OurView: The Opinion Blog - All Comments

re: Live Search Design: Too many cooks?

ajaypathak — Thu, 08 May 2008 05:49:28 GMT

this new interface of windows live search is very good and i like it very much

readerszone.com

re: Live Search Design: Too many cooks?

calum-r- — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:38:53 GMT

FINALLY!

It's good to see a blog post on this now, seeing as though there are more inconsistencies than ever! Thank you Kip! :)

I don't understand Evan's view, or Microsoft's view for that matter, because I don't understand why they can't just have one team (or even one designer) which has the job of going through all the sites on a daily basis and making sure they are consistent!?

Or, if that costs them too much capital, I don't see why they can't send some sort of 'memo' to EVERY design team within Windows Live, MSN and Live Search to state the standards of what each UI should be like! That way whilst developing these services, the team will naturally design the service to fit the standard!

It shouldn't be about going back and redesigning certain pages to remove inconsistencies, it should be about getting it right as they develop the service and design it the first time, surely?

And, if changes to the standard UI have occurred after the service has been developed, then it should be priority to keep the UI up-to-date and not wait for the next 'feature update'!

Man, I really do hate inconsistencies! :) lol.

re: Live Search Design: Too many cooks?

Alber1690 — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:53:22 GMT

By "point out" I meant raising the issue a little more, so people like Evan have a chance to come here and take a look.

@Evan: It's nice that you guys have this open mind about keeping up with "raised issues." Keep up the good work.

re: Live Search Design: Too many cooks?

Evan Malahy (Microsoft) — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:08:14 GMT

Kip, thanks for the feedback... I think you've hit the nail on the head with this being one of the biggest challenges for any design team within a large organization like Microsoft.

One of the things we're hoping is that by outlining some principles and focusing people's attention on design we can raise awareness not only outside of Microsoft, but within the Live Search team itself. You can imagine how many folks there are within an organization like ours not to mention how much code--and, believe it or not, not all of them are designers!

I also think that when prominent search bloggers, like yourself, raise this issue it helps us (designers) have more traction and power to get these inconsistencies addressed.

So, with all that, please continue keeping us honest we'll keep fighting the good fight.

re: Live Search Design: Too many cooks?

Spencer — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:26:20 GMT

Sometimes I think they just don't to unify the designs.

re: Live Search Design: Too many cooks?

Khristopher — Wed, 07 May 2008 08:16:38 GMT

Actually this isn't the first time it's been pointed out.

When are they going to realize that it all just looks so bad on them. It's time to get their act together and unify everything!

re: Live Search Design: Too many cooks?

Alber1690 — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:08:50 GMT

Very nice article. I've been waiting for someone to point out the details like these.

re: Live Mesh: Boy have we got questions!

quikboy — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:54:09 GMT

Great! Now all they have to do is get any good functionality coming from SkyDrive/Foldershare and integrate it even further on Live Mesh, and have better calendar syncing improvements. Then that would be the bomb.

I always though how Live Mesh might affect the other 2 file services. No need to have so much redundancy.

re: Live Mesh: Boy have we got questions!

JohnCz — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:23:14 GMT

Kip, I definitely see some differences from Live SkyDrive

- Live SkyDrive does not require client software to share files. It has more public facing capabilities such as its support for RSS Feeds and linking. But I wouldn't be suprised if Live SkyDrive eventually shows up as a device within the Live Mesh desktop and that would enable folder synchronization that Live SkyDrive does not currently offer.

As for Live Foldershare? There does seem to be alot of overlap.

I also a Windows Home Server user and although some may see Live Mesh as competitive. I'm not sure I want to be replicating Photos/Music/Movies using it. Windows Home Server is by far a better solution for local network storage. I see future versions of WHS possibly taking advantage of Live Mesh to have a more robust/reliable remote access capability. WHS current remote capabilities are highly reliant on proper router configuration and ISP limitations. Live Mesh could be glue that brings it all together.

re: Live Mesh: Boy have we got questions!

glassuser — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:19:21 GMT

You're dead on with the calendar. That's the one thing from keeping me from seriously considering using live for my primary service provider. While I've about given up on using a windows nt domain for application deployment and data sync, exchange/outlook still rocks my pants off as a PIM. And sharepoint is scarily useful for sharing files, photos, and the like. They're getting close to providing a usable alternative, especially for people who aren't so administratively inclined, though.

re: Live Mesh: Boy have we got questions!

Rukaribe — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:02:01 GMT

What I think is key about this is to keep in mind the vision. This Mesh is setting up the building blocks for the future. Computers will only become more pervasive as they become cheaper and more powerful, many people already own multiple computing devices and that will only increase. Couple that will the advances in networking and wireless communication and this mesh is being geared for a major peice of the puzzle of our lives in the future. The fact that Microsoft is making it so open is a really good sign of the changes Microsoft is making towards openness as a company. I am excited to see how this develops, especially in 4 or 5 years from now.

re: Live Mesh week: Ray Ozzie’s biggest bet since Groove?

Mephiles — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:20:09 GMT

Thanks :) I'm assuming it was helpful...

re: Live Mesh week: Ray Ozzie’s biggest bet since Groove?

Chris — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:09:16 GMT

Gold star for you mephiles ;)

re: Live Mesh week: Ray Ozzie’s biggest bet since Groove?

Mephiles — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:05:52 GMT

Kip, I sent an email to the LiveSide tips address. ;)

re: Live Mesh week: Ray Ozzie’s biggest bet since Groove?

jamiet — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:42:28 GMT

Based on a bit of insider gossip I'm putting my money on it being built in Silverlight2.

-Jamie