the last years, so open-sourcing the app could help keep it alive and get new features.
Last update in 2009
Microsoft’s Scott Hanselman has confirmed in a post on Twitter that the Softies are now working on open-sourcing Windows Live Writer, but in the meantime, everyone can download it in its current form.
On its official page, Redmond says that Windows Live Writer was last updated in 2009, so it’s easy to see why some people believe that Microsoft abandoned its development. But despite this lack of updates, WLW continues to be one of the best blogging tools in town, so making it available as open source is indeed pretty good news for many bloggers out there.
Right now, the app works on the majority of Windows versions on the market, including the old Windows XP, which is no longer getting updates and fixes from Microsoft, Windows Vista and 7. Microsoft doesn’t mention Windows 8 and Windows 10 in the supported OS list, but WLW should work on both very well.
Until the app becomes open source, everyone can download Windows Live Writer and give it a shot in its current form right away.
@pzerger @rodtrent we are going to open-source live writer, so don't worry
— Scott Hanselman (@shanselman) June 10, 2015