Massive changes go live at Windows Live
Microsoft is turning Windows Live into a social network. That’s what seems to be at the core of the big changes that will be happening to Windows Live over the next day or so. It’s going to be getting activity and contact information from around the web – a ‘news feed’ of sorts.
If you want to check it out, you can. It’s at home.live.com. It’s about using existing connections to build your network, so that you don’t have to go through the rigmarole of ‘adding’ people yet again. Anyone that you’re friends with on Windows Live Messenger automatically becomes a connection, and you can see what they’re upto on a variety of different sites.
“What sites?”, you ask. Well, Flickr, LinkedIn, Pandora, Photobucket, iLike, Twitter, WordPress and Yelp for starters, and anything else that pumps out an RSS feed. It’s like a big FriendFeed lifestreaming aggregating service. Eventually, Microsoft reckons that more than 50 sites will be supported. Basically, Microsoft just want you hanging out at their website, instead of their competitors.
Microsoft’s done quite a lot with its ‘Live’ software over the past few years, and it’s likely going to tie into Azure quite heavily. You can get mail, calendars, photos, storage, sync, IM, movie making, toolbars, and even more – all under the “Live” badge. Now it all links together considerably better than it did. Good work Microsoft, but it’s probably not going to kill my Facebook habit.
Live Home (via TechCrunch)
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