Microsoft Live@EDU close to 50 Million users

Good article by Zack Whittaker about the number of users supported in education by some of the online players :

… Microsoft and Google are still plotting away at each other in attempts to get colleges and universities on side with their own email, document and general productivity suites.

Google hasn’t got back to me with any of the questions I sent over in regards to this vague tweet:

Since then there has been an awful lot of email to’ing and fro’ing between myself and a number of public relations folk. My last post comparing the two suites was a few months ago; it’s time for a revision and seeing where universities rank the in-house email killers, by deconstructing the jargon and seemingly meaningless spin. …

Although the Live@EDU estimates of 50 Million + users is not an official Microsoft number it at least shows this is very, very large :

… Live@edu is used by more than 10,000 “schools”

Microsoft finally updated its press release to confirm that over 10,000 “schools” - which as Americans often describe school as “a form of education” not mutually exclusive to compulsory education but university/college also. Considering most universities have over 10,000 students, I would fairly say that there are definitely over 7 million users using Live@edu; it’s probably closer to 50 million if not even more. …

Source : ZDnet.com

Engineering Messenger for real relationships : Very impressive Windows Live Stats

Piero Sierra is the Group Program Manager for Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Mail and he shares some impressive WL Messenger statistics :

…The first thing that comes to mind when you think of Windows Live Messenger is usually instant messaging – bouncing short text messages back and forth. But there are tons of things we've built into Messenger to make that experience more meaningful, and closer to a real face-to-face interaction. My name is Piero Sierra, and I’m the Group Program Manager for Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Mail. Today I’m going to talk about how we've engineered Messenger to help people stay connected with each other in more meaningful ways.

Web-based social networks have had huge growth lately, and they're a great way to share and stay informed about what everyone that you know is up to. They let you reach out to large groups of people, including friends and family, but your social network usually also includes a broad group of acquaintances, co-workers, and people from your past that you may no longer be very close to. Messenger, on the other hand, is about the people that matter most to you – the ones you talk with frequently and share more personal moments with.

For several years now, this has been our North Star in building Messenger – helping people stay connected to their closest friends and express themselves in meaningful ways. I'd like to tell you a little more about how we're doing that. …

… Some key stats

Our goal is to allow you to have deeper, more meaningful conversations in Messenger. So how do we measure our success? One key metric we track is conversation length – having a longer conversation means you're generally going beyond lightweight exchanges of messages like “Are you coming?”

We also look at voice and video (our closest approximation to a true conversation), and how people interact with each other through photos. Some numbers:

• The average length of a Messenger session (a conversation) is 9-11 minutes
• About 59% of sessions are over 5 minutes, with about 10% over 20 minutes long
• 1.6 billion sessions per month are over 30 minutes long
• People use Messenger to exchange over 380 million photos a month —over 4.5 billion photos a year (this is in addition to the tens of billions of photos people also share each month via Windows Live SkyDrive and Hotmail)
• Messenger users have 230 million voice & video conversations per month
• Average voice session length is about 18.2 minutes
• Average video session length is about 13.3 minutes
• 9% of video calls and 13% of voice calls are longer than 1 hour
• Usage of international voice and video sessions differ geographically. Brazilians use voice & video only 13% of the time for international connections while users in other countries, such as Spain or Germany, use voice and video 50-75% of the time for long distance chats with friends and family.  …

Continue at Source : Engineering Messenger for real relationships

Misvatting over Online Diensten in educatie

Eergisteren had ik een aardige “discussie” op twitter met Ernst Fuld (@efuld) van o.a. NGN over Online diensten in de educatie sector. Dit was naar aanleiding van nieuws dat Universitiet van Utrecht GMail aan haar studenten gaat bieden.

Ernst reageerde daarop met :

Dit triggerde een korte tweet-wisseling :

Het is namelijk zo dat er geen 25 GB email capaciteit geboden wordt door Google in educatie, maar “slechts” 7.414998 GB . Google laat de capaciteit heel langzaam groeien.

Ernst was van mening dat het toch de standaard 25 GB was, maar de Google Apps voor educatie pagina bevestigt het tegendeel.

Dus bij deze is dat misverstand de wereld uit. Google Apps voor educatie is niet hetzelfde als de standaard omgeving.

 

Even later nam Melle Gloerich (@mgloerich) ook nog even deel aan de discussie :

 

1. Kosten voor Google / Microsoft in educatie ?

2. Meer storage voor Google ?

3. BPOS (Microsoft Online Services) voor educatie ?

 

Ik heb Melle belooft daar even wat uitgebreider op te reageren, dus bij deze :

1. Kosten voor Google / Microsoft in educatie ?

Google en Microsoft hebben beiden een gratis oplossing voor educatie instelling. Deze is gratis voor studenten/leerlingen, personeel en alumni.

• Google Apps voor Educatie
• Microsoft Live@EDU

Een kort overzicht met de highlights van Microsoft Live@EDU:

2. Meer storage voor Google ?

 

Totaal dus 40GB opslag voor studenten, medewerkers met Microsoft Live@EDU.

Dit is aanzienlijk meer dan Google biedt. In een blogpost van april vorig jaar heb ik ook een evaluatie van Google Apps vs Microsoft Live@EDU

Denk je daarnaast eens in hoeveel educatieinstelling dus zouden kunnen besparen op hun opslagkosten.

Een grote groep instellingen heeft ook al voor Microsoft’s oplossingen in educatie gekozen. Een moie recente referentie is Canisius College uit Nijmegen :

Het Canisius College kiest met Live@edu voor de beste communicatie- en online samenwerkomgeving voor leerlingen en leraren
Het Canisius College was op zoek naar een communicatie- en online samenwerkoplossing voor leraren en leerlingen die goed aansluit bij hun behoeften. Lange tijd had de school een voorkeur voor Google Apps.

 

3. BPOS (Microsoft Online Services) voor educatie

 

Ja, naast Microsoft Live@EDU heeft een instelling ook de keuze om online diensten via Microsoft Online Services af te nemen. Dit is niet gratis, maar er gelden voor educatie instellingen wel speciale tarieven. Voor meer informatie over de prijzen kunnen instellingen terecht bij hun Licentiepartner (SURFdiensten, APSIT en SLB diensten.

Er wordt al veelvuldig gebruik gemaakt van Microsoft Online :

Schools adopting Microsoft Online Services

Universities are beginning to embrace the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite on campus, which is comprised of Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Communications Online and Office Live Meeting. These products have been traditionally on premise, but are now available in a paid-for, hosted environment in the cloud that Microsoft manages for you that you can buy through partners.  These online services offer streamlined communication, simplified management and business-class security and reliability…and new this quarter, we are increasing the mailbox size five-fold to 25 GB for every user.  Recent customer wins include:

• University System of Ohio. The state of Ohio has signed an Education Alliance Agreement with Microsoft that will bring a cloud computing approach to the entire state. Exchange Online is one of many products that will provide significant cost savings, increased productivity and improved performance while minimizing environmental impact.
• Hofstra University. Hofstra is moving its faculty and staff to Exchange Online. By using Microsoft’s security, spam filtering and archiving capabilities, the technical staff will be able to concentrate on providing other high-valued academic services to the University.
• Belmont University. Belmont is using Exchange Online to serve approximately 1,400 faculty and staff email accounts. The Exchange Online implementation supports the school’s green initiatives by saving space and energy costs. They anticipate saving about $30,000 a year by not having to hire additional IT staff to support.

Bron: Microsoft Education Blog

Microsoft biedt dus verschillende opties, keuze,  voor educatie instellingen hoe zij hun ICT omgeving willen inrichten. Het onderstaande document geeft inzicht welke afwegingen een instelling kan maken in de keuze voor bijvoorbeeld het email platform :

Key Considerations For Exchange Email Deployments In Academic Environments

View more documents from dehaaspeter.

En hier blijft het niet bij … Coming soon:

• Office Web Applications (Office in de browser, Safari, FF, IE)
• SharePoint Online based collaboration (met office Web Apps)  - gratis voor studenten

New collaboration opportunities

We are also announcing new SharePoint Online-based collaboration and productivity services will be available for students as part of the Live@edu next year. These new SharePoint-based services will offer IT departments more flexibility and control to set up and manage their school’s collaboration and productivity tools in a security-enhanced environment…as well as the ability to access and manage permissions to sites, documents and content (pictures, videos) with enterprise-class control.

For students, these new services give them access to similar types of functionality that has made SharePoint the fastest growing server product in Microsoft history. It will enable them to create, edit and securely access content from their school’s site anywhere, whether at home, at the school library or even while on the road for holiday. It will allow them to organize, track and easily share classroom information, interests, expertise and easily find colleagues. By leveraging Office Web Apps that are currently in technical preview, students will have a new online space where they can securely upload, easily share, and collaborate on documents, including in-place editing. We believe this will better prepare them for the workforce through use of functionality and technology used every day in the workplace.

Microsoft’s software plus services model—which spans mission-critical datacenter availability and security, Live@edu, Microsoft Online Services collaboration and communication offerings, and Windows Azure—combines the reach and flexibility of the cloud with the power of on-premises software applications. Today, we see that people want to access information on the PC, in the browser and on a mobile device…and I think this the real value in moving to the cloud…having the flexibility and choice to run your solutions either in the cloud, on premises, or a mix of the two.

Bron: Microsoft Education Blog

Microsoft Online diensten in educatie … now you know …

Eenvoudig je hyves vrienden toevoegen aan Windows Live Messenger en Hotmail

Grote kans dat je een Hyves profiel hebt. Voeg in één keer al je Hyves vrienden toe aan Windows Live. Zo kun je chatten en mailen met al je Hyves vrienden vanuit Windows Live Messenger en Windows Live Hotmail! Al jouw vrienden overzichtelijk bij elkaar. Met de stappen hieronder voeg je jouw Hyves vrienden zó toe!

Microsoft is de nummer 1 op het web

Naar aanleiding van een recent onderzoek naar de tijd die gebruikers online besteden en met name met welke diensten ze dit doen komt Microsoft als nummer 1 uit de bus :

Microsoft staat boven Google en Yahoo

Het gebruik van Windows Live Messenger heeft ervoor gezorgd dat wereldwijd 14,5% van de tijd die online wordt doorgebracht men actief is op sites en programma’s van Microsoft. Volgens comScore verslaan ze daarmee Google, Yahoo en Facebook.

Bron: Dutch Cowboys

Microsoft levert populairste online-diensten

Wereldwijd wordt de meeste tijd op internet besteed aan diensten van Microsoft. De softwareproducent blijft Google en Yahoo voor, zo blijkt uit cijfers van comScore. Met name het chatprogramma Live Messenger zorgt voor veel bezoekuren voor Microsoft.

Bron: NU.nl

Microsoft blijkt nummer één op het web

Bijna 15 procent van alle tijd op het web wordt besteedt aan een van de online-diensten van Microsoft. Vooral Live Messenger trekt veel bezoekuren.

Bron: WebWereld

Microsoft Live@EDU : Vragen over Outlook Live? Hier zijn de antwoorden …

Een blogpost van Remco Ploeg die de moeite waard is om te herhalen .. Outlook Live is de nieuwste propssitie binnen de Microsoft Live@EDU familie; een gratis 10GB Microsoft Exchange mailbox voor elke student en/of medewerker van een educatie instelling .. Voor gebruikers / administrators is er nu een nieuwe resource : http://outlookliveanswers.com/

Dan heeft Microsoft een nieuwe website gelanceerd waar je als gebruiker vragen kan stellen over dit onderwerp.

http://outlookliveanswers.com/

Hieronder een stukje uit de bekendmaking.

We are pleased to announce the release of Outlook Live Answers.  This forum and blog site provides Live@edu Outlook Live administrators and end-users with a friendly “Q&A” forum to quickly find answers to their questions and for administrators to get dynamic information about their Outlook Live service.

The site complements our help.outlook.com product documentation and will extend and replace our chalktalk DL. Instead of dispersing information in DLs, use of the forum by you and your student, faculty, and alumni end users will enable us to build a knowledge base that is available 24 hours a day.  There is also an administrator section, so you can continue to connect with your peers on administrative issues just as you do today on chalktalk. 

One particular exciting feature is a new Status and Alert system used to notify Outlook Live customers of service issues.   This update, located at http://outlookliveanswers.com/servicestatus.aspx, replaces the manual external blog approach we have previously used and allows us deliver targeted service information about your specific account

Bron: Vragen over Outlook Live?

Microsoft Live@EDU vernieuwd

De Microsoft Live@EDU diensten, gratis email en diensten voor communicatie en samenwerken voor de educatie sector, hebben een nieuw thuis.

De informatie over en het inschrijven voor Microsoft Live@EDU is overozchtelijker en gemakkelijker geworden :

 

Meer informatie : Microsoft Live@EDU

Keynote Presentatie op de kickoff van het O5 onderwijsinitiatief

Ik bekijk net Michael’s presentatie die hij deze week gaf voor het O5 onderwijsinitiatief in België. Goed verhaal, geïnspireerd door ‘Shift Happens’  maar daardoor super relevant voor o.a. het onderwijs.

Vanmorgen een presentatie gegeven aan 80 beleidsmakers en gelijksoortigen over het heden en de toekomst van het onderwijs. Niet zozeer belerend bedoeld, maar om een discussie te openen en mensen na te doen denken. Was goed om te zien dat er 4 mensen ook computer-spelletjes spelen in de zaal.

Hierbij de link naar het full deck.

Ben benieuwd naar de commentaren en andere gedachten…..

Keynote Presentatie op de kickoff van het O5 onderwijsinitiatief

En Michael, bedankt voor de reclame :-)

Microsoft: Internetgebruik overtreft tv in 2010

Marketingfacts heeft een korte Youtube summary en de link naar het document van Microsoft over de Europese Internet Trends geplaatst :

Europe Logs On

 

Internet is hard op weg om in de zomer van 2010 televisie te overtreffen als het belangrijkste medium. Die voorspelling doet Microsoft na een uitvoerige studie naar internetgebruik in Europa waarvan gisteren de resultaten zijn gepubliceerd in het rapport ‘Europe logs on: European Internet Trends of today and tomorrow‘ (pdf). Lees Meer over: Microsoft: Internetgebruik overtreft tv in 2010.

 

Bron: Microsoft: Internetgebruik overtreft tv in 2010

Windows Live ? Arnout Hemel bespreekt de laatste status met Dutch Cowboys

Arnout Hemel, Product Manager Windows Live bij Microsoft Nederland in een leuk video interview met DucthCowboys :

Microsoft Live@EDU vs Google Apps for Education … student preference …

The Australian Catholic University has implemented a new Emailsystem based on on Microsoft Outlook Live.

Some background and most interesting the selection of this email system is based on experience with pilots of Google Apps for Education vs Microsoft Outlook Live (part of Microsoft Live @EDU). The is the student feedback based on actual use and not just some functions and features evaluation …

… In Semester 1, 2009, ACU National introduced a new Web-based email system for students, based on Microsoft Exchange and Windows (Outlook) Live Mail.

Features

This new, modern and more user-friendly system will feature:

• A Microsoft Outlook WebMail user interface including access to calendars, contacts lists and collaboration tools
• Improved SPAM filtering
• 10 GB of online mailbox storage space (100 times the previous 100Mb limit and double the standard Live Mail quota)
• 20 Mb message size support (including file attachments)
• Ability to share address book contacts and calendar information
• No banner advertising – unlike ordinary free email accounts.
• Web-based administrative tools
• Support for 25 languages
• "Email for Life" – ACU student email accounts will continue to be available for use after graduation, making it easier to stay in contact with classmates, colleagues and teaching staff. ….

source : Webmail Survey Results

Australian Catholic University is not the only university / school to recently implement Microsoft Live@EDU. Check out the recent press release on other institutions that recently implemented the service:

Adoption of Microsoft Live@edu Continues to Grow With Universities Worldwide

Education institutions worldwide embrace Microsoft Live@edu to enrich student experience, enhance learning outcomes and fuel productivity; new Microsoft Outlook Live delivers new e-mail functionality based on the popular Outlook interface. …

Microsoft Windows: Boy Exposed TVC India

Nice Windows video :

Windows Live in Nederland .. indrukwekkende statistieken

Ik blijf nog even bij de blog van het Nederlandse Windows Live Team. Het gebruik van Windows Live in Nederland is echt indrukwekkend :

• Er zijn in Nederland ongeveer 9 miljoen Messenger programma’s in omloop en sterker nog: ze worden elke maand gebruikt om mee in te loggen op ons netwerk.
• Daarvan is nu ongeveer 20% Messenger versie 2009.
• Messenger 8.5 en 8.1 zijn nog steeds het meest populair,
• Windows Messenger is nog goed voor een aandeel van 10%.
• Er zijn maandelijks zo’n 6 miljoen accounts actief. Sommige mensen hebben meerdere accounts,
• dit leidt tot een uniek bereik in Nederland van 5.3 mln (per maand)
• in december 2008 werden er 6 miljard berichtjes verstuurd via Messenger.
• gemiddeld chat een Nederlander (15+) 20 minuten per dag via Messenger (actieve gesprekken).
• 14% van alle tijd die men in Nederland online besteed, wordt besteed op Messenger. En dan tellen we niet mee dat mensen de hele dag zijn ingelogd… nee, het zijn actieve chat-minuten.

Source: Nieuws over de uitrol van Windows Live Messenger 2009

Hotmail wordt nog beter!

Arnout Hemel, “Mr Windows Live”, geeft een overzicht van de verbeteringen en integraties in Windows Live Hotmail :

In december hebben we de vernieuwde Windows Live onthuld: nieuwe fotodienst, profiel-pagina, homepage en veranderingen in skydrive, events, spaces en de PC programma’s.

Alleen de veranderingen in Hotmail lieten nog even op zich wachten, maar daar zijn we vorige week mee begonnen. Misschien is jouw account al geupgrade? Zo niet, dan kun je de veranderingen in de komende paar weken tegemoet zien. En wees niet bang: we maken het alleen maar beter: …

Continue at Source: Hotmail wordt nog beter!

Hotmail ondersteunt nu ook POP3- handig voor je iPhone

Via Arnout Hemel : Pop3 op WIndows Live Hotmail :

… Sinds vorige week hebben we POP3 in Nederland geactiveerd. Dat is handig voor als je bijvoorbeeld een iPhone hebt!

POP-server: pop3.live.com
SMTP: smtp.live.com
Zet wel even de beveiligde verbinding aan (poort: 995)

Het is nog niet helemaal uitgerold naar iedereen: we zijn er nog mee bezig, dus het kan zijn dat ie het af en toe niet doet en als je je account-instellingen nog steeds op US hebt staan, dan gaat het ook niet werken. Zet deze even terug naar locatie: Nederland.

Binnenkort wordt het nog mooier, dan kun je ook je GMail en je andere e-mail accounts in je Hotmail inbox inlezen. Zo heb je alles handig op één plek. …

Source: Hotmail ondersteunt nu ook POP3- handig voor je iPhone

Bol.com start met Billie, de chatbot

Marketingfacts meldt de ‘geboorte’  van Billie, de nieuwe Windows Live Messenger chatbot van Bol.com :

Bol.com brengt haar merkkarakter tot leven door hem als Billie te dopen en te laten interacteren met gebruikers als chatbot via Windows Live Messenger en als webbot.  Wie ‘billie@bol.com’ toevoegt aan de Messenger buddy lijst ziet Billie direct verschijnen. Achter Billie’s naam verschijnt een speciale actie: Zeg actie voor kortingen tot 65% op DVD’s’‘. Ook is er een vergelijkbare maar andere implementatie van een chatbot op de website. Deze richt zich meer op klantenservice. …

Lees Meer over: Bol.com start met Billie, de chatbot.

Bron: Bol.com start met Billie, de chatbot

Inside Microsoft’s Datacenter

ONe of them that is … A peek inside one of Microsoft’s datacenters including a brief interview with Michael Manos :

Meet TBot, Your Windows Live Messenger translator

Meet TBot. Very handy tool in messenger, especially as it already supports many languages.

The Microsoft Translator team is excited to announce the new translation bot for Windows Live Messenger! This Messenger bot does translations for you. Just add mtbot@hotmail.com to your contacts and start chatting. You can have one-on-one conversations with the bot, or you can invite a friend and chat in different languages with the bot translating for you.  As usual, remember that machine translation isn’t perfect – slang especially will give the engine trouble.

 

You can also access Windows Live Messenger on your smartphone to use the bot to translate simple sentences while you’re traveling to other countries!

The translator bot is localized into all of the languages for which we have translation support on www.windowslivetranslator.com:

• English to/from:
  • Arabic
  • Chinese Simplified
  • Chinese Traditional
  • Dutch
  • French
  • German
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Portuguese
  • Russian (RUS->ENU only)
  • Spanish
• Chinese Simplified <-> Chinese Traditional

Source: Microsoft Machine Translation Team

25 GB “USB” stick .. for free

Windows Live Skydrive, your “USB” stick in the cloud has been upgraded yesterday from 5 GB storage to 25 GB

 

Common Craft Client Video: Windows Live.com

I’m a big CommonCraft fan. Very glad to see they’ve created a video for Microsft on Windows Live .. how cool things come together …

Common Craft was hired by Microsoft to help explain the new Windows Live.com.  We were so excited to work with a local organization on a project that highlights a new direction for the company.

Source: Client Video: Windows Live.com

Source: Client Video: Windows Live.com

Windows Live Skydrive : 25 GB

He’s back : gratis 25GB “USB Stick”

… Tweakers: Microsoft schroeft gratis opslag Skydrive op tot 25GB

Microsoft heeft de capaciteit van zijn online opslagdienst Skydrive vervijfvoudigd naar een totaal van 25GB. Bovendien krijgt Windows Live een opfrisbeurt waarmee de afzonderlijke diensten verder geïntegreerd worden.

In februari van dit jaar introduceerde Microsoft Skydrive, een webopslagdienst die de gebruiker de beschikking over 5GB opslagruimte biedt. De capaciteit wordt nu uitgebreid naar 25GB. Met de mogelijkheid om foto's als diavoorstelling te presenteren en afdrukken te bestellen, legt het softwarebedrijf de nadruk op het delen van foto's. Ook het bestandsbeheer van Skydrive is verbeterd, met onder meer de mogelijkheid bestanden tussen mappen te kopiëren of te verplaatsen. Gebruikers van de dienst in de Verenigde Staten, Denemarken en Ierland kunnen bovendien een complete map als zip-bestand downloaden, een feature die ook voor gebruikers in andere landen uitgerold zal worden. …

Source: Tweakers.nl

 

De Skydrive weblog, Tweakers en een aantal andere sites meldden (eer)gisteren al dat het Windows Live platform een grote update zal ondergaan. Meer integratie en heel interessant meer opslag. Mijn eigen account is trouwens nog niet ge-upgrade naar 25GB. Ik verwacht dat dit in de komende weken gerealiseerd wordt. Als ik daar meer over hoor lees je het hier …

Databyte Educatie Seminar 29-10-2008

Werk me door de backlog van acties heen op dit moment. Zag dat ik mijn presentatie die ik 29-10-2008 heb gegeven nog even op slideshare moest zetten. Bij deze :

Educatie Seminar Microsoft Live @ Edu 29 10 2008

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: live@edu education)

Windows Live ID Becomes an OpenID Provider

Another big step in interoperability for Microsoft. Windows Live ID, one of the most widely used authentication mechanisms becomes and OpenID privider … This is just one of the many announcements made at PDC this week

Windows Live ID Commits to Support OpenID

Beginning today, Windows Live ID is publicly committing to support the OpenID digital identity framework with the announcement of the public availability of a Community Technology Preview (CTP) of the Windows Live ID OpenID Provider.

You will soon be able to use your Windows Live ID account to sign in to any OpenID Web site!

The Windows Live ID OpenID Provider (OP) enables anyone with a Windows Live ID account to set up an OpenID alias and to use that alias for identification at an increasing number of OpenID 2.0 relying party sites-for example: Plaxo, Pibb, StackOverflow.com and Wikispaces.

What is OpenID?

The official answer from the OpenID Foundation (the guardians of the OpenID specs) is that "OpenID is a free and easy way to use a single digital identity across the Internet." (Source: http://openid.net/)

OpenID is an emerging, de facto standard Web protocol for user authentication. It helps eliminate the need for multiple user names across different Web sites, thereby simplifying a user's online experience. Stated another way, you can reuse your OpenID account at different Web sites without having to create a new user name and password at each site you use.

More information about OpenID is available at http://openid.net.

Windows Live ID OpenID Provider - October 2008 (CTP)

The initial release is a Community Technology Preview (CTP) Release in the Windows Live ID Integration (INT) environment. It is intended primarily for relying-party Web sites and developers of relying-party client libraries, to enable them to test the interoperability of their implementations against the Windows Live ID OP endpoint and flush out any bugs or incompatibilities.

Note that the Windows Live ID OP supports only the OpenID 2.0 protocol.

The Windows Live ID INT environment is separate from the main Production environment, and is for testing purposes only. If you have not already created a Windows Live ID user account for testing in INT, you can do so at http://login.live-int.com/.

After you have your Windows Live ID account in INT, go to https://login.live-int.com/beta/ManageOpenID.srf to set up your OpenID alias on that test account.

NOTE: INT accounts are for testing purposes only and are NOT intended to be permanent user accounts. They do not allow access to Windows Live services in Production.

Source: Microsoft Live Services blog

Microsoft To Buy Greenfield Online For $486 Million

Microsoft intends to buy Greenfield Online to further expand the Search and e-commerce activities in Europe ..

…Microsoft Corp. on Friday said it will buy Web-based survey company Greenfield Online Inc. for about $486 million in cash in a move that will bolster its search and e-commerce services in Europe.

Microsoft (MSFT) will pay $17.50 a share for Greenfield (SRVY). The deal tops an earlier proposal by buyout firm Quadrangle Group to acquire the company for $ 15.50 per share.

The Microsoft offer represents a premium of about 10% to the closing price of Greenfield shares on Aug. 25, the day before it said it had received a $17.50 acquisition offer without disclosing its origin.

The deal, Microsoft's first since it failed to acquire Yahoo Inc (YHOO), will give the software giant access to Ciao.com, Greenfield's popular price comparison and consumer reviews site in Europe.

"Acquiring one of Europe's leading price comparison, shopping and consumer reviews site will further extend Microsoft's search and e-commerce services in Europe," said Tami Reller, chief financial officer for Windows and Online services at Microsoft. …

Source:CNN Money

Stenden Live @ Edu is ready for launch

Edgar van Gorkum, ICT Manager of Stenden University, blog about Windows Live @ EDU going live at Stenden University …

… Microsofts Live@edu E-mail is a part of Microsofts total suite called Live@edu, in which students of Stenden University become an e-mailbox of 10 GB, share agendas, create Microsoft Spaces and use a Skydrive of 5GB to store and to access data form any pc worldwide (with a Internet connection) Our primary goal is first to setup up this new e-mail environment, but feel free to use all other options available!

We are still working with Microsofts Live@edu team to give the interface a better look and feel. But for now every 1st years studenten of the Stenden University is able to use this new feature.In the next weeks/months all remaning students will be moved from the current e-mailsystem to Live@edu . …

For more information check out :http://chnet.chn.nl/liveatedu.html

Source: Weblog Edgar van Gorkum

Microsoft Live Labs Introduces Photosynth

Microsoft Photosynth is gold. You can now create your own “synths” …

For anyone who is even remotely ‘photo crazy’  kicking Photosynth’s tyres is a must ..

… First there was the snapshot, and then came video. Now there is Microsoft Photosynth, a new service from Microsoft Live Labs that goes far beyond how you now view, experience and share photos.

You can share or relive a vacation destination or explore a distant museum or landmark; with a digital camera and your own creativity and inspiration, you can use Photosynth to transform regular digital photos into a three-dimensional, 360-degree experience. Anybody who sees your “synth” is put right in your shoes, sharing in the same sense of exhilaration and wonder that you did at the time, with detail, clarity and scope impossible to achieve in conventional photos or videos.

Imagine yourself beneath the Eiffel Tower or in the heart of Times Square. Now imagine being able to see that exact scene in an amazing new way. With Photosynth, you can look up or down, pan from left to right, zoom in, or pull back to reveal the full sense of where you were. Photosynth provides incredibly realistic close-up detail of a place as seen in the collaboration with National Geographic. Exclusive synths of some of the world’s most renowned locations, such as Machu Picchu and the Parthenon, were created using photographs taken by National Geographic. …

Source: Microsoft Live Labs Introduces Photosynth, a Breakthrough Visual Medium

Microsoft workshop op Lifehacking Academy Groningen

Gisteren heb ik een workshop gegeven op Lifehacking Academy Groningen.

Op de vorige 2 Lifehacking Academies in Arnhem en Amsterdam heb ik unconferences gedaan over ‘ het nieuwe werken’. Dit keer wilde ik wat onderwerpen doen die (letterlijk) dichter bij huis zijn. Vragen zoals hoe je makkelijker en beter je digitale media (foto’s, muziek, Video, DVD) kunt beheren. Hoe maak je gemakkelijk een backup van alle PC’s in huis (PC’s en MACs), enz.

Ondanks de goede opkomst in Groningen was de bezetting van mijn workshop, en ook die van een aantal andere, erg mager. Jammer. Aan de andere kant wel begrijpelijk, want er was gewoonweg (te) veel informatie en kiezen blijkt moeilijk.

Ik wil de mensen die mijn workshop hebben bijgewoond nogmaals bedanken voor hun vragen en interactie en voor iedereen die het heeft gemist is hier de presentatie:

| View | Upload your own

(de kwaliteit van conversie van presentaties is nog altijd slecht op slideshare.net. Daar wordt aan gewerkt)

Van MSN Hotmail naar Windows Live Mail

Windows Live Hotmail houdt de gemoederen blijkbaar goed bezig. Naar eigen zeggen is een blogpost die Dutchcowboys over dit onderwerp heeft gedaan 719.000 keer bekeken. Het is daarmee de meestgelezen post op deze blog.

Omdat er blijkbaar nog veel vragen zijn rond de 'evolutie' van Hotmail publiceerde Ducthcowboys eerder deze week een interview met Arnout Hemel van Mirosoft. Arno is binnen Microsoft verantwoordelijk voor Windows Live ...

... Het is veruit het populairste bericht op Dutchcowboys, het bericht over Windows Live Hotmail, 719.000 views en dagelijks komen daar nog nieuwe bij. De comments staan ook vol met vragen van mensen. Waarom er voor de overgang naar Windows Live Mail is gekozen en hoe ze eventueel nog terugkunnen naar het vroegere Hotmail.
Naar aanleiding hiervan vroegen we Arnout Hemel, Product Manager Windows Live, een aantal vragen over het Hotmail van toen en het Live Mail van nu. ...

Source: Van MSN Hotmail naar Windows Live Mail

Microsoft and RIM to Bring Windows Live Services to BlackBerry Smartphone Customers

This pressrelease was issued by Microsoft this morning. As this relates to to the Windows Live platform, it is primarily aimed at the consumer market.

More and more Microsoft announcement confirm a focus on support for platforms beyond Windows ...

... Microsoft Corp. and Research In Motion (RIM) today announced an agreement to provide Microsoft Windows Live services on BlackBerry^® smartphones. As a result of this collaboration, BlackBerry smartphone customers will enjoy easy mobile access to Windows Live Messenger and an enhanced level of integration between Windows Live Hotmail and the BlackBerry platform.

The integration of Windows Live services into the BlackBerry platform will allow customers who use Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger on their BlackBerry smartphone to benefit from the BlackBerry platform architecture with the ability to communicate in real time using push technology, and an exceptional mobile communications experience. Customers will also be able to seamlessly access their Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger account from their BlackBerry smartphone by simply entering their Windows Live e-mail address and password once.

“The BlackBerry platform is respected around the world for providing optimized messaging capabilities, and RIM continues to look for ways to provide customers with a wide range of communications options and the best possible mobile experience,” said Mark Guibert, vice president, Corporate Marketing at RIM. “Our relationship with Microsoft and the addition of Windows Live services to BlackBerry smartphones help us build on that strategy for our customers.” ...

Source : Microsoft and RIM to Bring Windows Live Services to BlackBerry Smartphone Customers

Gratis 5GB "USB"stick

Voor meer informatie : Ja ik wil ook gratis 5GB opslag

Windows Live OneCare 2.5 enters public beta

LiveSide reports on the availability of teh Windows Live OneCare 2.5 Beta. Netherlands is on the list :-). This is the way it should be, no US only beta's ...

OneCare, the anti-virus/tune-up/back-up all in one program, has just opened up a public beta of version 2.5 (current released version is 2.0.2500.22, on my machine, anyway).  Anyone can go to Microsoft Connect and sign up and try the new beta, you don't need to be signed in to get to the page:

Sign up for Windows Live OneCare 2.5 beta

Looks like there's quite a list of countries available, no US only this time.  Not sure what the changes are from the released version, and there's no information about changes on the public Connect site.

Windows Live OneCare 2.5 enters public beta

Windows Vista and Windows Live usage scenario's

A number of nice small video's on YouTube on usage scenario's for Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows Live.

Youtube.com

2008, a new year a new job ...

January 1, 2008 I will start in my new role : Online Strategy Manager for Microsoft Netherlands

I work for Microsoft Netherlands for almost 4 years now and since the start I have worked in and led the Information Worker Team, focused on large enterprise clients. I joined Microsoft shortly after the launch of the 2003 Office System; the first wave of solutions that combined Microsoft Office as you know it with Server products, such as SharePoint Server and Live Communications Server. All of these server products have entered the 3rd generation now that the 2007 Office System was launched a year ago.

For me a new challenge lies ahead as Microsoft enters a new business; that of Software + Services and I am very fortunate to be part of this new wave right from the start.

Microsoft is very well positioned to take advantage of all the new dimensions Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) has to offer; especially in combination with the current platform and its capabilities. The focus for Software + Services will be in 2 area's :

• Microsoft "Live" services. Designed primarily for individuals, small businesses, and virtual work groups, Microsoft's Live offerings span entertainment, communication, and personal productivity. These services emphasize ease of use, simplicity of access, and flexibility, and are ideally suited for situations where you either don't have access to professional technical expertise or don't require high levels of system management. Live offerings enhance many of the products you already use—Windows, Office, and Xbox—with more to come.
  
• Online services from Microsoft. Designed for businesses with more advanced needs, online services provide security-enhanced, reliable, and scalable hosted communication and collaboration solutions. By choosing online services hosted by Microsoft, you ensure you'll always have the latest technologies, without the burden of managing hardware, deploying patches, monitoring performance, and deploying upgrades. The Online family of services offerings provides access for all your business needs—messaging, management, security, and conferencing—without straining your IT resources.

Over the last 3,5 years or so blogging has helped me tremendously in gaining knowledge and insight into the communication and collaboration business, the competition, the market, etc.

As my focus now shifts a bit I have decided to start an new blog alongside peterdehaas.net called SaaSology.net. This new blog is intended to provide information and interaction on SaaS related topics / companies, etc. I hope you'll subscribe to the RSS feed and frequent the site every now and then to comment.

SaaS is a very exciting development which will have / has (depending where you're coming from) a major impact on the software business. This means there's more than enough to blog about.

Savage: Microsoft Live @edu

Op de weblog van Savage, gezemel.nl, een blogpost over de Windows Live @ EDU presentatie die Remco Ploeg, Michael Kleine en ik verleden maand hebben gegeven bij ROC Avensus voor een aantal ROC's:

... Enige jaren geleden kwam bij ons op school de noodzaak voor e-mail voor cursisten om de hoek kijken. Probleem daarbij was dat de directie de noodzaak niet echt in zag en het dus niets mocht kosten. De oplossing is indertijd gevonden in Netmail, een webmail oplossing van Novell. Dat sloot mooi aan bij ons Novell netwerk.

Inmiddels zijn we bezig met het voorbereiden van de overstap van Novell naar Microsoft en gaan alle medewerkers volgend jaar over op Exchange in plaats van Groupwise. Kostentechnisch is het niet te doen om alle studenten ook op Exchange te zetten, dat is gewoon te duur. We waren dus op zoek naar een goedkope en goede oplossing als vervanging van onze Netmail omgeving.

Vorige week maandag zijn op ROC Aventus presentaties gegeven door Microsoft en Google. Beide grootmachten hebben een gratis oplossing voor het bieden van e-mail, opslagruimte en nog andere mooie diensten aan studenten. Hoewel beide oplossingen hun sterke en zwakke kanten hebben en mijn eigen voorkeur uit gaat naar Google (ik vind Gmail vele malen beter dan Hotmail) konden we het aanbod van Microsoft niet laten schieten. De eerste drie aanmeldingen kregen namelijk het vijfdaagse implementatietraject voor de installatie van Identity Livecycle Manager vergoed. ...

... Een hele mooie toevoeging is Office Live Workspace. Hiermee kun je Office bestanden delen en bewerken (mits Office op de PC staat) en aanbieden ter evaluatie. Een docent of medecursist kan dan opmerkingen achterlaten zonder het document te hoeven bewerken.

Eigenlijk alles wat je studenten wil bieden die vanaf school, huis of stageplek met elkaar willen samenwerken en ten alle tijden contact met hun docent willen hebben.

Nu alleen de docenten nog aan de Live Messenger zien te krijgen …

Meer over Office Live Workspace volgende week ...

Source: Microsoft Live @edu
Savage
Date Published: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:05:33 GMT

Microsoft's Live.com hoogste nieuwe binnenkomer

 

NU.nl publiceerde vandaag een artikel met de meest bezochte websites in Nederland. Microsoft's Live.com komt met stip binnen op 4 ...

... Sociale media, zoals Hyves en Wikipedia, trekken steeds meer bezoekers op het Nederlandse deel van internet. Toch blijven Google.nl, Startpagina.nl en Marktplaats.nl de best bezochte websites.

Dat blijkt uit de jaarlijkse ranglijst van onderzoeksbureau Multiscope. Op de vierde plaats van de top-twintig staat de hoogste binnenkomer: de lokale versie van Microsofts portaalsite live.com. De softwaregigant uit Redmond is ook in de lijst vertegenwoordigd met msn.com (5), hotmail.com (13) en msn.nl (18).

Multiscope noemt de opkomst van sociale mediasites de belangrijkste trend van 2007. De Nederlandse editie van internetencyclopedie Wikipedia (7, vorig jaar 10), vriendennetwerk Hyves (8, vorig jaar 56) en web-log.nl (14, vorig jaar 18) staan in de top-twintig, en ook sites als Youtube, Digg, Google Video en Flickr trekken veel bezoekers. ...

Source: Sociale media sterk in opkomst

En grappig om te zien hoe zeer dit weer afwijkt van een ander onderzoek in de VS, dt maal beken vanuit 'Attention Rank' :

... Believe it or not, based on the top 100 domains (unique visitors) FanFiction.net has the fourth highest average time spent per user. That’s right, they beat out Facebook, MySpace, Google, Yahoo! and MSN. Only three sites rank higher; the almighty time wasting gaming site, Pogo.com (number one), and the two hottest dating sites (so I hear) on the net; manhunt.net and adam4adam.com. Coming in at a close number five is another gaming site, runescape.com and then finally, Myspace. I’d like to once again send my condolences to Tom on his big loss for the coveted ‘most devoted internet junkie website of the year award.’

What is FanFiction.net? I had honestly never heard of it until it broke the top 30 for attention recently (now at number 28) and I did a little digging. Founded in 1988 by computer programmer Xing Li this website allows users to post their fiction on a myriad of topics ranging from anime to movies and if that’s not enough, “Misc.” It’s not hard to see why people spend so much time on this website, once you read one post about the highly anticipated Edward Scissorhands II (Johnny Depp declined comment) you will be hooked. When I say hooked, I mean it: The average user spends over seven and a half hours on this website a month and logs in more than 34 times. ...

Source : Compete Blog

Online Video Ranking: MSN/Live Surge, Competitors Sink

Sure Youtube is by far the leader in online video today ... but look at MSN :

... This month’s online video stack-up saw a major reshuffling with 3 of the Top 5 players trading places amid heavy shifts in traffic. YouTube continued to outperform the market, growing 1% in October to 213M visits on nearly 52M unique visitors. The Top 20 video sites as a set contracted 6% in October.

 

Extraordinary gains were realized by the Microsoft family of video sites, which includes MSN Video and Live Search Video, catapulting the Redmond rival into 2nd place, three spots ahead of its rank in September. MSN/Live Video grew 25.3% to 35M visits on the strength of 21M visitors. ...

Let's hope this is not incidental but the result of Microsoft's strong focus in improving these services ...

Source: Online Video Ranking: MSN/Live Surge, Competitors Sink
Author: Alex Patriquin
Date Published: Wed, 28 Nov 2007

Trendmatcher: Office Live Workspace Preview

Willem Karssenberg gaf verleden week op zijn blog een korte review van Windows Live Workspace.

... "Je mag zeker over Office Live Workspaces praten :)"
staat in de reacties op mijn bericht van gisteren, waarin ik zei dat ik uitdrukkelijk gewezen was op de disclaimer. Nou, in dat geval plaats ik ook maar een screenshot dacht ik, zodat ook mijn bezoekers een beeld kunnen krijgen van hoe deze omgeving eruit kan gaan zien ...

Het is nog geen volledig publieke beta, dat komt binnenkort. Eerder vandaag heb ik al een blogje gepost met de nieuwe add-in voor Office; dit geeft je dus een naadloze integratie tussen de offline en de online wereld, wat wil je nog meer.

... Overigens lijken de mensen bij Microsoft zich te ontpoppen als echte webloggers! Niet alleen Remco Ploeg heeft een weblog, waar hij gelijk gisterenavond al de presentatie had staan (in 2 varianten). Ook Peter de Haas die gisteren een onderdeel verzorgde houdt meerdere weblogs bij waarin hij over z'n werk en interesses blogt, en met een keurige disclaimer (moet ik ook nog eens doen)!
Ik weet niet of Microsoft dit actief promoot, maar het geeft zo'n bedrijf wel een gezicht. Van de mensen van Google die er gisteren waren is veel moeilijker wat te vinden...
 

Leuk trouwens dat Willem onze blogging effort erkend :-). Ja Willem Microsoft promoot dit actief. Wat op zich een goede resource is als je op de hoogte wilt blijven van Microsoft gerelateerde ontwikkelingen (naast het blog van Remco en mijn blog ;-) zijn :

1. Blogs van de Microsoft Product teams

2. Blog van Bart Wessels (Alles mbt Microsoft algemeen en Microsoft Office in het bijzonder

3. Andere collega's die op blogs.microsoft.nl bloggen

Source: Office Live Workspace Preview
Author: Willem Karssenberg
Date Published: Wed, 21 Nov 2007

Office Live Add-in for Microsoft Office: Open and save documents directly from Microsoft Office Word, Office Excel, and Office PowerPoint to Microsoft Office Live Workspace

Linking the offline to the online world. Microsoft Office Live Workspace is not an open beta yet. I will try and find out if there's dates available for this because this is worthwhile evaluating ...

The Office Live Add-in will install new menu options allowing you to open and save documents directly from Microsoft Office Word, Office Excel, and Office PowerPoint to Microsoft Office Live Workspace beta.

Source: Office Live Add-in for Microsoft Office: Open and save documents directly from Microsoft Office Word, Office Excel, and Office PowerPoint to Microsoft Office Live Workspace
Date Published: Thu, 29 Nov 2007

Windows Live Translator

As I regularly post Dutch blogposts as well I thought I'd implement the new Windows Live Translator on my blog. You can find it at the bottom of the Information Links section.

The translation is not perfect, but it enable you to understand the post  ...

Gouden Gids duikt op in Live Messenger

Leuk, weer een nieuwe bot ... Goudengids in Windows Live Messenger

En mooie plattegronden van Microsoft Virtual Earth :

Truvo, het bedrijf achter de Gouden Gids en de Nationale Telefoongids, lanceert een chatbot in Live Messenger. Hiermee kunt u in het populaire programma meteen zoeken naar bedrijven en personen.

De chatbot is te installeren via : http://www.mier3000.nl/

Source: Gouden Gids duikt op in Live Messenger
Author: redactie@zdnet.be
Date Published: Wed, 14 Nov 2007

Microsoft’s Windows Live Free Online Services Available Now

Updates, new releases, etc. CHeck out the new Windows Live website :

... Today Microsoft Corp. launched the next generation of Windows Live, providing consumers worldwide with a compelling new set of tools and services that help make it easier than ever to communicate and share with the important people in their lives, from anywhere they have Web access across multiple devices. And, with built- in security features, consumers can use Windows Live services with confidence.

A free and fun upgrade for the online and Windows experiences, the new Windows Live was launched today at http://www.windowslive.com and at events in New York and Los Angeles. To celebrate the launch, Microsoft is partnering with the children’s nonprofit Operation Smile (http://www.operationsmile.org) to encourage people to share smiles through Windows Live to help Operation Smile make a difference in the lives of children around the world.

Today’s Internet-savvy consumers are relying more and more on the Web to communicate and share with their friends and family, but they are also becoming increasingly frustrated with how difficult it is to keep track of all their e-mail accounts, photos, address books and other online information. In fact, visiting multiple Web sites to access the online information they need frustrates 61 percent of online consumers, according to a Harris Interactive Inc. study commissioned by Microsoft.^* And more than two out of three online consumers (67 percent) agree that they would use an all-in-one service with a single username and password for organizing and managing everything they do online. ...

... Windows Live is designed to enhance the online and Windows experiences with a set of online tools that bring the power of the Web right to the PC or mobile device, letting consumers communicate and share with the people they care about. The Windows Live set of services is composed of several free PC applications connected to services delivered over the Internet. Windows Live is available in one simple download experience that enables consumers to choose any or all of the Windows Live applications they want, and keep their software and services up to date as Microsoft and the rest of the industry continue to deliver new innovations over time.

Communicate. Stay close and connected how you want, wherever you are.

• Windows Live Mail. This desktop mail application provides users with easy access to their Hotmail account, the ability to aggregate multiple inboxes from other accounts such as AOL and Gmail and combine multiple contact lists into one, and simple access using a mobile phone. With the new @live.com e-mail address space, consumers have an opportunity for a new, cool e-mail address.

• Windows Live Messenger. Next-generation instant messaging with sharing, video calling and voice over Internet protocol capabilities makes communication easier, more personal and more fun.**

• Windows Live Spaces. Users can make memories with family and friends by creating photo albums, blogs, lists of favorites and links to personal videos.

Share. A simpler way to share your photos and express yourself online.

• Windows Live Photo Gallery. This is a complete solution for finding, fixing, organizing and sharing your photos and videos, as well as uploading them to Windows Live Spaces, Flickr or Soapbox on MSN Video with just a few clicks.

• Windows Live Events. This free event-planning, invitation and community-building application enables Windows Live customers to conveniently plan all the events in their lives, and to share photos and stories before, during and after those events.

• Windows Live Writer. This powerful software plus services application allows users to create and publish rich content to Windows Live Spaces and other blogging services, with a “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” (WYSIWYG) editor that makes it simple to add photos, maps, tags and more.

Access Anywhere. Connect easily and share information you want.

• Windows Live for Windows Mobile. This provides rich client-based or browser-based access to Windows Live from a Windows Mobile-based device, including Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Spaces and more.

Safety. Enjoy a worry-free computing experience with built-in safety features.

• Windows Live OneCare Family Safety. This provides tools to help parents protect children from inappropriate online content and contacts.

Source: Microsoft’s Windows Live Free Online Services Available Now
Author: Date Published: Tue, 06 Nov 2007 23:00:00 GMT

Microsoft's Office Live Workspace

Here are a few screenshots of Microsoft's Office Live Workspace. The beta will start soon ...

... Microsoft last month announced plans for Office Live Workspace, a free online tool for viewing Microsoft Office documents. On Wednesday, Microsoft shared a few screenshots of what the service will look like when it goes into beta later this year. ..

More screenshots at source : News.com

Microsoft Live Labs : Seadragon

New cool stuff from Windows live Labs :

Seadragon

Seadragon is an incubation project resulting from the acquisition of Seadragon Software in February. Its aim is nothing less than to change the way we use screens, from wall-sized displays to mobile devices, so that visual information can be smoothly browsed regardless of the amount of data involved or the bandwidth of the network.

If this sounds a little vague, consider the following four "promises" of Seadragon:

1. Speed of navigation is independent of the size or number of objects.
2. Performance depends only on the ratio of bandwidth to pixels on the screen.
3. Transitions are smooth as butter.
4. Scaling is near perfect and rapid for screens of any resolution.

The Seadragon team is currently tuning its DirectX implementation, making the most of the new Windows Media Photo format, and cranking on the Photosynth Technology Preview.

Cijferlijst, schoolrooster, nieuws via MSN bot op de Hogeschool van Rotterdam

Arjen Bruinning meldt een supermooie toepassing van de MSN Chatbot bij Hogeschool Rotterdam. Zijn post bevat ook een videootje van de toepassing.

... Marc van Dam, student op de Hogeschool van Rotterdam, was het zat om dagelijks meer dan 15 minuten kwijt te zijn om te kijken of er nieuwe cijfers van proefwerken bekend waren, het schoolrooster nog klopte en schoolnieuws te vergaren....

Source : Cijferlijst, schoolrooster, nieuws via MSN bot op de Hogeschool van Rotterdam
Author: Arjen Bruinning
Date Published: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 05:57:05 GMT

Gartner: Microsoft's Software + Services Offerings Target Google

Gartner gives it's perspective on Microsoft's recent Software + Services anouncement :

... Analysis

Software + Services is Microsoft’s answer to the software as a service (SaaS) trend, as well as a continuation and refinement of the Live services strategy announced in 2005. While the term "SaaS" is associated with all services residing in the “cloud,” Microsoft’s strategy encompasses two scenarios not usually considered SaaS: “Rich” client code, which leverages Microsoft’s dominance in desktop operating systems and Office applications; and on-premise software, as Microsoft is designing its server-based offerings to work either on-premises, hosted by third parties or hosted by Microsoft ...

... Recommendations

• Office users: Those interested in the collaboration features of Google Apps should evaluate Microsoft’s offerings before making decisions.
• IT managers: Expect Microsoft to offer more “cloud-based” offerings, with many focused on individual use. While not aimed at enterprises, these offerings will be used by business users. IT should plan strategies regarding them. ...

 

Source: Gartner.com

Office Live Blog: No offense, but here’s a book you may want to get!

FOr those who don't know where to start with Microsoft Office Live ...

... The new Microsoft Office Live for Dummies book

From the back cover:

Want to make Office Live work for you? Now you can get up and running quickly in all the basics with this nuts-and-bolts guide. From creating a Web site and defining projects to sharing data with key contacts and tracking company assets, you'll save time (and money!) as you efficiently connect with employees, customers, and vendors — leaving more time for business! ...

Source: No offense, but here’s a book you may want to get!
Author: Date originally published: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 19:32:15 GMT

Nokia faciliteert Windows Live op zijn smartphones

2e Nokia / Microsoft gerelateerde nieuwtje deze week. Belangrijke samenwerking, Nokia had ook voor Google's spullen kunnen kiezen ... 

Nokia heeft afgesproken om in 11 landen, waaronder Nederland, de Windows Live-webapplicaties van Microsoft te gaan aanbieden op haar mobiele telefoons.

Source: Nokia faciliteert Windows Live op zijn smartphones
Author: Automatisering Gids
Date originally published: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:57:00 GMT

Microsoft trumps Google on free e-mail storage limit

I am sure this is not the last increase we've seen from either party. Bottom line is that it's good for consumers ...

... Microsoft increases Live Hotmail's storage limit for a free account to 5GB, adds a 'report phishing' link for better security

Microsoft is increasing the storage limit for its Web-based e-mail service, surpassing competitor Google's limit but far short of Yahoo's unlimited storage.

The limit for a free Windows Live Hotmail account will increase from 2GB to 5GB. The change will be rolled out to users over the next few weeks along with a series of other upgrades, wrote Ellie Powers-Boyle, a Microsoft program manager, on a company blog.

Google offers around 2.8GB of storage space for a free account. Last week, Google began selling storage space that can be used for either its Gmail or Picasa photo sharing services for $20 a year for another 6GB as well as more expensive plans. ...

Source: InfoWorld.com

Microsoft tests dashboard view of online offerings

 The new look is very good, however, the information per category is quite condensed, so you don't have a clear overvoew of let's say your inbox or other info.

Personally I am not a heavy live.com user; it's just not the UI I live in so to say. I live in Outlook and FeedDemon, my new RSS Reader.

Reuters - Microsoft Corp started testing on Thursday a new dashboard view for its various Windows Live online services.

... A Windows Live user can sign onto home.live.com and quickly scan for new e-mails, blog postings from friends, contact updates or try out other Microsoft services such as online antivirus and spyware scans.

"It's a quick view and summary for all of the services you are using on Windows Live," Chris Jones, a Microsoft corporate vice president in the Windows Live group, said in a phone interview. ...

Source: Microsoft tests dashboard view of online offerings (Reuters)
Originally published on Fri, 10 Aug 2007 12:22:02 GMT

Store your files in “the cloud” with Windows Live SkyDrive

The Windows Experience Blog posted some details of the rebranded Windows Live Folders Servers. It is now going further under the name Windows Live SkyDrive. 

... Today Microsoft is announcing the final product name for what was previously known as Windows Live Folders. Windows Live SkyDrive gets not only its final product name but also a few new features and enhanced UI reflecting changes coming across many of the Windows Live services including Windows Live Spaces. ...

... I put together a small demo outlining Windows Live SkyDrive and several of today's beta improvements with a few new features. Check it out:

Video: Demo: Windows Live SkyDrive ...

Source: Store your files in “the cloud” with Windows Live SkyDrive
Author: Brandon LeBlanc
Date originally published: Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:56:00 GMT