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Posted By Lonn

2008 was a bustling year for a Windows Live Messenger group as well as we’re unequivocally unapproachable of what we accomplished.  We proposed a year with an critical refurbish to a prior version, as well as accomplished a year with an wholly code brand brand brand brand new beta recover (link to video arrangement brand brand brand brand new features), which not long ago perceived a Editor’s Choice collect from Personal Computer MAG.

“Among a large 3 IM apps, Windows Live Messenger is my favorite. Though it’s technically still in beta, a product is grown up sufficient to rate, as well as it’s value a Editors’ Choice.”

This is in further to approval which we’ve perceived all over a universe together with being rated a tip Instant Messaging focus in Germany’s largest mechanism magazine, ComputerBild, as well as looming upon a front cover of Micro Magazine in France.

We couldn’t have finished it though all a await as well as assistance from a users who go upon to yield ideas as well as feedback upon how to have Windows Live Messenger improved with each release.  Thank you.

It’s additionally critical to note which not usually did Windows Live Messenger recover a brand brand brand brand new version, we expelled new beta versions off all a Windows Live Essential applications which embody a renouned Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Photo Gallery, Windows Live Movie Maker, Windows Live Writer etc.  You can get all of these as well as a ultimate Windows Live Messenger during download.live.com.

Another thing which we’re unequivocally unapproachable of from 2008, were a formula from a initial full year of a IM campaign which we ran in a US.  We donated $1.3 Million to good causes from Mar 2007 – Mar 2008. This was all interjection to a inexhaustible await which all of we showed by taking advantage of a IM idol in your user names.  It’s never as well late to begin ancillary a good cause, as well as if you’re meddlesome usually take a demeanour during a blog post which Dharmesh wrote or revisit a IM debate site.

Support a single of these good causes usually by updating your arrangement name.

Here’s a video upon how to do it.

In 2008 we additionally voiced a understanding with Telefonica which let’s we call people all around a world regulating your Personal Computer as well as Windows Live Messenger during really low rates, introduced a Windows Live Translator agent, as well as a handful of good brand brand brand brand new games for Windows Live Messenger, similar to World Championship Diving.

Last though not least, we longed for to let we know about a cold 3D emoticons which a Windows Live group in France usually created.  Click here to go to a site, afterwards click upon ‘installez gratuitement’.  And yes, a site is usually in French.  

Here’s what they demeanour similar to in my Windows Live Messenger content area.  You can’t discuss it from my shade capture, though they have been charcterised as well as take upon a hold up of their own.

Of course, there have been most some-more things which went upon in 2008 though we usually longed for to prominence a couple of of them for you.  On interest of a complete Windows Live Messenger Team, I’d similar to to instruct everybody a good Happy New Year as well as most appropriate wishes for 2009.

P.S. Here have been a little photos of a legal holiday cookies we done for a team.  They were my initial ever try during creation cookies as well as we might have ‘bit off some-more than we could chew’ (pardon a pun).  Nonetheless, a couple of of them did finish up seeking similar to a Windows Live friend icon… although, as we can see, a little of them additionally did not.   Next year, I’ll have a cookie knife to urge a consistency.

Cheers,
-Lonn

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Posted by Bennie

Fun things we can do this Holiday with Windows Live Messenger as well as the Webcam

Whether opposite the world, the nation or the pick side of town, it is easy to stay in touch, face-to-face, during the legal legal legal legal holiday deteriorate regulating Windows Live Messenger video job as well as your webcam. And today, with many people seeking to revoke holiday-related transport costs, video job offers an alternative, fun as well as affordable approach to bond with apart desired ones. With the real-time video call we can share the tradition, discuss it the tale, sing the strain as well as widespread the little legal legal legal legal holiday cheer…together!

Windows Live Messenger video call peculiarity is better than ever. With the many new Messenger recover as well as the peculiarity webcam, we can right away knowledge the clearer, crook design with full-screen VGA video. True VGA video (640×480) is up to 4 times improved fortitude afterwards before solutions when switched to full screen. To knowledge the loyal VGA video call, we will need the ultimate chronicle of Windows Live Messenger, the webcam, the Personal Computer with the twin core processor as well as broadband Internet connection.

Additional improvements have been done in faster tie time to beginner the video call as well as the video-centric interface when not in full shade mode.

Other fun things we can do with your web cam.

• Create the energetic form design (see the post from Steven upon how to do this)
• Place yourself in the legal legal legal legal holiday visible outcome (using the program which comes with your webcam)
• Try Windows Live Video Messages Beta when your friends have been not accessible for the Messenger video call
• Customize emoticons with images of yourself (See screenshot below)
  • Tools > Emoticons > Create >
    Then name the design which you’d similar to to have in to the emoticon by clicking ‘Find Image’.

Need the webcam for yourself or the gift?

Find out about the Windows Live partner webcams from Microsoft, Logitech as well as Creative Labs.

Hope we have been all carrying the protected as well as happy legal legal legal legal holiday season.  All the best,

Sincerely,
The Windows Live Messenger Team

DeepEarth is a new, open-source plan that integrates Microsoft Virtual Earth with a Microsoft Silverlight 2.0 platform, creation it easy to supplement an interactive, Silverlight 2.0 map to your application. Get all of a formula as well as a full outline of a facilities from a DeepEarth site upon CodePlex:

DeepEarth is a mapping carry out powered by a multiple of Microsoft’s Silverlight 2.0 height as well as a DeepZoom (MuliScaleImage) control. At a core, it builds upon these innovative technologies to yield an design for bringing together layers for services, interpretation providers, as well as your own law mapping elements together in to an considerable user experience. Also featured have been in abyss examples of how we can precedence Virtual Earth Web Services to take value of modernized GIS use functionality. This is what we need to get an interactive, local Silverlight 2.0, map in to your focus today.

You can perspective a operative demo upon a DeepEarth Soul Solutions website.

To try it out, download a formula from Codeplex. As remarkable upon a Virtual Earth blog, we will need during slightest a developer’s comment to get going, so have certain to pointer up for a Virtual Earth Developers Account. And, to get absolved of a “Staging” watermark, you’ll need a license, that we can ask by promulgation an email to a Virtual Earth Licensing Team. Enjoy!

posted by Thomas.

Howdy everyone!

I’m Thomas from a Messenger games team, as well as we instruct to share with we a little sparkling changes we have done to raise a altogether gaming knowledge in a brand brand brand brand brand brand new Messenger Beta client. (We only expelled a Beta Refresh, so have certain we download it from http://download.live.com)  Why change, we competence ask?  Well, we hold which each Windows Live Messenger user deserves some-more than only a dropdown menu when it comes to selecting a diversion to fool around with a friend.  we additionally hold which we should precedence a cold amicable networking knowledge Windows Live has to offer.

With those beliefs in mind, we focused upon a following tip features:

• Making it easy for we to find a right diversion for you
• Showing off Sharing your diversion formula
• Discovering what your friends similar to to play

Getting in to a game

We’ve done it simpler than ever for we to burst in to a diversion with your friends. Simply click upon a Games symbol whilst chatting with a crony in a brand brand brand brand brand brand new Windows Live Messenger as well as name a diversion we instruct to fool around – an call in will be sent as well as you’re off as well as running! And if you’re seeking for something opposite to play, we’ve done it even simpler to find brand brand brand brand brand brand new favorites by formulating a browser which allows we to see what a diversion looks similar to prior to we send an call in to play. It’s quick, easy, as well as fun!

Publishing Feeds post your diversion formula to your Profile

When you’ve accomplished personification a game, we’ve softened your amicable knowledge by giving we a choice to tell your scores without delay to your profile.  When friends revisit your profile, they can see what games you’ve been playing, your scores as well as either we have won or not – as well as if they click upon a diversion name in a feed, they can sense some-more about a diversion as well as even plea we to a game! It’s a good approach to keep you, your friends, as well as your family continuous as well as carrying fun together! 

Here’s an e.g. of a prompt we will see during a finish of a diversion as well as a feed from my profile.

Play internationally

If we have been similar to me, you’ll positively have friends in alternative countries.  With some-more than thirty good games to play, it doesn’t make a difference where in a universe we have been – your friends can stick upon in either they live right subsequent door, in an additional state or country, or even in an additional hemisphere!  Don’t hold me?  Here’s a screenshot display a Spanish diversion browser (click to enlarge).

More brand brand brand brand brand brand new games

Finally, we have been additionally adding some-more brand brand brand brand brand brand new games continually – only take a demeanour during a couple of of a good games which we’ve combined in a final couple of months:

The subsequent time we have been chatting with your friends upon a ultimate Messenger Beta client, try personification a single of a fun as well as accessible games.  Can’t confirm who gets to collect a film you’re saying this weekend?  Well, solve which with a diversion of Rock, Paper, Scissors… during slightest that’s what we do.

Take a demeanour during a games as well as a brand brand brand brand brand brand new gaming knowledge upon Windows Live Messenger as well as let us know what we think!

Thomas

posted by Steven

As Ian upon a Windows Live SkyDrive group will tell you, pity photos with Windows Live Photo Gallery, photos.live.com as good as SkyDrive has never been easier. With SkyDrive we can right divided store up to 25 gigabytes of data, photos as good as files to share with friends, co-workers as good as family.

I longed for to write a small bit about how we see people regulating Messenger together with photos.live.com as good as SkyDrive to share with their contacts. Secondly, we wish to speak about because we altered a “Sharing Folders” functionality in Messenger.

There have been dual vital sorts of record pity which we’re now upon condition which by Windows Live. The initial type, pity photos, has turn a outrageous partial of a practice from print acquisition, albums as good as tagging in Photo Gallery, during a same time photo-sharing whilst in a review in Messenger, promulgation photos as good as print albums in Windows Live Mail as good as Hotmail as good as pleasing online slideshows, manuscript pity as good as people-tagging upon photos.live.com with lots of giveaway online space pleasantness of SkyDrive. Your options as good as capability to share photos has unequivocally gotten many some-more extensive with a ultimate updates entrance to Windows Live.

Secondly, there have been consumers who wish to share some-more general record sorts – possibly in real-time by boring them in to a review window in Messenger or by putting them upon a internet to share with their contacts. SkyDrive creates it super easy to store as good as share these files over a internet – by fundamentally giving we a personal “hard expostulate in a cloud” as good as we get to confirm which people get entrance to which folders upon which tough drive.  And we can additionally simply see which of your contacts’ have since we entrance to tools of their tough drives in a cloud.  Permissions can be read-only or additionally embody a capability to cgange files.  And we can even share files with people which don’t have a Windows Live ID.

In a final couple of versions of Messenger we had a underline called Sharing Folders which would concede we to share files, videos as good as photos with any of your contacts. What we schooled was which many people were regulating this to uncover their friends a print right divided when they were in a conversation.  So we built a brand brand brand brand new print pity knowledge in Messenger.  We additionally schooled which a little people did wish to share some-more general files in in between any other, though they didn’t similar to which both people had to be online during a same time for Sharing Folders to sync files in in between contacts. The good thing about a brand brand brand brand new pity knowledge by SkyDrive is which we post files which we wish to share, give your friends a couple to a printed matter as good as you’re done. They can afterwards get entrance to those files during your convenience – possibly rught away if they’re already online or during any indicate in a future.

In a brand brand brand brand new chronicle of Messenger we have integrated links to SkyDrive right in to a review window. Simply click Publish Files Online and we will be taken to your online SkyDrive where we can emanate folders, upload files, as good as confirm what to share with your contacts.

With photos.live.com as good as SkyDrive business can share print albums with mixed people all from a single place. It’s as easy as boring as good as dropping your files in to a printed matter upon SkyDrive. SkyDrive lets we set who should see a files or photos as good as even updates your contacts by putting a names of a files in their What’s New feed.

All in all, we consider a brand brand brand brand new pattern gives a business some-more options for pity files as good as an even richer as good as some-more fun knowledge when you’re pity photos. We would adore to know how we share files as good as what kinds of facilities we would similar to to see in destiny Windows Live products.

Thanks!

Steven as good as Jeremy

Repost from a Windows Live group blog…

About 3 months ago, we expelled open betas of a Windows Live Essentials – a apartment of downloadable programs for your Windows PC, together with Messenger, Mail, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Writer, Toolbar, as well as Family Safety.

Since then, we’ve perceived a ton of good feedback as well as we’ve been regulating which report to refurbish these programs. We’re removing really tighten to a last release. But prior to we get there, we’re lovely a beta versions a single some-more time to have certain we’ve ironed out all a kinks. You can get a ultimate betas from: http://download.live.com/.

We’re operative tough to get a last versions ready to go as shortly as possible. So let us know what we similar to as well as don’t like, as well as if you’re using in to any issues which we need to take caring of prior to we take a “beta” tags off.

We goal which you’ll find a ultimate versions even some-more beguiling as well as utilitarian than a initial beta versions. Thank we all for a good feedback. Keep it coming!

- Digital Memories Experience team

Repost from a Windows Live group blog…

About 3 months ago, we expelled open betas of a Windows Live Essentials – a apartment of downloadable programs for your Windows PC, together with Messenger, Mail, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Writer, Toolbar, as well as Family Safety.

Since then, we’ve perceived a ton of good feedback as well as we’ve been regulating which report to refurbish these programs. We’re removing really tighten to a last release. But prior to we get there, we’re lovely a beta versions a single some-more time to have certain we’ve ironed out all a kinks. You can get a ultimate betas from: http://download.live.com/.

We’re operative tough to get a last versions ready to go as shortly as possible. So let us know what we similar to as well as don’t like, as well as if you’re using in to any issues which we need to take caring of prior to we take a “beta” tags off.

We goal which you’ll find a ultimate versions even some-more beguiling as well as utilitarian than a initial beta versions. Thank we all for a good feedback. Keep it coming!

- Digital Memories Experience team

March 18, 2009 – Las Vegas – The MIX Conference is a entertainment of designers as well as developers who set up slicing corner web sites. If we wish to plead a destiny of a Web, sense about a ultimate web technologies from Microsoft, or only massage shoulders with attention professionals, MIX is a place to be.

http://2009.visitmix.com/

[cal]12/08/2008[/cal]

Last time: Evan a Developer shares capability tips

Last time, we told we about how my e-mail proposed pier up in to “email purgatory.” Now I’m starting to discuss it we how to-do lists assistance me get out of email purgatory! 

When your inbox as good as your to do list have been a same thing, what do we have?  A a single approach sheet to email purgatory!

So a subsequent large complaint is how to keep lane of these straggler emails which were sitting there noted unread.  The complaint was which we didn’t – during slightest not effectively.

The base means here is which we was regulating my inbox as an additional to-do list.  That wasn’t working, obviously.  Over time, as brand new messages came in, a things we longed for to recollect to get behind to got pushed serve as good as serve toward email purgatory.  The odds which something upon Page 2 of my email got review or acted upon though a little outward assistance was flattering tighten to zero.  Not surprisingly, we had a lot of emails or in-person conversations where people were asking me for a same thing a second time, which usually compounded my problems. 

So to save myself as good as my friends from email purgatory, we had to keep a apart to-do list of a little kind.  One approach referred to in David Allen’s book “Getting Things Done,” where we initial listened of this total inbox/to-do list collapse, is to have a apart to-do printed matter in your mail account.  Any email we get which we contingency movement upon though which we can’t movement upon rught away goes in to this printed matter for after handling.  You can do this in Hotmail by formulating a law printed matter which I’ll uncover we how to do in a minute.

I attempted which strategy, though in a finish we didn’t similar to we do it which way.  It had a own problems for me, especially which it was an additional printed matter to conduct upon tip my inbox as good as my alternative to-do lists.  So for emails we need to keep lane of, we simply have have use of of a ubiquitous to-do list which we already keep anyway.  For this we can have have use of of To Do List in Windows Live Calendar which we might have seen, as good as which I’ll speak about in a impulse as well.

Creating a law printed matter in Hotmail

First click Manage Folders in a sidebar:

Then click New in a movement club

Then give your name a printed matter (for example, “Needs Action!”) as good as click Save!

Now to pierce emails in to this folder, we can simply draw towards as good as dump messages from a summary list onto this folder’s name in a printed matter list, or we can click Move To/Needs Action! when observation a message.

Windows Live Calendar’s To-Do List

Windows Live Calendar has a To-Do list!  First, go to a site possibly around a URL http://calendar.live.com, or from Hotmail we can click a Calendar couple in a Related Places section.

Then click a To-Do List add-on

Then click New To-Do to get started.

You can additionally emanate tasks though withdrawal a Month, Week, Day, or Agenda views by regulating a New > To-Do menu object in a movement bar.

Next time…

These were large stairs for me.  It has positively been good carrying fewer annoying moments with my friends who as because we haven’t responded to their emails.  But those ideas alone didn’t compromise all my problems.  we still had (and have) a ton of incoming email which we had to review as good as conduct each day, as good as we only knew there were things we could do to have which charge simpler as good as faster.  Check behind subsequent time when I’ll speak about a ideas which have worked most appropriate for me.

- Evan

For those of we who have questions about Hotmail, greatfully read this post to listen to about a ultimate updates, as good as to find out how to give feedback as good as get support. Thanks to all of a business for their feedback by a ultimate upgrade. We have been listening as good as operative to have Hotmail work good for you.