Beyond Binary

Microsoft's downloadable Windows Live tools all got an update last week, but the "Wave 3" enhancements to its online services will take longer to crest.

The online tools, things such as Windows Live Skydrive, Windows Live Spaces, and so forth will all get updates in the coming weeks, though general manager Brian Hall declined to offer a specific timeline in an interview earlier Monday.

The new Windows Live Messenger beta lets you use a short video as your display picture, as well as change your display picture to match the "emoticon" you type.

(Credit: Microsoft)

He did let slip that Windows Live Hotmail will be the first of the services to get an update--sometime this week. Hall said that the main focus of the update is speedier performance on slower machines, some of which could see the Web-based mail service run up to 70 percent faster.

Hall said while the past few years have been about rapidly creating new services, the focus now has shifted toward making those different services work together.

"The next four years is really going to be a race to simplify the Web," Hall said. "The hard part is going to making sure they are accessible and usable by the broad masses."

I didn't get a direct answer on one of my biggest questions--what Microsoft plans to do come Windows 7 with its built-in tools like Movie Maker, Mail, and Photo Gallery. With Vista, Microsoft shipped each of these in non-Internet connected form as part of the operating system and then offered separate, but related, Windows Live versions.

The company would seem to have a few options come Windows 7. One would be to pull out the programs from the OS and offer only Internet-enabled Windows Live versions. A bold move would be to risk antitrust ire and ship the Live versions as part of Windows 7. Another would be to maintain the status quo.

Hall did make a comment about the declining utility of programs that lack the services component, suggesting to me that the first option might be the most likely, perhaps with links to download the programs as Microsoft does today with Windows Live Messenger.

He also conceded that the current approach is more than a little confusing.

"Today it is not a simple as it could be," he said. "The benefit we have to the approach we are taking is we are iterating on a regular basis."

As for last week's update, Hall did show one neat feature I missed in last week's update to Messenger. Although I noticed the ability to stay logged in on multiple devices (say two PCs or a PC and a phone), I didn't notice that you can now have a short video as your display picture. Also, you have the ability to have a different display picture appear when you type certain emoticons. I think I could have some fun with that one.

Microsoft on Wednesday said it is ready with a new update to its Windows Live suite of applications.

The so-called Wave 3 releases include updated versions of Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Messenger, and Windows Live Writer, as well as a new online movie making tool (as it hinted it might). Windows Live Movie Maker brings some, but not all of the features found in the movie-making application built into Windows, adding the ability to post videos to Microsoft's Soapbox video-sharing site, but notably not to Google's much larger rival YouTube. (The update to Windows Live Writer, however, does allow videos to be posted to YouTube, as well as Soapbox.)

"You'll find new features across the products and most notably, Windows Live Messenger has been almost entirely redesigned," Windows Live VP Chris Jones said in a blog posting.

The new look for Windows Live Messenger. Of the Windows Live desktop applications, Messenger got the biggest update.

(Credit: Microsoft)

The new programs are in beta form, so Microsoft is warning that people other than advanced users might want to stick with the old versions for a bit.

"Microsoft encourages interested Windows Live customers and the tech-savvy community to test the new features and functionality," the software maker said in a statement. "It is recommended that consumers wait until the products are final before downloading."

In addition to updating the desktop programs, Microsoft is also expected to make updates to its online services--things like Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Spaces.

Microsoft rolled out its first generation of Windows Live products when Ray Ozzie announced its Live push in November 2005 and started issuing a second generation of products in June 2007.

Well, when it rains it pours. After a day of writing about Windows Live mail problems, I was alerted by a colleague that Yahoo mail was out for them.

I tabbed over to my Yahoo Mail window and noticed that my window, which had been working all day, was now returning an error message.

When I tried to reload the page, I got the following message:

(Credit: CNET News.com)

"Can't talk now. System's down," read the headline. "Sorry for the holdup. Looks like a temporary glitch in our network has part of Yahoo! mail down, so you're briefly without service. Rest assured the alarms are blaring in the basement and our team is working frantically to get you up and running ASAP. Again, the snag is on our end -- so there's no need for you to do a thing."

Well, I guess I've had enough e-mail for one day anyway. I'm headed to bed. Hopefully everyone's servers will be working tomorrow.

Update: As I was publishing this blog, my mail service was restored.

LOS ANGELES--After a day of problems, Microsoft says its Windows Live log-in issues are now a thing of the past.

Although a large number of Windows Live servers are running on Microsoft's Windows Server 2008, which is due to be launched Wednesday, a representative said the problem is not a glitch with the new operating system.

"We can say with certainty that Windows Server did not contribute to this incident," Windows Live Product Manager Samantha McManus said in a statement to CNET News.com.

Microsoft was far less detailed when it comes to what the problem actually was.

"This issue appears to have been related to an unexpected event which caused device overload and failure," McManus said.

Microsoft said Tuesday afternoon that it has reduced the number of people unable to access their Windows Live accounts, but said that some people are still not able to log in.

Since early in the day, a significant number of users of Hotmail and other Windows Live services have been unable to access their information.

"We have made significant progress in decreasing the number of customers currently affected since initial reports, but the issue has not yet been completely resolved," Windows Live product manager Samantha McManus said in a statement. "Microsoft is working quickly and aggressively to resolve the issue and expects to restore normal operation to all customers shortly."

Microsoft said that those who were logged in before the problem cropped up should not experience any problems, but said it is still seeing problems for some users worldwide who are trying to log in to their accounts.

"Our customers have come to expect a high level of service reliability in their experience with Windows Live, and we apologize for any inconvenience this particular issue has caused consumers," McManus said.

Many Hotmail users got this message when trying to access their inboxes Tuesday.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com)

Microsoft's Windows Live services experienced a significant outage Tuesday, leaving many users unable to get to their Hotmail inboxes. A company representative said all Windows Live services are affected, though not all users are reporting problems.

Microsoft said it is still trying to determine the cause of the problems.

"We are aware that some customers may be experiencing difficulty accessing their Windows Live accounts," the software maker said in a statement to CNET News.com. "We're actively investigating the cause and are working to take the appropriate steps to remedy the situation as rapidly as possible. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and disruption this may be causing our customers."