14 DAY TRIAL // Following in the footsteps of the Windows 7 project, Microsoft has introduced a new blog for the company’s efforts around Windows Live. And just as the blog for Windows Vista’s successor introduced by Steven Sinofsky, president, Windows and Windows Live Division, Inside Windows Live will also be focused on engineering, namely the engineering of Windows Live, Hotmail and Messenger.
“Engineering is a process, with trial and error, analysis, weighing of pros and cons, planning for the unexpected, and discovering unexpected issues along the way. It’s exciting precisely because we’re always learning as we go. I want to welcome you to our new blog, which is about just that: the engineering behind Windows Live,” noted Chris Jones, corporate vice president, Windows Live.
A Microsoft spokesperson told Softpedia that Inside Windows Live is designed to complement the Windows Live team blog, and not to replace it. The new official channel for the engineering behind Windows Live will be focused on delivering insights related to the development of products and services set up to extend the Windows client in the Cloud.
“The new blog, on the other hand, will be dedicated to software engineers, web industry insiders, and to our most passionate Windows Live customers, those who want to dig a little deeper into how we build our services and how they’re used worldwide,” Jones added.
As users are already able to see, Inside Windows Live will enjoy the participation of Microsoft heavyweight Chris Jones, but the promise is that the Corporate VP of Engineering for Windows Live will be joined by additional members of the Windows Live engineering team.
“We’ll start by giving you the current state of our software and services, including Hotmail, Messenger, SkyDrive, and our Essentials suite of client software. We’ll share with you how we build and operate our services, explain what’s going on when there are service interruptions, and talk about how we see people using our services worldwide. As we release new or updated products, we’ll provide an inside look into the changes we made and why we made them,” Jones added.
Microsoft is currently hard at work on the next iteration of the Windows Live services and clients. Of course, for the time being, the company is extremely hush-hush about details related to Windows Live Wave 4, and users won’t be able to find any in the introductory post on Inside Windows Live. Still, the software giant is bound to start discussing Wave 4 sooner rather than later, and perhaps Inside Windows Live will act as an important communication channel. In fact, Jones stresses the fact that the new blog is aiming to be a place where end users and not only will be able to share input with the company.
“But we won’t just be telling you what we think. We’ll also be asking you what you think. We strongly believe that success for Windows Live must include an open and honest two-way discussion about how we operate and design our products in order to balance the different interests of customers and partners who rely on us every day,” he said.