Microsoft boosts Windows Live service

Link: Microsoft boosts Windows Live service
Filed under: Microsoft News, Internet News

Microsoft is enhancing Windows Live with photo sharing and Web-based hosted storage.

The new services will initially only be available to pre-selected testers.

Windows Live Photo Gallery beta is an enhanced version of the Windows Photo Gallery that is built into Windows Vista. It will also work on Windows XP machines.

It extends Windows Live’s photo management programme by allowing users to upload their photos to a Windows Live Spaces blog.

The second new service, Windows Live Folders, is an online-storage tool for backing up files, sharing them with friends or posting them publicly.

Users testing the beta program are being given 500MB of online storage.

They can share files with anyone, but people who are invited to use a shared folder have to sign up for a Windows Live ID for authentication.

The Windows Live update is the first of a number of new services which Microsoft plans to roll out in the coming months, including improved parental control for its OneCare security service.

The company is also aiming for tighter integration of its differing products.