Join the Online Community with Windows Live Services
Published: September 13, 2006
Many users spend a great deal of time creating, organizing, and managing online information, such as e-mail messages and search results. They also communicate with many people and organizations throughout the day. Making this process work can be time-consuming and a bit of a headache at times.
Windows Live is a set of Internet services designed to make all our online lives a little easier. With Windows Live, the following online services are available:
| • | Windows Live.com, your starting point to access Windows Live services; personalize Live.com by adding content like news, weather, RSS feeds, photos and more. |
| • | Windows Live Mail for Web e-mail service. |
| • | Windows Live Messenger, with which you can communicate with others, share photos, and use video messaging through instant messaging. |
| • | Windows Live Search, which provides a single place for searching online information, including Web sites, news, maps, phone numbers, and satellite photos. |
| • | Windows Live OneCare, a simple, all-in-one protection and maintenance service for your Microsoft Windows-based PC. |
| • | Windows Live Spaces, which provides tools for social networking, uploading, storing, and sharing photos, and creating your own blog quickly and easily. |
| • | Windows Live Favorites, where you can store your favorite bookmarks so that you can access them from home, work, or while traveling. |
| • | Windows Live Custom Domains, which provides free e-mail for your Internet domain. |
Get started with Windows Live
Now that you know the Windows Live services that are available, let's take a real look at them. Start by logging into Windows Live and setting up your personal Web page. To access Windows Live, you need a Microsoft Passport or a Hotmail or MSN account. Here's how you download and install the Windows Live service.
To start Windows Live
1. | Go to http://www.live.com, and click sign in at the top of the page. |
2. | Log in with your Windows Live ID. If you don't have a Microsoft Passport account, visit http://accountservices.passport.net to set up a new Microsoft Passport Network account, and then return here to continue logging in to Windows Live.  Here, I'm logging in and selecting the options to allow Windows Live to remember my Live ID and password. |
3. | Click Get Started under Personalize your homepage. You can select those items you want to appear on your personalized Live.com page. By default, the page includes four standard page tabs: | • | Basics. Shows weather forecasts, mail, MSNBC news headlines, and stock quotes. | | • | News. Shows RSS feeds of major news services. | | • | Sports. Shows sports RSS feeds. | | • | Entertainment. Shows RSS feeds from entertainment sources. |
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4. | Select or clear pages for your Live.com, and then click Next. |
Your Live.com personalized site appears. Of course, right now it isn't very personal, because it contains settings generic to all users. For example, the Weather Forecasts area includes a forecast for Seattle, Washington. If you don't live in Seattle, you can modify that setting to suit your needs. Likewise, the Stock Quotes may be displaying stocks you don't want to track.
Anytime you want to modify these settings, click Edit on the top right of that module. A small menu pops up with modification choices associated with that item.
You can change an item's setting by clicking Edit, and then clicking one of the Edit button's commands, such as add city for the Weather Forecast item.
Live.com understands that the content they have chosen for you may not suit your needs, so there are multiple ways to find more content.
Click Add Stuff under the Windows Live logo at the top of the page. In this directory, you will find folders such as Windows Live, News & Weather, and Sports. Explore the directory by clicking folders to expand them and see what content is inside. When you find something that you'd like to add to your Live.com site, click it for a preview, then select Add.
You can also search for content in the Windows Live Gallery. Here you'll find gadgets for Live.com including Windows Live services, MSN Services, as well as gadgets developed by the community. Some examples include:
| • | MSN video that lets you access videos from MSN.com |
| • | Shopping to help you find and purchase products online |
| • | Stock quotes for up-to-date stock data |
| • | Windows Live Mail to send and receive Web mail |
To add a gadget:
1. | Go to http://gallery.live.com and select the Gadgets menu item on the left. |
2. | Browse through the directory of gadgets. |
3. | Choose a gadget you like. |
4. | Click Add to Live.com. The item appears on your Live.com site. |
Other ways to personalize your Live.com site include:
| • | Add and delete pages. |
| • | Change the number of columns, or change the color theme through Settings. |
| • | And Live.com is built on AJAX technology, so you can drag and drop modules around the page, and also drag and drop them to a different page. |
Other places you can navigate to include Windows Live Favorites, Local, Safety Center, Expo, Shopping, and Spaces.
Use the Windows icon to navigate to other Windows Live pages.
Install Windows Live services
Some of the Windows Live services require you to download and install programs on your local computer. One such service is the Windows Live OneCare diagnostic service. With a subscription, you can use Windows Live OneCare to protect up to three computers running Microsoft Windows XP. Although Windows Live OneCare is always available—and updated—you must first install it.
To install Windows Live OneCare
1. | Go to http://onecare.live.com, and then click Get it now. |
2. | Select a method to install it (Subscribe Now, Try It Free, or Activate a Token). |
3. | Windows Live OneCare downloads and installs itself on your computer. Follow the onscreen messages to install the service. |
Tip: Read Justin Harrison's Protect and Maintain Your Computer with Windows Live OneCare for in-depth installation and configuration instructions.
Set up a Windows Live Space
A common response from many Window Live.com users has been a request for online areas where individuals can post their own public Web spaces. Windows Live Spaces allows just this.
To set up your Windows Live Space
1. | Go to http://spaces.live.com, and then click Create your space. If you have a Live ID, the Create your Windows Live Spaces page appears. If you need a Live ID, the Sign In for Windows Live page appears. Click Sign Up for Windows Live, click Get It Free, and sign up for Windows Live. When finished, the Create your Windows Live Spaces page appears. |
2. | Complete this page with a title for the page and a Web address, and then click Check availability to ensure that the Web address is available. If it isn't, type a different one. |
3. | Click Create. Your new Windows Live space appears. Your Space includes some default modules, including the Friends module and Blog module.  I used a simple title and Spaces Web address for my Windows Live Spaces page. |
You now can modify your Windows Live Spaces page to create an online presence suited for you. For example, you can add images to a photo album to share with others, insert a title and tagline for your page, or add book titles to the Book list module. Or, use the Add a Friend feature to select those friends that can view your Space. To modify modules, click the Edit link in each module.
When you've finished your Windows Live Spaces page, click View your space to see how it looks in browser view. Click Edit your space to return to the editing view.
When you're done, announce your space to your friends by clicking the Tell a friend link in the Visitor tools module. This area displays a new e-mail message with your space's Web address in the body of the message. Address the message to your friends, add a subject and some text, and then click Send. Your friends can now visit your online Windows Live Spaces page and leave comments in your blog and photo album. Also notice that Live Spaces provides seamless integration of Live Mail and Live Messenger, so you and your friends can stand in contact without leaving your Space. In fact, visit my Live Space at http://tidrow.spaces.live.com and drop me a note!
Participate in beta development
Along with the services noted above, Windows Live uses a very active beta program to help test, evaluate, and improve new Windows Live.com services. Be sure to check out the new offerings periodically by going to http://ideas.live.com.
Tip: If you are a software developer who would like to create or contribute your own services, check out Windows Live Dev. It is chock full of all the information you need to start learning how to create services on top of the Windows Live Platform APIs. In addition to helpful articles, you can access the Windows Live software development kit (SDK) at this site. Go to http://dev.live.com.
Windows Live is a great way to get more out of your online and digital life. Spend some time here to learn more about each service and area, and be sure to set up your own Windows Live space!
 | Rob Tidrow lives in Centerville, Indiana, and is a writer specializing in Windows, Office, and online technologies. Rob has more than 10 books to his credit, including Teach Yourself VISUALLY Wireless Networking (Wiley, 2006), Master VISUALLY Windows XP Service Pack 2 Edition (Wiley, 2005), and Wireless Networking VISUALLY Quick Tips (Wiley, 2006). You can contact him at robtidrow@hotmail.com.
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