(Please note: This particular post is most interactive. It is not nearly as interesting without going to the actual new site)

Going Live
There seems to be something quite the trouble with my LiveSpace photo gallery. I cannot upload photos. I got one, but I put that thing on there months ago, using a different computer. Now there's some error about something called ActiveX or something like that. (Ironic that my error message would contain reference to a program whose name sounds like a chemical pesticide.

To weasel my way around the apparent error. I'm going to try to post images here and upload them that way. Maybe then things will be more flexible...

TEST 1: Yosemite & Canyon



Its rather small so... I don't know. We'll see how this works and operate from there... In fact... no. No I don't like it. I'm going to try some other things with my browser (downloaded IE7 by the way.) Actually, elaboration on that. IE 7 is actually Internet Explorer 7, beta that is. Beta means "in testing phase" and I'm using it. The actual complete and finished IE7 has not yet been finished. Which means nothing to me, 90% of the stuff I use on this computer is 'unfinished' and about 60% of the stuff I write is also 'unfinished.' Recently though I've had a bit of a surge in beta filespace on this computer (I've been downloading a lot of new beta programs). These files- published by Microsoft (or at least the ones I've been interested in) are all a part of the MSN network upgrade to a new concept they have dubbed "Live." Essentially, the mentality behind all the new software is that everyone is moving into the age of high speed, always-on Internet. Everyone is connected, and they're connected fast enough to be seamlessly integrated.
This has been playing up a bit I think.
In January of the coming year- The Windows branch of the Microsoft Corporation will release a new operating system called Windows Vista. The same way that they upgraded Windows95 to Windows 98, and Windows98 to WindowsXP, this program upgrades WindowsXP to a completely new OS called: Vista. Having seen the stuff involved in this project, I must say that even if it doesn't do a single thing for productivity, it is at least absolutely beautiful to witness in action. Windows Vista is a compendium of Live software. When released, all the beta versions will have been tested and perfected and added to the list of auxilary (and often unnecessary) software that typically accompanies a new operating system (but thanks anyway Microsoft. ^_^).

Several of the beta functions of Vista software are available for testing and beyond being beautiful, like I mentioned earlier, some of these things are amazingly useful, depending on your demographic. IE7 is one such beta. In addition to that- I downloaded Windows Media Player 11 last night and have had a wonderful time with the new format, and I highly recommend it to those of you with a great deal of music resting on your computer, especially if you have multiple albums by the same artist. The new WMP is highly organized and graphically oriented for those of us who prefer not to scroll through six pages of indecipherable listings.

I also picked up the full version (beta testing was completed about a month ago) of Windows Live Messenger which, in addition to following the same look and feel of the other Live programs, involves features like the ability to send and recieve instant messages even when you are displayed as offline. It also employs a networking feature that gives you direct shared-folder functionality. Talking to someone and you want to send them a couple of things? Open their shared folder, drag junk into it like you would on your own desktop, and they are instantly avaliable for the person you are talking to. That feature I think best represents the Live philosophy. Some of the best things about the new messenger however are abilities like Call, allowing you to instantly connect via VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) to your friend's computer and share a telephone call. (And I thought my Skype was cool... Well... it is, it lets you call generic phones and cellular. :P)

With the update of the messenger to Live, the Microsoft team has also updated their infamous Hotmail system. There isn't a great deal you can do to make an email server more instantaneous, in fact there isn't a great deal you can do besides change the name. So they're calling it LiveMail. Its accessible publicly and many people have already begun to use it, even in its beta stages. The format changes allow a far greater navigational ease with an upgrade to a more 'Outlook' style interface wherein folders and files are given a sidebar, a second panel displays the folder contents, while the third, often largest panel displays the actual email. There are numerous ways to customize these settings and when using it I found it far more fun and simple than the traditional Hotmail.

That is until I found Windows LiveMail Desktop (beta). This program takes everything great about the new LiveMail, wires it full of new features, gives you a maximized interface instead of LiveMail's condensed panel boxes that are restricted to a set size within the browser window, and places all of this on your desktop for instant access. Basically it's Microsoft Outlook, just cooler. Way cooler. For one, you don't have to pay to use this one. Professionals will enjoy the businesslike functionality and features of Outlook, but what if you're not a business professional? Viola. With basic visuals that can be altered (color, size, layout) to suit the user's preference, to instant publishing tools like BlogIt (a general one click option to publish an email as a blog to your LiveSpace) LiveMail desktop has become one of my favorites of the Live betas Microsoft has released.

But it isn't my true favorite... (Arby, this one is for you, buddy.) Microsoft also updated the MSN Spaces to what is now called LiveSpaces, which, as far as I can tell includes little more than a useless name change and the new flat-jewel format charictaristic of the Live name. As far as features are concerned, I have been unable to note a major difference. If there have been any and I've missed them, I blame it on my only recent use of the MSN spaces (I started using the Spaces almost immediately before the new system was implemented and hadn't a great deal of time to orient myself with all of the features.). And all of that is well and good, it looks nice, and offers the same MySpace style page layout and P2P interactivity. The things that interested me mostly was (if it wasn't obvious) the ability to blog. Whereas my old blog on Blogstream had begun doing some very strange things (locking me out, losing my posts, refusing to delete older posts when I aked it to) I figured it was about time to let her go and find a new home. It was Jessica Bond who first made me aware, perhaps unintentionally, of the MSN Spaces with her own space which I visit periodically... (okay... a lot. Geez! What? *Innocent puppy dog eyes*) Anyway- finding hers sent me on a search for my own being that apparently, the moment you sign up for an MSN passport you automatically get one (in addition to instant membership at about fifty other random web sites that use the passport as their client signature). I found it soon after my search began and I kinda fiddled with it for a while, trying stuff out, messing with my format options and putting all my information in and generally making a productive waste of my time. I still can't upload photos... I tried a few blogs, found that I liked the style, and, after leaving a brief note one the Blogstream blog, set up shop here, perhaps permanently. Why? Because this place offers something that no other blog site I've ever found can offer. (Arby, this is where you come in.)

LiveWriter (beta) was released fairly recently to my knowledge. I downloaded it, having no real idea what it was at first. (Mostly my motivations for downloading it progressed as follows: Hm... lets see here... Live betas... doo doo doo dee doo... Oh hey! What's this? Hm... Windows LiveWriter... writer. Huh. I'm a writer. I mean... I write stuff. If I write stuff and it's called LiveWriter its probably a writing program of some kind... And I can always use a new writing program, after all... I am a writer. Hmm... Okay. *click* DOWNLOAD!) Three seconds later when the download was finished I opened it up and it asked me for my MSN Passport ID (my email and password) I put it in there and it began browsing through something, I wasn't quite sure what it was doing until it came up with a list of LiveSpaces, one LiveSpace actually. It asked me if this one was mine and I'm like "Uh... yeah?" And clicked OK. It opened into a brief reproduction of my LiveSpace blog! So I'm using this program right now to construst this (I know... really long) blog and I'm doing it all offline. When I get near an internet hotspot, I don't have to go on, log into my LiveSpace, open the blog, copy stuff over, copy my links over, make sure the photo fits and is properly formatted, no- I hit ONE BUTTON and shebang! My blog updates automatically. This thing also stores my past blogs for instant offline editing or review, and the program offers all of the same features of the original blog in the same format so nothing needs to be restructured or arranged from a word document! YAY!

It also has a build in spell checker ^_^ always a plus. (Though I rarely use it... I'm so stupid... (smacks self inhead)) Okay- so I've just delivered a two-page spiel on all of Microsoft's new stuff... Wow, I should get paid to do this... Sorry. I know a lot of this is really not that interesting. This is current stuff in my world though. Oy... I'll be selling this stuff in a few months. I've provided links to all the betas is you people are interested in getting some of them, they are all made by Microsoft so they're all garunteed to be virus and spyware free or you get to sue a multibillion dollar company that has better things to do than deal with your little lawsuit and will likely offer you something in the range of a three million dollar settlement and tell you to shove it. ^_^ I'll have something interesting next time, I promise. Jess! I'll write you tonight! Arby? Are you still out there somewhere? I'll talk to you soon. I may pick up that second Vampire film if you're up for it. I work tonight at Michael's five pm to close so it will be about the regular release time for me. Take it easy everyone! It's still morning as I finish this and I have some apartment shopping to do! ^_^

Cheers!