Windows Live (Live.com)
is Microsoft’s branded set of web applications and web services. It is
the seventh most heavily trafficked website in the world. Live services
include:
• Windows Essentials applications (covered in the next section)
• Web services
• Mobile services
Microsoft estimates that nearly 500 million
people use Windows Live services every month: Hotmail is the world’s
leading free email service; Messenger is the world’s leading instant
messaging service, with between 300 and 350 million active users;
Microsoft’s SkyDrive online storage service has 130 million users; and
Windows Live Mail is second only to Outlook as a mail client.
The name Windows Live is being phased out,
but the services will remain. The apps you see on the Start
screen—People, Calendar, Mail, Photos, Messages, SkyDrive, and so
forth—are the front-end apps that make Live services a seamless part of
the Windows operating system. SkyDrive is the service that makes
Windows 8’s built-in data and settings synchronization work. Similarly,
other services formerly branded as “Live,” such as Xbox Live and Office
Live, are losing Live in their names.
There was always the feeling that Windows Live apps were not part of the Windows experience.
Not any more—in Windows 8 they are a natural expression of the web
services they represent. Even the Family Safety service is now built
right into Windows 8. Figure 1 shows the relationship between Windows Live services and Windows 8.
Figure 1. Windows Live services and apps as deployed across platforms
Live.com now redirects you to the Hotmail login screen . Hotmail is being rebranded as Outlook.com, so when users switch from the Hotmail user interface to the Outlook.com
user interface, they will log in directly to their Inbox instead of to
Windows Live Home. The Live Home page will be deprecated and will
disappear over time.
Live.com redirects to the Hotmail login page.
Tip
If you have a Hotmail account, when you go to Outlook.com
your account will automatically be transferred to the new interface.
The process is painless, and the interface is a great upgrade.
