Stephe's Space: Windows Live

Windows Live Writer beta

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 03:29:28 GMT

First post from Windows Live writer. Love the way it downloads your blog's stylesheet for WSIWYG editing. I've tried it with Spaces and Blogger and it seems to work well with either. Download it here.

Windows Live Local

Wed, 02 Aug 2006 17:29:42 GMT

I’ve been meaning to blog about Windows Live Local, Microsoft’s free mapping and directories tool, for a while now. I’m really proud of the work the local team has done in this space. This is an area where Microsoft is showing some leadership, and providing unique features relative to our competitors. Here is a list of some of the things you can do with it:

get driving directions and maps
get satellite views of your destination
find directory listings that are synched up with Canadian maps
view “Bird’s Eye” imagery that shows detailed, 45-degree angle views of most major U.S. cities - and coming soon for Canadian cities
annotate maps, mark points of interest with pushpins, and share your customized maps with friends.
group your customized maps into “collections” you can share with the world or keep private
create custom “pushpins” that let you notate specific locations
use the scratch pad to make notes and share your discoveries
cruise around and zoom in on areas of the Canada you want to explore in detail
get results that display both Web sites and physical locations
auto-refresh your search results – updated as you move around the map
find yourself using the “Locate Me” feature that can show you where you are on a map

One of my favourite features is collections. Collections are groups of locations that you create and can share with your friends online. Here’s a collection of some Canadian landmarks for you to check out. Check out the satellite imagery. We recently update our image database for many Canadian cities so you can zoom right in on these sites. Also, check out the Bird’s eye views of Niagara falls. Very cool.

As always, tell us what you think.

Windows Live Spaces

Wed, 02 Aug 2006 01:14:07 GMT

(insert standard "I haven't posted in a while" disclaimer here)

Well, here it is, my first post on the new, rebranded Windows Live Spaces. So far, from what I've seen many of the features are similar to MSN Spaces, but with cool Ajax goodness to enhance the responsiveness of the UI. I can't wait to play some more with the Gadgets and friends of friends functionality!

What's your favourite feature?

Update: Mike Torres has posted on the new site.

MSN / Windows Live branding confusing?

Sat, 25 Mar 2006 17:25:38 GMT

Dare Obasanjo thinks our branding is confusing. What do you think?