Microsoft previewed two new Internet-based software services; Windows Live and Office Live — along with Xbox Live. They’re “designed to deliver rich and seamless experiences to individuals and small businesses”.
The new offerings combine Microsoft software with “live” internet services. The enhancements to Windows is said to bring together all the elements of an individual’s digital world. Office Live is said to help small companies do business online. [Xbox Live helps extract money from game players].
Bill Gates and Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s chief technical officer, demonstrated these new offerings for the first time yesterday.
“We are embarking on the richest series of product releases in our company’s 30-year history,” Gates said. “Beyond the opportunities this presents for our customers and partners, these new live offerings represent an incredibly powerful way of enabling customers to more quickly access and benefit from the innovations being developed by our product teams.”
The Live services are also designed to enable advertisers to reach you.
Ozzie outlined Microsoft’s vision for an advertising network powered by MSN adCenter, where advertisers will have access to tools that provide them with control, insight and intelligence to create more meaningful connections with customers.
Microsoft demonstrated its new Internet mail service, called Windows Live Mail based on an Internet technology known as AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML). Several new features will be available as part of a new instant messaging service called Windows Live Messenger, including the ability to make Internet voice calls directly to standard telephone numbers. Microsoft bought media-streams, a Zurich-based company, to add VoIP to the Office Live platform.
Internet phone providers like Skype, Google Talk and Yahoo Live Messenger offer similar VoIP funtionality. A Microsoft spokesman said the company planned to charge for the service.
The advertising network will be open to partners over time so advertisers can connect with a broader audience through traditional media as well as new scenarios such as Internet Protocol television (IPTV) and mobile communications products.
Microsoft will have both free and paid offerings on Windows Live and Office Live, where basic services will be advertising-supported, according to the NY Times. The company will then try to entice or “upsell” customers to purchase subscriptions for more advanced and feature-rich services.
Not mentioned was any wireless play by Microsoft. If phone and cable companies hold them hostage, Microsoft will need a wireless play — probably WiMax. That might inevitably mean a deal with Sprint and Clearwire. Who else is there?
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