Another One Bites the Dust - Windows Live for TV

Gregor — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:53:00 GMT

With all the news about Windows Live/Live Search products being dropped for good lately we almost forgot to add another one to the list - one that never made it out of beta. After the first drop of Codename Orbit hit the web back in December 2006 and a little update released the following April it got silent around the promising Windows Live for TV project.

Two weeks ago Chris Lanier spotted a post on TGB that sets an endpoint to this uncertainty for now. Windows Live for TV is dead. The product team has been moved around to a different part of Microsoft and we will most likely not see the product come out of beta - at least that is what a program manager been quoted to say as a source.

At best this could mean that the team has been merged into the Media Center Edition team and that some parts of the software will eventually show up in an upcoming Media Center update (but there have not been any hints about this happening with Fiji for now) - at worst we wont ever hear about any of the features again...

Thanks to Andy for reminding us to post about this....

UPDATE: Now we have an even more official confirmation of this - the beta service is being shut down for good on June 24th according to a post on the team blog.

Nemo surfaces! Windows Live for TV in the wild

Harrison Hoffman — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 14:33:00 GMT

Here's a little something to kick off our birthday celebration in style! Back in October, we reported on Project Nemo, a Windows Live product for Media Center being developed behind the closed doors of Redmond. Well now the little project has made its debut on Windows Live Ideas (for some reason you must be signed into ideas.live.com with a US Live ID for the link to work).

Ten points for each person you can identify in the shot.

That's right, Nemo is back with a new look and a new name. They're calling it exactly what you would expect, Windows Live for TV. Live TV is an additional program for Windows Media Center which will provide access to Spaces, Messenger, and Live Call, all wrapped up in a ten foot interface. Here's the feature list from Ideas:

• Browse millions of Spaces in rich 3D graphics with new Gallery views and full keyword search
• Find out what your friends have been doing and saying on Windows Live Spaces
• Have real-time text and voice conversations*
• Call your friends' mobile or landline telephones by signing up with Verizon Web Calling to make affordable domestic and international calls**
• Easily navigate with your mouse, keyboard or a TV remote (remote navigation requires Microsoft Media Center Remote and IR)
• Make free PC-to-PC calls to other Windows Live Messenger users.

*Both parties must have compatible webcams, microphones, and speakers
**Requires voice calling in Windows Live Messenger Client

This is how the team blog, In Orbit, defines the application:

"Windows Live for TV is an early beta 3D browser application that makes it easy to connect to your social network as well as friends and family from within Vista Media Center or IE7.0. You're be able to view the best of Windows Live Spaces and communicate with Friends and Family over Windows Live Messenger 8.1 with voice & text chat as well as make a phone call.

Media Center has brought the PC to heart of the home, adding Windows Live services to Media Center will make it easier to stay in touch with your social network. Our goal in creating Orbit is to bring social networking to a new form factor that is both intuitive and fun to use. We built the application in Windows Presentation Framework (.NET 3.0) and it will run within Vista Media Center or directly in Vista hosted IE7.0 browser."

For those of you out there who are hoping to use it on Windows XP Media Center, I think you are going to be out of luck. WL for TV will require a PC running Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate.

It's nice to see that this killer application is getting its chance to shine. You can sign up to test Windows Live for TV here. And so it begins...

Update
Just to be clear, the project is no longer being referred to as Nemo, the new codename is Orbit.

Update 2: Added a couple of shots of my own (Click to Enlarge)

LiveSide - News blog : Windows Live TV

Another One Bites the Dust - Windows Live for TV

Nemo surfaces! Windows Live for TV in the wild