14 DAY TRIAL // Several Windows Live Projects are the collateral victims of a reorganization of the Windows Live and MSN divisions. As a result, the Live Projects have been postponed indefinitely. "The word is that the Windows Live Desktop Search project has been shelved, as a result of the recent reorg," revealed LiveSide.
But alongside Desktop Search, Microsoft is also shelving the Live Drive, Nemo and Media Center add-ons projects. "Live Drive is still yet to be seen, Nemo the Media Center add-on is on hold. While thankfully someone has seen sense to stop churning out Live-branded products everywhere we look, these non-core products are the ones that can differentiate Windows Live from Google and Yahoo. Hopefully we'll see them or their technology in other products in the near future," added LiveSide.
The architect of the Windows Live and MSN reorganization is Steve Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering. Sinofsky joined Microsoft in March when the Redmond Company announced the realigning of its Platforms & services Division. Even then, Sinofsky was aiming to synchronize the Windows and MSN assets with the Live strategy, by working closely with Microsoft CTO Ray Ozzie.
"Focusing on consistency and improving products across the board (over incubation projects), the reorg aims to cut out middle management, and will divide Windows/Windows Live into six subgroups, down from the current eight. One of the new groups, named SDX (for Shared Data Experiences), will place the storage teams under Microsoft Max, the uber-photo sharing/data storage and manipulation project that is Windows Live in all but name only at this point," explained LiveSide.