A Good Couple of Weeks for Microsoft

Microsoft seems to be on a roll. Over the past couple weeks they've launched a lot of new stuff, including a fair amount today alone.

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WINDOWS

1) Windows Vista February CTP

Microsoft released a generally feature-complete version of Vista. It's now looking pretty good... very good, actually. :) I just watched a video on its speech recognition capabilties; very cool. You can browse the web, open programs, and (of course) dictate easily. You don't need to switch between commands and dictation, like you do in today's Office (to an extent).* Just say "Start... Microsoft Word... the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog," and it'll know what to do. Of course, that's just one of tons of cool features, from improved security (build-in spyware protection, firewall, kernel improvements, etc.) to better graphical capabilities (Aero) to more multimedia functions (WMP 11, Photo Gallery) to lots lots more.

* I have Office 2002; I'm not sure if anything's been improved in Office 2003.

WINDOWS LIVE

1) Live.com

This is one of the more minor upgrades; it's been getting little aesthetic updates here and there, which bring it more into line with other coming products. But, due to the open nature of Gadgets, the capabilities of this page are growing all the time.

2) Live Contacts

"Subscribe" to your friends' Live Contacts, and your info will automatically be updated whenever they get a new phone number, address, job... whatever. It's like Plaxo, only integrated into the rest of MSN and Windows Live.

3) Windows Live Local Tech Preview

This is very rough, occasionally glitchy, and incomplete, but it sure is cool! Drive around Seattle or San Francisco at street level. Very neat. Check it out.

4) Windows Live Messenger

They just rolled out a new update today, with a cleaner look, Live Contacts support, and more. Since the first beta, WLM has let users share files in Sharing Folders -- when one or the other person updates the file, it updates for both of them. Perfect for collaboration on group projects.

5) Windows Live Expo

Think craiglist + social networking + other stuff. I'm new to it, and not exactly an expert on all the craigslist stuff either, so I can't make any fair comparisons. But it's pretty neat. Search for product listings, and filter them by geographical or social (friends etc.) proximity. Get all results listed on a map. And drag stuff around. Like dialog boxes. Kinda pointless, but kinda cool. :)

OFFICE LIVE

While at the moment a pretty limited beta, get on the waiting list now, 'cause it's looking like an extremely useful product. Microsoft will actually give you your own domain name (www.youname.com, whatever...) for FREE and help you build a slick corporate online presence. You get email addresses and traffic reports too. For a small fee you get even more... check out the site to learn all about it and sign up quick.

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It's a pretty exciting time... :D