Windows Essentials: Difference between revisions
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|logo = [[Image:Windows Live Essentials logo.png|center|The Windows Live Essentials logo.]] |
|logo = [[Image:Windows Live Essentials logo.png|center|The Windows Live Essentials logo.]] |
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|screenshot = [[Image:Windows Live Essentials Installer.png|250px]] |
|screenshot = [[Image:Windows Live Essentials Installer.png|250px]] |
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|caption = Windows Live Essentials |
|caption = Windows Live Essentials 2011 Installer |
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|developer = [[Microsoft]] |
|developer = [[Microsoft]] |
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|latest_release_version = 2011 (Build 15.4.3502.922) |
|latest_release_version = 2011 (Build 15.4.3502.922) |
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Revision as of 19:44, 10 October 2010
| File:Windows Live Essentials Installer.png Windows Live Essentials 2011 Installer | |
| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 2011 (Build 15.4.3502.922)
/ September 30, 2010 |
| Operating system | Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2 |
| Website | http://essentials.live.com |
Windows Live Essentials (previously Windows Live Installer) is a suite of freeware applications by Microsoft which aims to offer integrated and bundled e-mail, instant messaging, photo-sharing, blog publishing, security services and other Windows Live entities. Essentials programs are designed to integrate well with each other, with the Windows operating system, and with other Windows Live web-based services such as Windows Live Photos and Windows Live Hotmail, so that they operate as a “seamless whole”.[1] Windows Live Essentials will be integrated with Windows 7 (but not "bundled" with Windows 7) and available to be downloaded from Windows Live Downloads.[2]
Available applications
Windows Live Essentials allows users to select and install the following Windows Live software applications:
- Windows Live Family Safety
- Windows Live Mail
- Windows Live Mesh
- Windows Live Messenger
- Windows Live Messenger Companion
- Windows Live Movie Maker
- Windows Live Photo Gallery
- Windows Live Writer
In addition, the following related software applications are also available for install:
Windows Live Essentials applications can be installed on Windows Vista SP2 (32-bit or 64-bit editions), Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit editions), or Windows Server 2008.[3]
History
Essentials and Windows Live Dashboard (Wave 1)
On August 25, 2006, Microsoft began seeking testers for their invitation-only Windows Live service named Windows Live Essentials. It was very similar to Google's Google Pack in that it allows users to discover, install, and maintain a number of Windows Live application programs. However, the original Windows Live Essentials was referred to as the website serving the purpose of allowing users to discover new Windows Live services. The Windows Live Essentials website was integrated tightly with Windows Live Dashboard, an application which offers a view of the services the user already has and what new Windows Live software and services are available. Windows Live Dashboard required users to sign-in with their Windows Live ID to check whether the service has been downloaded or not. At that time, web-based services such as Windows Live Hotmail (then Windows Live Mail) was also part of the list.
Shortly after its initial beta release, the original Windows Live Essentials website became unavailable and the website was redirected to Windows Live Betas (then Windows Live Ideas), and as a result Windows Live Dashboard also became unavailable.
Windows Live Installer (Wave 2)
Subsequent reappearance of a Windows Live Dashboard is seen with the initial "Windows Live Wave 2" unified installers from Windows Live Messenger 8.5, Mail and Writer that was released on May 30, 2007. In the "Windows Live Wave 2" suite of services, Windows Live Installer was the name of the website and software given to serve the purposes of allowing users to discover, download and install Windows Live softwares and services. Users were able to select the Windows Live software they wished to install on the website, and the website would pass on the information to the unified installer software such that the installer will only download and install those applications selected.[4]
Windows Live Essentials 2009 (Wave 3)
The Windows Live Installer application was significantly updated with the subsequent "Windows Live Wave 3" release of applications, with the new inclusion of Windows Live Movie Maker (beta) and Microsoft Office Outlook Connector to its suite of products. On October 29, 2008, it was announced at the Professional Developers Conference 2008 that Windows Live Installer would be renamed as Windows Live Essentials, and would be integrated into Windows 7 to allow users to download the included Windows Live applications. However, the Windows Live Essentials applications will not be "bundled" with the Windows 7 operating system. This should allow more frequent updates to the Windows Live Essentials applications outside of major operating system releases.[2]
On December 15, 2008, the "beta refresh" versions of Windows Live Essentials applications were released.[5] This release included many changes since the previous beta release based on user feedback. A significant visual change in this release was the introduction of new application icons which added a common design theme to all the Live Essentials applications. The words "beta" were removed from most of the build numbers. On January 7, 2009, the "beta refresh" versions were released as the final versions, with the notable exception of Windows Live Movie Maker.[5]
Microsoft updated Windows Live Essentials Wave 3 on February 13, 2009[6] and again on August 19, 2009,[7] when Windows Live Movie Maker was released out of beta and significantly updated with additional features since the beta version released in December 2008.[8]
Windows Live Essentials 2011 (Wave 4)
Microsoft released a public beta for the next major update for Windows Live Essentials dubbed "Wave 4" on June 24, 2010.[9] The updated applications include Windows Live Messenger, Mail, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Writer, Family Safety, Mesh, and Messenger Companion. For Windows Live Mesh, the application has been rewritten to be based on the previous Live Mesh, and will allow PC and Mac users to keep their documents, pictures and music in sync across multiple computers. It was also announced that Windows Live Toolbar will be discontinued and replaced by the Bing Bar.[10] In addition, the Ribbon user interface was introduced for the first time in Windows Live Photo Gallery, Mail, and Writer in this release. The Wave 4 beta has dropped support for Windows XP, thus Windows Vista or Windows 7 is required for its use.[9] Microsoft released the final version of Windows Live Essentials 2011 on September 30, 2010.
See also
References
- ^ Microsoft Seeks Testers for Windows Live Essentials
- ^ a b Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Making Sense of Windows Live Wave 3, Part 1: How We Got Here
- ^ Windows Live Essentials beta system requirements
- ^ iStartedSomething.com: The cookie magic behind Windows Live Suite installer
- ^ a b Refreshing the Windows Live Essentials beta
- ^ Emil Protalinski. "Windows Live Essentials updated to build 14.0.8064.0206". Ars Technica.
- ^ Emil Protalinski. "Windows Live Essentials Wave 3 updated again". Ars Technica.
- ^ Emil Protalinski. "Windows Live Movie Maker 14 finally comes out of beta". Ars Technica.
- ^ a b Piero Sierra (June 23, 2010). "Announcing the new Windows Live Essentials beta!". Inside Windows Live Blog. Microsoft. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
- ^ Inside Windows Live: Preview of the new Windows Live Essentials