4 ways Windows Live improves your online experience
Bring your online world together with Windows Live
I do a lot online, and so do my friends. We're always there, spouting off on a forum here, chatting with each other over there, sending pictures and links, and generally living online almost as much as we do offline. When I'm not yakking, I search for restaurants, print directions for appointments, make sure my computer is staying in shape, and pop into a gazillion different places on the Internet for work and personal information.
To do all of these things, I use Windows Live. It's been a great addition to how I use the Internet. The more I use it, the more features I discover—and use. In this article, I'll explain what Windows Live is and some of the ways I use it.
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What is Windows Live?
Windows Live is a collection of services designed to bring your online world and the rest of your world together. You can blog, chat, and keep up with friends in Windows Live Spaces or call friends on their phone or PC with video calling on Windows Live Messenger. Live.com is the home page for Windows Live that lets you see the information you want, stay in touch with your friends, and get things done online.
So what, you say? You can do all of this right now? Yes. But you can't do it from one place. You bounce around the Internet and your desktop for all of this. That's where Windows Live makes the difference: It pulls all of these things together so you just go to your Live.com home page and work or play from there.
You can use Windows Live on your desktop PC or mobile device (although some features are limited for mobile use). It's a free service, too. You start by creating an ID and password (which is already set up for you if you have a Hotmail, Messenger, or Microsoft Passport account) and adjusting your personalization settings.
You can customize your Live.com home page so it displays news, weather, sports scores, and other things that interest you.
Once you are logged in, the items you selected during personalization appear in one place so you can effortlessly see and access them. Customization can be done with layouts, colors, and content. You decide what to put on the page, how it should look, and where content should go. You can add things such as news feeds, local weather, clocks, and more. I like the gossip columns and local news, and a particular guilty pleasure is the Gadget Gallery. I'm always poking through to see what's new that I can play with. Plus, I prefer a four-column format over the single-column default, as well as the hot pink color theme.
To personalize your Live.com home page:
1. | Go to Live.com, sign in to your page, and click Options. |
2. | Choose the column style that you prefer. |
3. | Choose the color that you prefer. |
4. | Click Add Stuff. |
5. | Select a directory and choose an object to add. Click Add. Repeat this step until you've added all the items that you want from the directory. |
6. | Click Advanced Options (still under Add Stuff) to add feeds or Gadgets by URL. Repeat this step until you've added all the items that you need. |
7. | Click My Stuff (still under Add Stuff) and select any items that you want to add. Click Add. (Note: My Stuff items are items that you have added to your Live.com site in your travels on the Web.) |
1. Bring friends and family into your life
I'm willing to bet that you already use e-mail and the Internet. After all, you're reading this article so you have some level of comfort with using your computer to get information. Windows Live has three communications options to keep you in touch with friends and family. You can use each of these with any computer by accessing your Live.com page, so whether you're at home, the library, or across the country on business, you can still stay in touch with anyone you want to. Your options are:
| • | Windows Live Messenger: If you're not already using it, reconsider. It's an instant messaging program that also lets you do things like send webcam video (great for moms or dads who want to see little ones during the day), link to online shopping, and even play a game or two when you're bored. There are more features, too, such as a PC-to-phone calling feature that lets you call almost any telephone in the world (fee-based). Learn more about and try Windows Live Messenger.  Windows Live Messenger lets you send instant messages, make video calls, and even phone other PCs. |
| • | Windows Live Mail: It's the next generation of Hotmail and is currently in testing stages. Features such as a search box, safety colors that warn you of suspicious e-mail messages, importing of contacts from Outlook, reading panes, and drag and drop make you comfortable pretty quickly. A simple drag and drop from the Add Stuff directory of your Live.com page, for example, puts your mail wherever you want it. Learn more about and try Windows Live Mail. |
| • | Windows Live Spaces: This is where you can create a blog to let others keep track of your daily activities and thoughts, and where you can network with friends. You can update your blog from a mobile device, too, and even add up to 500 photos a month. If your friends say they never see you anymore, then you need Windows Live Spaces so they can "see" you all they want. You add your Live Space to your Live.com page by saving it as a Windows Live favorite, then dragging and dropping it where you want on your Live.com page. A bonus: You can launch Live Messenger from within your Live Space page with a single click. Learn more about and try Windows Live Spaces. |
2. Keep your computer—and family—safe
Windows Live OneCare is an all-in-one, automatic, and self-updating computer care subscription service that helps protect your computer and handles important computer care tasks for you. This service provides the latest updates to help you protect your computer from hackers, viruses, spyware, and other unwanted software. It also gives your computer a monthly tune-up to ensure that your system is running at optimum performance and reliability levels.
One great feature of this service is the two-way managed firewall, which not only helps stop external threats from infiltrating your computer, but also warns you when an unknown program on your computer is attempting to access the Internet. This lets you stop malicious programs from using your computer to perform unsavory activities.
For families, Windows Live OneCare Family Safety will be available soon. It's currently in testing phases and will offer Web content filtering, access to childcare information, activity reports so you can see where your children go online—and how often—and contact management capabilities so you can prevent your children from interacting with people you don't know.
3. Search for information, find it, and share it
Live Search is a new way to get the results you need quickly in a customizable format. You can search across specific categories, such as images, videos, news, RSS feeds, QnA, and maps. The benefit to this new search approach is that you can do more than just search for information—you can create multiple pages based on your interests, send instant e-mail messages with links to your search results, or even get help from a community of real people who can help answer your questions. Plus, you can use Live Search from any Web page with Live Toolbar (you don't need to go back to a specific search page to conduct a search).
All these things are done by using tabs or commands at the top of the Live Search page. For example, to add multiple map pages based on your needs and interests, create a Collection. You can build a Collection that maps your favorite restaurants, for example, and the information is always available to you. Plus, you can create or link to public Collections so others can take advantage of the searches you've performed. A Scratch pad keeps everything organized so you can pull up different searches when you want them.
To create a Collection of maps:
1. | From Live.com, enter the search term that you want to map in the Search box. Click Enter. |
2. | On the Search results page, click Maps. |
3. | When the map appears, point to Collections and then click New. A box titled Scratch pad will appear on the right side of the screen. Click Save to keep your search results. Repeat until you've added all the search results that you want to your Collection. |
4. | You can then send the Collection to friends and family via e-mail. Click Share and then E-mail. |
The next time you click Collections, select Open and you'll see your Collection there for use whenever you need it.
4. Use Gadgets to simplify your online life
When you're at your computer and just want to get a quick weather forecast or check traffic before you head out the door, it can take too much time to find the right Web site and check for the information you need. That's why Microsoft introduced Gadgets: mini-programs that live on your Live.com page and deliver the information you need, when you need it.
Live webcams, traffic maps, news feeds, games, and other interactive, current information make your life easier by keeping you posted whenever you want and wherever you are. From the Add Stuff directory on your Live.com page, click Gadgets and drag and drop the Gadgets that are right for you.
Gadgets let you personalize your Live.com page with games, news feeds, clocks, calculators, horoscopes, and more.
Now that you know how Windows Live works, isn't it time to download it and get started? Go to Get Live and view the demos or start using one or more of the Windows Live services now. You can also try any of the betas mentioned in this article by going to Windows Live Ideas.
