Microsoft ramped up its battle for Internet popularity on Thursday with plans to make Windows Live services more social and build bridges to Twitter, Flickr and other popular Web sites.
Windows Live will let users keep track of friends in ways similar to those at hot social-networking Web site Facebook, which has a partnership with Microsoft.
It will also apparently incorporate Live Mesh technology launched early this year to let people combine “smart phones,” personal computers and Web sites into de facto networks that allow data to be accessed from almost anywhere.
Windows Live is a collection of Microsoft online services, including Internet search, instant messaging and Hotmail email.
The “next generation” of Windows Live updates photo-sharing, e-mail and instant messaging and allows ties to Web sites like Pandora, LinkedIn, PhotoBucket and Yelp.
“Microsoft’s Windows Live is an exciting new platform that enables new experiences for both Photobucket and Microsoft users that would not otherwise be possible,” said Alex Welch, president of the photography community Web site. “Online photo sharing is an important part of people’s everyday lives and ... Photobucket is thrilled to be teaming up with Windows Live to make this experience even easier for users.”
Windows Live users will be able to make profiles akin to those at social-networking Web sites and keep friends updated on their activities with “What’s New” feeds as well as photo-sharing.
Users will be able to have instant messaging conversations with up to 20 people and drop digital photos into text chats.
“Think of Windows Live as the single place where people using our e-mail, messaging and photo sharing services can stay connected,” said Chris Jones, vice president of Windows Live Experience Program Management at Microsoft. “Our customers have friends across the Web. They communicate through many unconnected Web services and want access to it all from a single location without worrying about how it’s done. Now Windows Live takes care of that.”
The Microsoft Live overhaul comes as the US software giant’s third-place online search engine gained ground for a second consecutive month last month.
Live Search gains seem to have come at Yahoo’s expense.
Google’s share of the online search market climbed to nearly 72 percent last month, while Yahoo’s sagged below 18 percent and Live Search inched up to 5.4 percent, figures released on Thursday by industry tracker Hitwise showed.
Along with revamping Windows Live, Microsoft announced alliances with Hewlett-Packard (HP) and China Telecom Corp (中國電信).
HP will pre-install Windows Live photo gallery software on printers it sells starting next year and China Telecom will put Windows Live Messenger on computers and mobile devices it builds.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS