Windows Live Essentials allows users to select and install the following Windows Live software applications:
- Windows Live Family Safety
- Windows Live Mail
- Windows Live Messenger
- Windows Live Movie Maker (Beta version, Windows Vista and Windows 7 only)
- Windows Live Photo Gallery
- Windows Live Sync (integrated with Toolbar and Photo Gallery)
- Windows Live Toolbar
- Windows Live Writer
- Microsoft Office Outlook Connector
- Microsoft Office Live Add-in
- Microsoft Silverlight
Windows Live Essentials and its applications (except for Windows Live Family Safety) support 64-bit versions of Windows Vista.
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 Windows Live Essentials | |
| Developed by | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Latest release | 2009 (Build 14.0.8064.0206) /2009-02-12 |
| Website | http://download.live.com |
History
On August 25, 2006, Microsoft began seeking testers for their invitation-only Windows Live service named Windows Live Essentials. It was very similar to Google's Google Pack. The service was integrated with Windows Live Dashboard, an application which offers a view of the services the user already has and what new Windows Live software and services are available. Windows Live Dashboard required users to sign-in with their Windows Live ID to check whether the service has been downloaded or not. At that time, web-based services such as Windows Live Hotmail (then Windows Live Mail) was also part of the list.
Shortly after its initial beta release, Windows Live Essentials became unavailable and the website was redirected to Windows Live Betas(then Windows Live Ideas). Subsequent reappearance of a version of Windows Live Dashboard is seen with the initial "Windows Live 2.0" Suite installers from Windows Live Messenger 8.5, Mail and Writer that was released on May 30, 2007. Windows Live Installer have been significantly updated with the subsequent "Windows Live Wave 3" release of applications, with the new inclusion of Windows Live Movie Maker and Microsoft Office Outlook Connector to its suite of products. On October 29, 2008, it was announced at the Professional Developers Conference 2008 that Windows Live Installer will be renamed back to Windows Live Essentials and will be integrated into Windows 7 to allow users to download the included Windows Live applications. However, the Windows Live Essentials applications will not be "bundled" with the Windows 7 operating system. This should allow more frequent updates to the Windows Live Essentials applications outside of major operating system releases. [4]
On December 15, 2008, the "beta refresh" versions of Windows Live Essentials applications were released.[5] This release included many changes since the previous beta release based on user feedback. A significant visual change in this release was the introduction of new application icons which added a common design theme to all the Live Essentials applications. The words "beta" were removed from most of the build numbers. On January 7, 2009, the "beta refresh" versions were released as the final versions.[6]
Screenshots of the original Windows Live Essentials website and Windows Live Dashboard application available back in 2006, together with the Windows Live Installer website and application released back in 2007 are shown below:
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[edit]See also
[edit]References
- ^ Microsoft Seeks Testers for Windows Live Essentials
- ^ Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Making Sense of Windows Live Wave 3, Part 1: How We Got Here
- ^ Windows Live Installer release notes
- ^ Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Making Sense of Windows Live Wave 3, Part 1: How We Got Here
- ^ Refreshing the Windows Live Essentials beta
- ^ Refreshing the Windows Live Essentials beta
[edit]External links
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