Windows Live

Windows Live is a collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft. A majority of these services are Web applications. The applications that are grouped under Windows live are as follows
Writer
With Windows Live Writer, blogging is very easy. You can add photos and video format files and publish to most blogging services. Writer lets you publish to almost any blog service, including Windows Live, Wordpress, Blogger, Live Journal, Type Pad, SharePoint, Community Server, and many more. You can preview everything you’re adding to your blog i.e. the fonts, spacing, colors and images before publishing it on the blog. Writer can help you publish videos to Soapbox on MSN Video, or to YouTube, and embed them in your blog. Writer is already packed with useful features you can add extra plug-ins and do even more.
IM (Instant Messenger)
Windows live helps in keeping touch with Messenger through which you can chat, swap photos and you can play games and exchange pictures too. Add pictures or short videos of yourself that can change with your mood, let people know what music you’re listening to, and customize the scene in the conversation window. You can drag photos right into the conversation window and show them off while you’re chatting. You can also let contacts save your photos on their computers. If someone you’re chatting with has to leave their computer, you can still use Messenger to send an SMS text message to their mobile phone.
Email
Mail brings together your Hotmail, Gmail, and other accounts, along with multiple calendars. Mail combines the ease of use of Outlook Express, with the speed of Windows Live. Older messages and calendar events are accessible in Mail, even when you’re offline. You can compose a reply and then sync and send messages the next time you reconnect. Windows Live Mail helps to maximize your e-mail security across multiple e-mail accounts. Spam filters help you keep out the junk, and tell you when a message looks suspicious. You can also delete a message and block the sender with just one click. Your calendar in Windows Live Mail helps you keep track of all the important appointments that are scheduled. It even sends you reminders through e-mails or to your mobile device or to the Messenger according to the choice you set.
Photo Gallery
It’s a snap to get your photos and videos from your camera to your PC. You can find your favorite photos and share them with family and friends. You can even make your photos look better and can create impressive panoramic photos. You can add the photos to an online album or send them in e-mail or take printouts. And you're in control of who gets to see them online. Photo Gallery automatically finds the people in your photos so you can add a name to the face. Then later, all you need to do is type in someone’s name to see all the photos of that person. Photo Gallery shows you any new shots they’ve shared with you on Windows Live. Using Photo Gallery you can adjust the exposure, color, details or use auto adjust to make your photos look great. You can even create amazing panoramas. Photo Gallery stitches several photos together in just one click.
Movie Maker
With Movie maker you can create movies and slide shows from your photos and videos, and share them. Automatically turn your videos, photos, and music into a great movie. AutoMovie adds a title, credits, transitions, and effects, and fits it all together for the videos. Customizing your movie is simple with easy-to-use editing tools. Trim your video clips to show only the parts you want. You can add music and effects like panning and zooming to the videos. Make great-looking slide shows using your photos and music, and Movie Maker's editing tools. As the music plays, watch your photos glide across and zoom in to show close-ups of the stars in your movie. You can publish your movie on YouTube right from Movie Maker or share your movie in many formats including that of a DVD format too.
Toolbar
With Windows Live Toolbar, you always have quick access to Windows Live and Bing no matter where you are on the web. You can view what people in your Windows Live network are saying, the photos they’re publishing, and the links they're sharing, right in your toolbar. You can quickly refine your search in the toolbar and explore related items from Bing. Easily repeat searches that have been processed before and see popular searches too. In one click, you can instantly share your favorite websites with people in your network on Windows Live. You can also synchronize your Internet Explorer favorites across multiple PCs, sign in and access them from any computer where you’ve installed the Windows Live Toolbar. You can Preview your Windows Live Hotmail inbox from the toolbar, without leaving the webpage you're on. Select from a variety of optional toolbar buttons that let you translate webpages, find movie info, search Wikipedia, keep an eye on eBay, and lots more.
Safety
With Family Safety utility, you decide how your kids experience the Internet. You can limit searches, monitor and block or allow websites, and decide who your kids can communicate with in Windows Live Spaces, Messenger, or Hotmail. Having each child log in to the PC using their own Windows account means they each get their own settings, and you get different reports and filters for each child. Web filtering helps you protect your kids from the online content you don't want them to see, with individualized settings for each child. Detailed activity reports show you the websites each child visited, what programs they used, and how much time they spent on the computer. Built-in contact management lets you decide exactly who your kids can talk to in Windows Live Spaces, Messenger, and Hotmail. Just go online to the Family Safety website to customize each child's safety settings, so it's easy to manage even when you're not home.