14 DAY TRIAL // Want to keep using Windows Live Movie Maker? Then you will need to update by the end of this month. At the start of January 2009, Microsoft released to web the Windows Live Essentials collection of software designed to bridge the Windows client with the Cloud. Although the vast majority of clients included in the Essentials package have already reached the gold stage of their development, Windows Live Essentials Movie Maker has not. In fact, even at this point in time Windows Live Movie Maker continues to carry the Beta tag around. Furthermore, because it is still in Beta, and as all pre-release Microsoft software products time-bombed, Windows Live Movie Maker is set to expire at the end of this month. Fortunately enough, the Redmond company has released a refresh designed to prolong the life of the software until the finalized version will be offered to the public.
“We’re extending the time that Movie Maker beta can be used to the end of this year. If you want to continue playing with the beta version after June 30, 2009, you’ll need to extend the beta by installing a small software update,” Mike Torres, Windows Live Movie Maker team, revealed. “Starting July 1, 2009 when you open Movie Maker beta, you’ll be prompted to install the update. If you decide not to install it, you won’t be able to use the beta until you do. By installing the update early, you can continue to use Movie Maker beta without any interruption.”
For the time being, Windows Live Movie maker, or Windows Live Essentials Movie Maker, whichever you prefer, continues to be in Beta. Still, Microsoft is promising that, by the end of this year, it will make available the first fully fledged version of the software that allows users of Windows Vista and Windows 7 to easily create videos.
“The software update to extend the beta is available here. First choose which language you’d like, and then download and run the update. It’s less than three megabytes, so it’ll only take a minute or two to download over a high-speed connection, or about seven minutes over dial-up. Again, the official release version of Windows Live Movie Maker is expected to be available later this year, as part of Windows Live Essentials,” Torres added.
Users that want to deploy the update will need to be running Windows Live Movie Maker Beta (14.0. 8064.206) on top of Vista or Windows 7. The refresh will prolong the expiration date from 6/30/2009 to 12/30/2009.
Windows Live Essentials Messenger is available for download here.
Windows Live Essentials Mail is available for download here.
Windows Live Essentials Writer is available for download here.
Windows Live Essentials Photo Gallery is available for download here.
Windows Live Essentials Movie Maker Beta is available for download here.
Windows Live Essentials Family Safety is available for download here.
Windows Live Essentials Toolbar is available for download here.