October, 2006

Virtual Earth update next week

From the Virtual Earth (Mappoint) blog:

Please be advised that we will release a new version of the Virtual Earth Map Control on Tuesday, November 7th 2006.

Due to an upcoming marketing campaign surrounding this release we cannot

Live Search to write new chapters, according to full page ads

 

Things are definitely heating up in Windows Live land, with new releases coming at a regular clip (and more to come, soon), and the marketing effort for the just released services coming on strong, too.  Full page ads are …

Msgr 8.1 Public Beta available for download

Just like we said it would when we  posted last week, Windows Live Messenger 8.1 has gone into public beta, and available for download at ideas.live.com.  According to the ideas page, the new version offers:

• Redesigned, smarter contact

Office Live to launch in November, Office Online relaunch coming soon too

Microsoft today announced, to a relatively large amount of fanfare, the release of Office Live on November 15th. The press release has all the facts, with Mary-Jo Foley providing some good analysis. The highlights are:

  • A change in the offerings, with

Windows Live and MSN Reorg

News is filtering out that Steve Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering, is orchestrating another reorg at MSN and Windows Live. Focusing on consistency and improving products across the board (over incubation projects), the reorg aims to …

Soapbox going mobile

Over at the Soapbox blog they've posted a few photos of the new mobile Soapbox. With YouTube already having a mobile feature, this is yet more catchup from the Microsoft guys. Do many people actually upload videos from their mobile …

Messenger 8.1 to enter public beta next week?

According to attendees of Windows Live Sessions (FR), Windows Live Messenger 8.1 will be entering public beta on ideas.live.com early next week, most likely Monday or Tuesday depending on your timezone.

For those who haven't been following the beta, the main changes

Windows Live increases staff by 40%

Microsoft released earnings yesterday in a rise of 11 percent in revenue and operating income.  What's interesting, and both Todd Bishop and Mary Jo Foley point out, is that buried in the 10Q is the fact that online services profit …

Windows Live Barcode launches

No this isn't an April Fool's joke. Windows Live Barcode enables users to store their own data in QR codes, which are already present on Spaces for markets like Japan. From the homepage:

What is Windows Live Barcode
Windows Live Barcode

Office Live nears release

“Microsoft Office Live…is going LIVE!”, according to an email newsletter sent to beta testers, with the release expected as early as next week.  The website management offering (not, we repeat, an online version of Microsoft Office) provides domain name and email account personalization, web site …