Looking to turn your photos into a great looking movie? Slideshow features in Windows Live Movie Maker will make it a breeze!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Regards

Marc Liron – Microsoft MVP (2004-2010)

You hear the term “The Cloud” everywhere today in IT.

But where is it?

…well one great example is Windows Live. In particular SkyDrive the popular Microsoft service that operates in t”he cloud” and allows you the freedom to share your documents worldwide:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Regards

Marc Liron – Microsoft MVP (2004-2010)

Technology is supposed to help make life easier, but sometimes it leaves us even more frustrated and disconnected. See how Windows 7 + Windows Live changes everything.

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Regards

Marc Liron – Microsoft MVP (2004-2010)

Microsoft have just posted a security warning on their Windows Live blog: Security alert: Active links in Messenger 2009 temporarily turned off to prevent a malicious worm. They are alerting users that there is a malicious worm currently trying to spread itself through IM networks, including Windows Live Messenger 2009 (Wave 3).

The worm spreads by inserting a link into an IM conversation with a person whose computer is already infected. When someone clicks the link, it opens in a browser, downloads the worm on the recipient’s computer, and then repeats this process.

This however does NOT concern users of the latest version of the software – Windows Live Messenger 2011

Stay alert!

Regards

Marc Liron – Microsoft MVP (2004-2010)

Microsoft has made the new version of Messenger more social, says Jamie Cannon, group product manager for Windows Live. “We like to think of Messenger as your people app. It’s the one place to stay up to date on all the social networks you belong to.”

In addition to the familiar IM service, Messenger now brings together all the content from a user’s social networks. It incorporates updates and newsfeeds from sites such as Facebook and MySpace, and lets users comment on them right from Messenger. Users can easily share photos across their networks, plus Messenger introduces an immersive experience for viewing friends’ photo galleries from Facebook. Inline video eliminates the need to leave Messenger to watch YouTube videos that friends post.

The Windows Live team also included updates to improve chat. For example, high-definition video chats are now available through Messenger. And users can hold multiple conversations at the same time through the new tab chat feature. Facebook chat, another feature, lets people IM across networks.

“We didn’t want to create another social network,” Cannon says. “We really designed Messenger to help you stay in touch with the people that matter to you most, wherever they already are.”

Regards

Marc Liron – Microsoft MVP (2004-2010)

Microsoft today released Windows Live Essentials 2011, a suite of free consumer apps that connects Windows to the cloud to help people connect, create and share online.

As Windows 7’s one-year anniversary approaches, Microsoft is bringing together the power of the PC with the promise of the cloud. On Thursday, September 30, Microsoft released Windows Live Essentials, a set of free applications that helps Windows 7 users connect, create, and share online.

The software suite is available for download and includes:

Windows Live Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Messenger, Mesh, Mail, Family Safety, and Writer.

Windows Live Essentials reflects a changing landscape in consumer behavior, where more and more people communicate and share online, says Jamie Cannon, group product manager for Windows Live. Today’s release offers Windows users an integrated experience that acts as their “key to the cloud.”

“We’ve brought together the best of Windows with the best of the Web,” Cannon says. “People are spending more time in the cloud, and as a result it’s where people communicate, connect and share. And so, we believe that bringing them together in a seamless way allows consumers to bridge the power of both.”

Windows Live Essentials is that bridge, Cannon says. The free suite helps users share their photos and movies, organize their e-mail, and stay in touch with the people that matter most, regardless of whether those people use social networks, chat or traditional e-mail, he says. It also enables users to access their “stuff” from anywhere over the Internet.

“We’re getting every Windows 7 PC connected to the cloud with Windows Live Essential,” Cannon says. “It takes the Windows that you know and brings the promise of the cloud so you can create, communicate and share all from one place. With Windows and Windows Live, you’re connected to your people and your networks whenever and wherever you want – from your PC, devices and phone.”

Regards

Marc Liron – Microsoft MVP (2004-2010)

The new Windows Live Messenger (part of Wave 4 coming very soon) helps saves you time with tabbed conversations, Bing integration and brings your conversations to life with HD video chat (in 16/9 full screen), photo sharing, video messages, YouTube videos and more…

Windows Live Messenger Wave 4 Beta will be offered to early adopters for testing on June 21st, 2010.

Get a brief demo in this video from Microsoft:

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Kind Regards

Marc Liron – Microsoft MVP

Windows Live Hotmail is a gigantic service in all dimensions. Here are some of the highlights:

# Is a worldwide service, delivering localized versions of Hotmail to 59 regional markets, in 36 languages.

# They host well over 1.3 billion inboxes (some users have multiple inboxes)

# Over 350 million people are actively using Hotmail on a monthly basis (source: comScore, August 2009).

# They handle over 3 billion messages a day and filter out over 1 billion spam messages – mail that you never see in your inbox.

# They are growing storage at over 2 petabytes a month (a petabyte is ~1 million gigabytes or ~1000 terabytes).

# They currently have over 155 petabytes of storage deployed (70% of storage is taken up with attachments, typically photos).

# They are the largest SQL Server 2008 deployment in the world (they monitor and manage many thousands of SQL servers).

# All in all they keep four copies of your data on multiple drives and servers to minimize the chance of data loss due to a hardware failure.

# Thousands of servers monitor service health, transactions (for example, sending an e-mail) and system performance for customers all over the world.

# They have a round-the-clock response center team that watches over our global monitoring systems and takes action immediately when there is problem. We have an escalation process that can engage our engineering staff within a few minutes when needed.

This should begin to give you a sense of the size and scope of the engineering that goes into delivering and maintaining the Hotmail service.

Regards

Marc Liron
Microsoft MVP

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No need to sign into multiple services to check all your messages on the web.

Instead, you can see any POP-enabled e-mail account (including Yahoo! Mail (Plus), AOL Mail, and Gmail) right from your Hotmail account. You can put all of your messages together in your inbox or each e-mail account in its own folder, your choice.

Read more here:

http://mailcall.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!CC9301187A51FE33!51039.entry

A custom video produced for the new and improved Microsoft Live.com.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Windows Live team has been tweeting away from http://twitter.com/windowslive for a few months now, and would welcome you to follow them there.

They tweet out news and information that hopefully will help you get even more out of Windows Live. Sometimes they take informal polls and ask questions to see what’s on your mind. And unlike some corporate Twitterers, there’s some give and take to their twitter stream–they don’t just blast stuff out.

They try to follow those who follow them, and to respond to as many direct messages (“DMs” in twitterspeak) and @replies as they can.

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Updated photo e-mail slide shows in Windows Live Mail

One of the most common reasons people send e-mail today is to share photos. But photos can be really large files. When you attach several photos to an e-mail, their combined file size can really add up, making sending and receiving e-mail slow, especially if you or some of the people you’re sending them to have a slower or unreliable Internet connection. And if you exceed your attachment size limit, you’re completely out of luck!

Fortunately, if you use Windows Live Mail (free to download here), you can easily get around this problem with the photo e-mail feature, which lets you upload the full-size photos you want to share online, and attaches smaller, thumbnail-sized versions to your e-mail, making the download size of your message much smaller. The photo e-mail contains a link for recipients to view your photos as an online slide show. And after watching the slideshow, they can then download the full-size photos they like best.

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Your Windows Live ID is the key to your online world. If youre already using Hotmail or Messenger, your user name is your Windows Live ID, and it gets you started with all the online services—including 25 GB of free storage, easy photo editing and sharing, online groups, and more. Access them all on Windows Live Home at home.live.com. Watch this video to see the new Windows Live in action.

In a glance, you can see whos sending you e-mail and easily stay updated with whats going on in your network of friends with the Whats New feed. See who posted new photos or commented on a blog and track whos currently online Windows Live Home at home.live.com helps you stay connected.

The things you do with Windows Live automatically display on your profile, so its easy to share your digital life with friends. It also displays what youre doing on your other favorite networks, like Tweets on Twitter and photos on Flickr, so sharing your whole online life is simple. And youre in control of your profile, so you can show it to everyone on the Internet or just your close family and friends.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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With Windows Live SkyDrive you can backup all your files and photos online for free. All you need is a Windows Live ID and you can start uploading, backing up, and sharing…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Marc Liron – Microsoft MVP

Two NEW features available in Windows Live Messenger:

- New Groups

- Dynamic Profile Image

Click here to view the embedded video.

Marc Liron – Microsoft MVP