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Windows Live Search

Category: Data

Windows Live Search is Microsoft's Web search engine. It gives users the tools to search through Web sites, images, videos, news, and a number of other categories. Microsoft has built-in some interesting search technologies with Live Search. One of them is the Scratchpad, which lets users save an assortment of pictures they like from the image search results. It uses a drag-and-drop interface that's really simple to pick up.

Search enthusiasts won't be let down by Microsoft's offering. Its advanced options are pretty powerful, giving users a choice of search localization by country and … Read more

Windows Live Messenger

Category: Communications

Windows Live Messenger is Microsoft's instant-messaging service. Once called MSN Messenger, Windows Live Messenger is a chat client that also works with Yahoo's IM protocol. Users can text and video chat, as well as make calls to regular telephones. It's also got a shared file storage system that lets users swap and store files.

Windows Live Messenger is available on several different platforms including mobile phones. Recently it's even been integrated into Microsoft's gaming console, the Xbox 360. All versions require users to sign up with Microsoft's LiveID identification system.

Web site: … Read more

Microsoft Office Live

Category: Productivity

Microsoft Office Live is Microsoft's attempt at creating a low-cost a la carte alternative to some of the small business software solutions that's available--including their own. It's designed to get a small business on the Web--both publicly, with a Web site, and privately, for collaboration and back-office work. Businesses get their own domain, e-mail, shared workspaces, Web site, and a contact manager tool.

Microsoft offers three tiers of Office Live service. One is free, with the other two being paid premium versions that throw in more shared storage space, e-mail addresses, and more back-office tools, … Read more

Windows Live Hotmail

Category: Communications

Windows Live Hotmail is the latest iteration of Microsoft's free Web-based e-mail service. The new multipane interface lets you drag and drop messages into folders, or right-click messages for a menu of options. There's also a "Today" tab of news that loads when you sign in. Windows Live Hotmail even lets you choose a color theme in case you feel like customizing it to match your tastes.

Microsoft has also rolled out some useful features like instant spell-check, a built-in audio player, an RSS feed reader, and previews for Office documents and PDFs.

Windows … Read more

Office Live partners for Web design service

Microsoft announced Tuesday a new service designed to help the small businesses that use Office Live get their Web site professionally designed. Microsoft said it is partnering with Website Pros to offer an $80 monthly service to allow businesses to set up and maintain their Web site using the Microsoft tools.

As part of the new service, users get a five-page Web site designed for them by Website Pros, with that site then submitted to MSN, Google, Yahoo and 100 other search engines, as well as business cards and a listing in Yahoo's yellow pages.

Steve Ballmer on Web 2.0

Steve Ballmer is being interviewed by Walt Mossberg on stage at D5. Dan Farber is blogging the talk over at ZDNet. Here are the Web 2.0 takeaways:

Ballmer is pushing the inter-relatedness of software and Web services. "We staked our ground... on that value proposition." Mossberg is asking Ballmer about Silverlight running on Linux and the Mac, given that theory. Ballmer says, "Some things will run better on Windows. People ought to be able to exploit the local richness if they want to."

Now Ballmer is showing the new "Surface" computer. OK, not … Read more

Zooming around online maps for real: SpaceNavigator

Here at O'Reilly's Where 2.0 conference, one of the few and the proud gadgets on the exhibition floor is 3Dconnexion's SpaceNavigator mouse. Calling it a mouse might be an insult though, it feels more like an airplane steering yolk.

Launched in November, the mouse integrates with big Web maps services like Google Maps and Microsoft's Live Maps. Users can navigate the maps with very little effort, pushing, pulling, and twisting the circular handle. I spent about five minutes with it on the show floor, and walked away from the booth dangerously close to purchasing one.… Read more

Microsoft offers browser-viewable 3D maps

On Tuesday, Microsoft began releasing photographic 3D renderings of landmarks in New York and a few other cities via its Live Search Maps site.

In November, the company released Virtual Earth 3D in beta, along with the API and a software developer kit for people who wanted to create 3D renderings for Live Search Maps. At the time, people could also view 3D terrain and some three-dimensional buildings in a few cities. The release of New York in virtual 3D marks the first major effort by Microsoft to create an almost complete rendering of a recognizable city.

Microsoft's attempt … Read more

CNET Live: Put another shrimp on the barbie

Most weeks, callers get to grill Tom and Brian on their most difficult tech quandaries. This week, the tables get turned!

Okay, so the boys won't be barbequing or grilling loyal callers with their issues (the legal department was not too happy with that pitch). However--they will be taking a look at the latest and greatest in outdoor-entertaining gadgetry. What's the difference between infrared cooking and traditional flame cooking? Cooley is determined to find out.

Also this week, Tom gets out his box of Star Wars toys to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars films. Tom'… Read more