Screenshot of Windows Live Home, which served as a central location to access all Windows Live services
Type of site
Software plus services (Web applications)
Owner
Microsoft
URL
Archived official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
Commercial
No
Registration
Required
Users
330 million
Launched
November 1, 2005 (2005-11-01)
Current status
Closed
Content license
Proprietary
Windows Live is a discontinued brand name for a set of web services and software products developed by Microsoft as part of its software-as-a-service platform. Chief components under the brand name included web services (all of which were exposed through corresponding web applications), several computer programs that interact with the services, and specialized web services for mobile devices.[1]
According to Microsoft, Windows Live was "a way to extend the Windows user experience".[2] As such, Windows Vista's welcome screen provides a link to download Windows Live Messenger or to subscribe to Windows Live OneCare. Also, Windows Mail, Windows Photo Gallery and Windows Movie Maker were not offered with Windows 7 and became an exclusive part of Windows Live.[3] Microsoft announced that Windows 8 would have Windows Live apps included out-of-the-box, and would include built-in synchronization technologies powered by OneDrive (then SkyDrive).[4] The Windows Live brand was phased out during August 2012, when Microsoft released Windows 8 to manufacturing. Active Windows Live services remained active but were gradually renamed. The "live.com" domain, however, continues to be used in the URLs for Outlook, OneDrive, and the Login and Signup pages.
^"Windows Live Wave 3 Reviewers Guide" (PDF). News Center. Microsoft. 2008-11-12. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 1, 2010. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
^Thurrott, Paul (2006-01-18). "Windows Live Preview". SuperSite for Windows. Penton Media. Archived from the original on 2007-05-27. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
^"The Complete Windows Experience – Windows 7 + Windows Live". The Windows Blog. Microsoft. 28 October 2008.
^"Windows 8 Developer Preview Guide" (PDF). Download Center. Microsoft. 2011-09-13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
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