Windows Live Personalized Experience

Infobox Software
name = Windows Live Personalized Experience



caption = A customizable homepage
developer = Microsoft
latest_release_version = Final
latest_release_date = August 8 2008
latest_preview_version =
latest_preview_date =
operating_system =
genre = Portal, Homepage
license =
website = [http://my.live.com http://my.live.com]

Windows Live Personalized Experience (also known as My.Live.com, previously Live.com) is a customizable portal launched by Microsoft in early November 2005. It was one of the first Windows Live services to launch.

Features

Live.com lets users add RSS feeds in order to view news at a glance. Building off Microsoft's start.com experimental page, Live.com can be customized with Gadgets, mini-applications that can serve almost any purpose (e.g. mail readers, weather reports, slide shows, search, games, etc.). Some gadgets integrate with other Windows Live services, including Hotmail, Live Search, and Favorites.

Users can create multiple site tabs and customize each with different feeds, gadgets, layouts, and color schemes, thus making it a competitor to iGoogle and Pageflakes among others.

If a user visits Live.com and has not created a personalised homepage or has clicked "Search Only", a search box will be used instead of the personalized homepage layout. They can then switch to the personalised page by clicking "Personalize Page".

History

On December 14, 2004, Start.com, the predecessor to Live.com, began internal testing. On February 5, 2005, the first version, http://www.start.com/1, went live. On March 10, http://www.start.com/2 went live, and on June 3, http://www.start.com/3 went live. On September 1, they released to http://www.start.com/. On September 13, developer sites went live.

The Live.com domain was previously owned by Live Networks Inc., a producer of streaming network software [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20050914071727/http://www.live.com/ Last copy of Live.com in the Wayback machine of Archive.org] , September 14, 2005] . Microsoft's Live.com launched on November 1, 2005 with the Windows Live brand and various improvements. . By November 8 they had added Firefox support. On November 23 themes were added. On December 15, support for Opera 9, new gadgets, and other improvements went live. On December 20, the search engine was improved. January 27 saw support for images in RSS feeds. On February 28, the search box was updated. On March 7, 2006, live.com was updated with a new look, more gadgets, and an improved interface. It also featured, for the first time, the new Windows Live Search (now Live Search). Features include intelligent scrolling, dynamic image search, and saved searches. On March 30 other improvements were made, especially regarding the first run experience and persistence of search-only mode.

On September 12, 2006, Live.com officially came out of beta. In the following few days, MSN Search began redirecting to the new Windows Live Search (now Live Search), and the rollout was complete. [Live.com Blog; http://livecom.spaces.live.com/] Because all online Windows Live services are located in subdomains of Live.com, making the site the recognized home of Microsoft's "Live" movement. However, on April 17, 2008, Live.com was officially relocated to http://my.live.com with its name now referred to as Windows Live Personalized Experience. Live.com became the home to Live Search instead as part of Microsoft's movement to push their online search and advertising services. Windows Live Home, became the official home portal for all Windows Live services instead.

Windows Live Personalized Experience was most recently updated on August 8, 2008 featuring the new Windows Live 2.0 theme.

Future

On August 3, 2007, Microsoft Japan revealed details for Windows Live 2.0 in its annual Business Strategic Meeting 2008, including a new version of Windows Live homepage. A new Windows Live portal, branded "Windows Live Home", was expected to be released in Fall 2007, featuring a new interface design together with Windows Live ID improvements. [ [http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/pcuser/articles/0708/03/news008_2.html ITmedia: "Software as a Service - the business strategy of MSN and Windows Live"] ] Microsoft later confirmed that Windows Live Home is not a replacement for Live.com.

On November 21, 2007, the Live.com team announced on their blog a new version of Live.com is in the works. [ [http://livecom.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!D4909E7F27E254E9!3091.entry Back again with some great news and more updates] ]

References

ee also

* Windows Sidebar for Desktop Gadgets.
* Windows SideShow for Device Gadgets.
* Live.com Mobile
* Web portal

External links

* [http://my.live.com/ Windows Live Personalized Experience]
* [http://livecom.spaces.live.com/ My.Live.com Official Team Blog]
* [http://forums.community.microsoft.com/en/MyLiveCom/threads/ My.Live.com official feedback and suggestions forum]