14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has stepped into a new chapter with the Windows Live brand umbrella, announcing a fresh generation of services and products. Windows Live Folders and Windows Live Photo Gallery are the Redmond company's prime examples of the new offerings that will debut for Windows Live. But the new items that have been added to the new Windows Live product suite are not exactly "live" yet.
Both the photo sharing application and the Web-based hosted storage service are limited to a select pool of testers. Windows Live Photo Gallery and Windows Live Folders are currently in limited managed beta stages and Microsoft failed to provide a timetable for the final products. However, one interesting feature that will be added to Windows Live is the possibility to download and deploy all the services and applications via a single installer.
"And this is only the beginning -- in the next couple of months you will see new releases from us that will really start to show the integrated experience I'm talking about that will truly be representative of where we're looking to go with Windows Live. Just as one small example, soon we'll begin to offer a single installer which will give customers the option of an all-in-one download for the full Windows Live suite of services instead of the separate installation experience you see today," revealed Chris Jones, Corporate Vice President, Windows Live Experience Program Management.
Windows Live Photo Gallery is designed as an upgrade for the existing Windows Vista's Windows Photo Gallery, and Microsoft revealed that XP users will also be permitted access. The application will deliver advanced functionality enabling users to "share, edit, organize and print photos and digital home videos."
"The initial managed beta of Windows Live Photo Gallery beta is available today in nine markets around the world so far (including the United States (English and Spanish), China, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Japan, and Spain), with more to come. We're really proud of this service because it's so easy to share photos - it's really as easy as sending an e-mail. You can also easily publish your photos to your Windows Live Spaces," Jones stated.
And via Windows Live Folders, Microsoft if offering no less than 500 MB of free online storage space. Users will be able to place a variety of files types in the Windows Live Folders cloud from documents to music and pictures, but each item has to be less than 50MB.
"We see this limited managed beta in the United States right now as just a starting point for us, and we'll begin collecting input from beta users during the testing process, which will be useful when developing future versions of the service. Like I've said, it's very important to us that we give our customers multiple options for connecting to family, friends and information, and share information and other things with the people they care about the most," Jones added.
