Microsoft Live Framework SDK

The Live Framework SDK currently released as a community technology preview (CTP) gives you the tools and resources to program against the Live Framework, the uniform way for programming Live Services from a variety of platforms, programming languages, applications, and devices.

Live Framework SDK

flickr.com - Traffic Details from Alexa: The rise of Twitter

flickr.com - Traffic Details from Alexa

As Web 2.0 tools go Flickr and YouTube are the old hands.  Yahoo, I have to say has failed against Google's YouTube.  When you think that everyone in the world has a digital camera and can take digital pictures that can be posted on Flickr in SMS, and that it was one of the earliest flagship Web 2.0 its stagnation against a more restricted YouTube is a bit sad. 

But Fickr has never helped people to achieve anything with its tool.

Facebook is a new comer which has recently become and established player much larger than Flickr.  Not because it offers much of anything, but because its easy to use and offers the community a tool where it can own its contacts and discussions.

Its all about ownership in Web 2.0  and we can see what I think to be the ultimate Web 2.0 tool: twitter.  Twitter I can't praise enough as a concept, and watch as it becomes the latest to break past Flickr in the major Web 2.0 field.

I've used Flickr now for about 5 years I think, and I have to say that in that time it has offered almost no improvement in function.   Actually I like Flickr 2004 much more than Flickr 2008 and I almost never use the product.

The main problem is Yahoo.  Yahoo does not get Web 2.0 and I hope Microsoft does take it over and bring some business sense to the product.  Microsoft does not seem to know it but it always has been doing "Web 2.0", Microsoft provides the standard tools for users to communicate with, and it can extend Office to THE web 2.0 tool.

I was a bit sad to see Azure does not yet have a branded Office section.  Office Live IMHO should not just be a PART of the mostly failed Live.com launch, but should be its own brand on the Internet.

flickr.com - Traffic Details from Alexa

Though Live's web presence is strong I find nobody comes to my blogs via Live.com even though I am blogging about SharePoint and Live.com!!!!  I am using Live.com myself and its kind of a lonely experience.

Live is hotmail, IM and maybe Office and I think rather than pushing some strange Azure concept Microsoft should push extending and integrating Office via the Cloud and SharePoint.

And that's my penny

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Microsoft testing new Internet search engine Kumo

Microsoft on Tuesday confirmed it is testing a new Internet search engine it hopes will power the US software giant out of distant third place in a market dominated by Google.

A Kumo.com search engine being privately tested by Microsoft workers is reportedly based on semantic technology that enables it to understand sentences and relationships between words.

Current search engines, including software used by Google, rely on matching words typed into search boxes with those found at websites and in data found on the Internet.

"There's a good deal of excitement brewing over this test, both internally and externally, which we're always glad to see," Microsoft Live Search general manager Mike Nichols wrote in an online message.

"Our hope is that our employees will give us great feedback on our new features and that it all becomes part of the external experience soon."

The Internet has buzzed with speculation regarding whether Microsoft intends to replace its Live Search with Kumo since an internal memo written about it by Satya Nadella, a Microsoft senior vice president, was leaked online this week.

Microsoft said Tuesday that the memo that ricocheted quickly about the Web "is in fact accurate."

Nichols posted a "sneak peek" screenshot of Kumo with his message at an official Live Search blog website.

Nichols said it remains to be determined whether the Kumo codename with replace "Live Search" when it makes its public debut.

"We're using the Kumo brand and URL for this test experience to make sure employees understand they're in a test experience," Nichols wrote.

"We believe this will encourage more active feedback. As for rebranding, it's something we're still considering."

Nadella said in his memo that statistics show that people searching online often don't find what they seek and that Internet hunts take more than 20 minutes in nearly half of the cases.

"We believe we can provide a better and more useful search experience that helps you not just search but accomplish tasks," Nadella wrote.

"During the test, features will vary by country, but you'll see results organized in a way that saves you more time."

Microsoft tried last year to buy Yahoo! for 47.5 billion dollars in a vain effort to merge online resources to better battle Google, which rules more than 60 percent of the US online search market.

Yahoo!'s share of the market is about 21 percent and Microsoft trails with 8.5 percent, according to recent figures from industry tracking firms.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has stated publicly that he is still open to a deal with Yahoo!, which recently hired a new chief executive who is mulling the California Internet pioneer's options.

Source

Work with others the easy way with Office Live Workspace

Microsoft Office Live Workspace beta is your online place to store and share documents. When you have multiple people involved in a project or planning an event, Office Live Workspace makes it easy. You can share documents, coordinate schedules, and manage to-do lists in your own password-protected online workspace. It’s a great way to keep everyone actively involved – whether they’re next door or on the next continent.

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Goodbye attachments. Hello sharing.
Avoid worrisome attachments and back-and-forth e-mails by posting documents you want to share in your workspace. Anyone you’ve invited to join has easy access anytime.

No more merging.
In a workspace, everyone works off a single online copy of a document. That saves time and eliminates the confusion that often occurs when you merge multiple copies of the same document.

Password-protected sharing.
Not only is your workspace password-protected, but you control who can actively edit in your workspace and who has view-only privileges.

Want to learn more? Check out our three scenarios to see how people like you are using Office Live Workspace – and then watch our how-to video.

Managing a project

Preparing an annual report, building a Web site, or forming a committee? With Office Live Workspace, organizing a project is a snap.

Post a project schedule.
Give everyone on the team an easy way to check progress and provide their own updates.

Share a budget spreadsheet.
When everyone has access to the numbers, you reduce the possibility of budget overruns.

Keep project documents in one place.
No more asking around for a copy of the meeting minutes or latest PowerPoint presentation.

Make it easy to participate.
All anyone needs to access your project’s workspace is a PC, an Internet connection and a password.

Organizing a study group

Working on a group assignment for class? Studying together for midterms? Learning a language with your travel buddies? See how efficient organizing a study group can be with Office Live Workspace.

Post a meeting calendar.
There’s no confusion about when or where the next meeting is when your calendar is available online.

Assign tasks.
Make sure everyone knows exactly what their assignment is and when it’s due.

Work off a single document.
Whether you’re writing a paper or building a reading list, everyone can make changes to a single copy posted online – no need to waste time merging multiple documents.

Control access.
You decide who can view and edit each document.

Planning an event

Got a wedding or family reunion coming up? Is your company hosting a conference or trade show? See how organized event planning can be with Office Live Workspace.

Share your to-do list.
Giving everyone a clear picture of what needs to be done, and when, helps ensure a successful event.

Track your guest list.
Keep a running tally of RSVPs and share it with those responsible for reminders or updates.

Keep event information in one place.
Save time and avoid confusion by keeping all event documents – from your budget to the invitation design – in one place where those with permission can access them.

Make a day-of-event schedule.
Your event will run more smoothly when everyone knows the schedule in advance.

Office Live, SharePoint for everyone

The Office Live Workspace Beta gives you the ability to create collaboration workspaces. You don't have MOSS 2007 DM yet, but it provides basic collaboration from WSS 2 and WSS 3 is a nice user friendly UI.



And the killer app is, it connects to Office 2003 and 2007. You can edit your word documents in word on your computer and manage them in the Cloud.



Saving still has some security problems. If y0u have ever run SharePoint without Active Directory you will be familiar with what Security is like in Office Live. I don't know if people will find this confusing. Microsoft needs to improve Cloud Security, the process is much more seamless in Google Docs.



Having to log-in via Office when you are already logged in via Office Live in a browser is a problem that Microsoft, who owns Windows anyways needs to get around. The problem here is key security, if the browser could launch an app that could then contact a web service it better be secured very well.

http://workspace.office.live.com/

This changes everything: Office Live Workspaces

Office Live Workspaces could change the entire field of the Cloud. Office Live now brings SharePoint functions to everyone everywhere, allow every Windows / Office based user to collaborate and manage content in the Cloud. It allow rapid network formation globally to harvest the benefits of the Web and Cloud.

Microsoft has hit a real home run here, using the most popular SharePoint features to make a usable Cloud application, something Google Docs very failed at.



The cost of using a Office Live over Google Docs cloud is that you are stuck in a Microsoft world. I can't use Windows Live on my Linux machines and this alone is keeping me on Google Docs. My little Umbuntu Laptop is just too nice to give up and too slow to run Vista or even XP.

Generally the Cloud has paved my movement off of Microsoft platforms. For the past 4 years since I have been moving to Cloud based information management I have used Google, Yahoo and firms other than Microsoft. Suddenly with Office Live I have a reason to keep my XP machines around.

So IMHO Microsoft has hit a real home run here. Not only have they made a STRONG move to the Cloud that works, but they have also managed to use the Cloud to straighten their brand position. Lets see how it takes off, but I am now ready to put my money that Microsoft has a bright future in the Cloud.

I guess soon I will have to present myself as a SharePoint Office Live Consultant. Cool by me.

Office Live vs Google Docs, and the Winner is?

Microsoft Office Live


I have been a long time user of Google Docs keeping my graduate school documents on it for some time.  I think Microsoft has hit a massive home run with Office Live.  The migration of Microsoft in to a web based Live product has been slow and painful, but Live just a better site than Google Docs.  The primary problem is the Live is Microsoft centric still and I can't use it on my Linux machines using Flock browser, but for an XP based machine the integration between Microsoft Office Live and Office 2003 and 2007 makes it a no brainer.  The site is also easier to use and provide more pre-existing business templates.