Windows Live offers a vast array of services
chart What exactly is Microsoft making available via Windows Live? The complete list is here.
Windows Live services online and on tap
By Staff, CNET News.com
Published: March 14, 2006, 4:00 AM PST
It's taken Microsoft five years to develop the next Windows, but Windows Live services are proving faster and easier to deliver to consumers with a tweak here and a twitch there.
| Product | Code name | Description | Competitors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows Live Mail | Kahuna | Successor to Hotmail, more like a traditional e-mail program such as Outlook | Yahoo Mail, Gmail | Reached the "M6" beta stage in May, more than 1 million users |
| Windows Live Search | Microsoft's homegrown search engine | Google, Yahoo, Accoona | Public beta launched in March | |
| Windows Live Local | Maps and directions; Bird's eye and street-level images | Google, Yahoo | Public beta launched in December | |
| Windows Live Search Mobile | The mobile version of homegrown search | Google, Yahoo | Beta | |
| Windows Live Expo | Fremont | A free online marketplace for goods that can also be limited to a social network | Craigslist, eBay | Recently moved from internal and limited testing into U.S. public beta |
| Windows Live Family Safety Settings | Vegas | Parental control tools for monitoring children's online use | Net Nanny | In limited beta with fewer than 10,000 testers; public test expected in early summer |
| Windows Live OneCare | A1 | Subscription antivirus service | Symantec, McAfee | Paid service launched at the end of May |
| Windows Live Video | Warhol | User-generated video | YouTube, Google Video | Not yet in public testing |
| Windows Live Messenger | Successor to MSN Messenger, adds social networking and contact-sharing features | Yahoo Messenger; AIM; ICQ; Gmail chat; Plaxo | Final version launched June 19. | |
| Live.com | Based on Start.com, a home page with gadgets, RSS feeds and more | MyYahoo, Google | Public beta with 3 million registered users | |
| Microsoft Gadgets | Small applications written in Javascript and HTML, used by Live.com and Windows Vista | Yahoo Widgets, Apple's Dashboard | More than 160 gadgets available | |
| AdCenter | Moonshot | For serving up paid search ads; Uses demographics to help target the marketing message | Yahoo, Google | Launched in Singapore and France and in beta in the U.S.; serves 40% of MSN paid-search ads |
| Windows Live Safety Center | Free basic antivirus protection | McAfee, Symantec | Beta; performed 1.3 million scans and cleaned 150,000 PCs as of February. | |
| Windows Live Favorites | Stores Web bookmarks online | Launched in June. | ||
| Windows Live Custom Domains | A way for people to use Windows Live Mail with their existing e-mail domain | Limited beta, U.S.-only | ||
| Windows Live Toolbar | A collection of services under a common Web toolbar | Yahoo, Google | Beta launched in March | |
| Windows Live Answers | Direct answers to fact-based Web queries | Yahoo Answers; Google Answers | No ETA | |
| Windows Live Clipboard | Outlined by Ray Ozzie, uses a mashup of technologies to allow an online equivalent of a PC's clipboard | |||
| Windows Live ID | A new authentication tool for Live services, based on Passport, Microsoft's once-controversial authentication service | Liberty Alliance | Expected to be released later this year | |
| Windows Live Mail Desktop | A desktop application for viewing Windows Live Mail | Google, Yahoo | Went into early beta testing March 28, broader testing expected in the spring |
Sources: Microsoft, CNET News.com research
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