Windows Live is a collection of software tools from Microsoft that can help make things easier for you. From chatting over the internet with Windows Live Messenger, to organising your life with Windows Live Calendar, there is a whole host of features that can help you in your day-to-day life.
1. Video chat with distant friends and family
Windows Live Messenger is great for communicating with friends and family, and if you have a webcam and a broadband connection, Windows Live Messenger can deliver high-quality video chat either in the main window or in full-screen mode. This lets you talk to your contacts face to face – no matter where in the world they are.
2. Protect your kids online
With Windows Live OneCare you can make sure your kids don’t see things on the internet they shouldn’t. You can create a Windows Live ID for each child, and then specify what material Windows Live should block for each ID, such as drugs, gambling or pornography, and you can also block online chat and webmail services.
3. Create amazing home videos
Windows Live Movie Maker is the latest addition to the Windows Live family. Windows Live Movie Maker aims to make movies easy to produce and to share online by integrating with the MSN video service Soapbox, enabling you to upload high-quality video to share with the world. Titles and animations between scenes can also be added in a flash.
4. Never miss a birthday or appointment again
With Windows Live Calendar you can add other calendars through .ics files – the standard format for most calendar applications. This means that you can upload your colleagues’, partner’s or friends’ calendars so that you never double-book yourself on your anniversary or at the time of your child’s school play.
5. Tag your photos to easily find them later
Windows Live Photo Gallery makes it easy to deal with loads of photos. You can tag entire albums and individuals in your photos – so you can easily search for and retrieve photos of you and your friends. The latest Windows Live Photo Gallery beta automatically identifies faces in pictures, so you can tag them using your Windows Live Messenger contacts.
6. Share your thoughts with the world using Windows Live Spaces and Windows Live Writer
Blogs – short for web logs – are websites where people write about pretty much anything they like, whether it’s their personal life, politics or just some funny stuff they’ve found on the internet. You can build a blog and add entries from your Windows Live Space, but Windows Live Writer makes it easier, faster and even more impressive.
7. Plan and organise amazing parties and events
Ever wished that someone could take the hassle out of organising events, inviting everybody and working out who’s actually going to turn up? Then you’ll love Windows Live Events. It doesn’t matter whether you’re organising a family birthday or a giant reunion – it does all the work for you, automatically generating invitations and sending them to the right people.
8. Fix your photos with ease
Windows Live Photo Gallery enables you to make adjustments to colour and brightness, remove red eye, and straighten or crop your photos to get them looking their best. With the quick rotate button you can sort those sideways shots and make sure your pictures are displayed the right way up.
9. Share your photos with the world or just your friends
Windows Live Photo Gallery gives you the ability to share your favourite photos online. With only a few clicks of your mouse you can publish your photos to your Windows Live Space, put them in a specially named album and set the album permissions to limit who can see your Photos.
10. Play games online with your friends for free
Windows Live Messenger may be a great tool for communicating with people, but it has many more features. You can quickly challenge any friend you’re having a conversation with to one of the many free online games that come with Windows Live Messenger with just a click of a button.
