Microsoft ditching 'Windows Live' for 'Microsoft account'

Goodbye "Windows Live," hello "Microsoft account." On this note, Microsoft disclosed its plans to shake up its cloud-based services to work more closely with its upcoming operating system Windows 8. "Windows Live services and apps were built on versions of Windows that were simply not designed to be connected to a cloud service for anything other than updates, and as a result, they felt 'bolted on' to the experience. This created some amount of customer confusion, which is noted in several reviews and editorials," said Chris Jones, VP of Microsoft's Windows Live group responsible for the development and operations of all of the services and apps, in a blog post. Besides, he said the names Microsoft used to describe those products added to that complexity. "We’ll be rolling out the change in nomenclature from Windows Live ID to Microsoft account over the next several months across our product line. There are still some areas we continue to work on such as migrating your account (credit cards and purchase history) from one market (currency) to another if you’ve connected your account to services such as Xbox LIVE," Jones said. At the time it started "Windows Live," it used the term “Windows Live" to refer to software for the PC; a suite of web-based services such as Hotmail, SkyDrive, and Messenger; and one's account such as "Windows Live ID." Presently, Jones said Windows Live services – including Hotmail, SkyDrive and Messenger - are used by over 500 million people every month. "These services run at massive scale – Hotmail is the world’s leading web email service, with 350 million active users and 105 petabytes of storage; Messenger is the world’s leading instant messaging service, with 300 million active users, and SkyDrive has over 130 million users with 17 million of these uploading files every month," he said. He added Windows Live Essentials applications are among the most popular applications in their categories on Windows – including Windows Live Photo Gallery and Windows Live Movie Maker, leading in photo management and video editing, and Windows Live Mail, second only to Microsoft Outlook in mail apps. Re-imagining with Windows 8 Jones said Windows 8 provided Microsoft an opportunity to re-imagine its approach to services and software and to design them to be a seamless part of the Windows experience. Such services should be accessible in Windows desktop apps, Windows Metro style apps, standard web browsers, and on mobile devices, he said. "Today the expectation is that a modern device comes with services as well as apps for communication and sharing.  There is no 'separate brand' to think about or a separate service to install – it is all included when you turn on your PC for the first time," he said. Microsoft account Jones said Microsoft account will be the new name of the identity service for individuals who use Microsoft products and services. "You can use your Microsoft account to sign in to your Windows 8 PC, and then use the same account to check your billing for services like Xbox LIVE, Zune, and the Windows 8 app store.  And your Microsoft account is connected to your Xbox gamer tag so you can track high scores and games," he said. One can sign up for a Microsoft account with any email address, and provide additional verification information including one's mobile phone number and a list of one's trusted devices. With Microsoft account, signing in would automatically provide the user with a set of cloud services, including a contact list, calendar, inbox, instant messaging, and cloud storage. These services connect to the PC and the Windows Phone, and are accessible from any web browser. They are also accessible to different apps if the developer of the app implements Microsoft's API. "Because these services are a part of your Microsoft account, they are shared across all Microsoft products and services.  For example your contact list is shared across Windows Phone, Windows 8, Hotmail, Messenger, and SkyDrive, so when you add a contact in one place, it shows up in the cloud and on all of your other devices and services," Jones said. Roam settings Jones said Windows 8 also uses cloud services to roam settings across one's PCs so one can log in to a new PC and pick up right where one left off. It will also allow users to connect their Microsoft account to other services like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. "This means that if you connect your Microsoft account to LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter, your contacts from these networks show up in your contact list, so you can send them email from your PC or call them from your phone.  We also support third party developers through the Live SDK, allowing developers to cloud-power their Metro style apps, or apps and services for other platforms," he said. Family safety is another feature of Windows accounts and no longer requires a separate download, Jones said. — LBG, GMA News