Vista - Feedback: Windows Live Desktop Beta

I'm not certain if this is the correct newsgroup to file these comments in.
It seems that MS has released a beta version of software but neglected to
provide a central place or newsgroup for beta-testers to give feedback and
report bugs. Go figure.

My initial reaction to Windows Life Desktop Beta (WLDB) is that I'm not
impressed at all.

First of all, when designing software (or any other product) one has to ask
"what's in it for the end-user?" With WLDB, I don't see much for me as an
end-user. The main difference between WLDB and OE6 looks to be a new GUI,
and that's about it. And is the new GUI an improvement? No way. It's more
cluttered, and now I have to read ads on the right pane of the window. In
exchange for the ads, what do I get? Nothing. And it's not like MS is some
poor software company that is looking to compensate itself for its efforts
at designing the software through third-party ads.

With WLDB, I am forced to sign-in with a Live.com (or Passport.net) account.
While it's true that I do not have to sign-up to Hotmail and can register an
existing email as my Live.com/Passport.net ID, I still have to "log-on" with
the ID to access the client.

There doesn't seem to be any way to tune the junk-mail filter. I can either
turn it on or off. And I can't quite figure out why on some accounts I can
designate/report mail as junk, while on others I cannot. Using my Yahoo
account on WLDB is kind of strange. There, I can designate emails as
"not-junk" when they are in the junk mail folder, but there's no way to
designate mail sitting in my inbox as "junk".

Those of us that use several email and news accounts will find the left pane
very long and there doesn't seem to be a way to collapse all of the accounts
down to make it more compact.

But by far the worst part of WLMD, in my opinion, is the integration with
Windows Messenger for address books. Gone is the separate address book. I'm
now obligated to use Window Messenger if I want to maintain an address book
to work with the email client. I don't like being forced into opening one
application just to use another. And I don't like having to run Messenger
just to look up and work with an address.

So at the end of the day, I suspect that I'll either continue to use OE6,
which works just fine for me, or, I'll finally decide to make the permanent
move over to Mozilla Thunderbird, which does everything that WLDB and OE6
do, but much better. I just can't help thinking that someone at MS forgot
to sit down with the design group and remind them that in the end, it's all
about improving the experience for the customer, because WLDB seems to all
about improving things for MS and not the end-user.

"Alan" <no-spam@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:12226CF6-CC34-47E1-A30C-0559AFFBF49B@microsoft.com...
My guess/hope: WLMD is a first step towards one big windows live
communication client (which is a great idea in the long run).

sim.seb wrote:

> My guess/hope: WLMD is a first step towards one big windows live
> communication client (which is a great idea in the long run).

I'm don't think so, because it takes choice away from the user. If you
want to use WLMD, you MUST use Messenger. This seems strange, given the
fact that MS has announced its intention to allow users to work with
either Windows Live Messenger or Yahoo Messenger in the future. It would
make more sense to separate the two clients.

But more importantly, I think the address book needs to become a
separate application that can be accessed by either Messenger, Yahoo
Messenger or WLMD.

I just don't see how this new version was ever designed with the
"customer" in mind.

"Alan" <no-spam@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:u7$emzqnGHA.1204@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> This seems strange, given the fact that MS has announced its intention to
> allow users to work with either Windows Live Messenger or Yahoo Messenger
> in the future. It would make more sense to separate the two clients.

I really don't think this Live experience thing is designed to use seperate
clients. Integration is the whole point. And as this client is called
W"Live"MD...

I don't have a problem with integration at all. But having WLMD use the
Messenger contact list for an address book is not integration. I used
to be able to use one client for email. If I opt for WLMD, I must use
two now.

Again, what would make more sense is to have a separate Windows Live
Address Book that is used by any other application requiring contact
info, such as Office apps, Messenger, and WLMD.

sim.seb wrote:
>
> I really don't think this Live experience thing is designed to use
> seperate clients. Integration is the whole point. And as this client is
> called W"Live"MD...

"Alan" <no-spam@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:uLoGJwsnGHA.4364@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> If I opt for WLMD, I must use two now.

For now, that's right. But as I stated before, I understood more integration
will come. This WLMD is just an EARLY beta to test.

Alan <no-spam@gmail.com> wrote:

> don't have a problem with integration at all. But having WLMD use the
> Messenger contact list for an address book is not integration. I used
>to be able to use one client for email. If I opt for WLMD, I must use
>two now.
>
>Again, what would make more sense is to have a separate Windows Live
>Address Book that is used by any other application requiring contact
>info, such as Office apps, Messenger, and WLMD.
As far as I know, and this is not by having any intimate knowledge of the
underlying technology, but just by watching the goings on with the Live
products, the contact store is shared between multiple Live products. The main
owner of the store appears to be Windows Live Messenger, but it is also used by
Spaces and WLMD. It is a component of Windows Live Messenger, but it is shared.
I suspect we will see more Live applications sharing it in the future. The
keystone for all of this is the Windows Live ID, which replaces Passport, hence
the required login and the tight integration with Windows Live Messenger.

-steve
--
Stephen Boots
MVP MSN.COM
sboots@mvps.org

"Alan" <no-spam@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:u7$emzqnGHA.1204@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
Hi Alan,

I think (from what I've read) that the intention is not to allow you to use
Yahoo messenger with WLMD - but to allow you to communicate with Yahoo
messenger using Live Messenger - one client instead of two in that sense....
why would MS want you to use someone else's client?

Allowing interopability gets them 'round the Anti-Trust issues a bit - but
keeps you tied to their client at the same time....

AS for the Adverts you mentioned in an earlier post.... it's no different to
what Google do with G-Mail.... is making something back for a client they're
giving away free.... I don't mind - it's unobtrusive and I ignore it....

Just my $0.02

Jack

> sim.seb wrote:
>
>> My guess/hope: WLMD is a first step towards one big windows live
>> communication client (which is a great idea in the long run).
>
> I'm don't think so, because it takes choice away from the user. If you
> want to use WLMD, you MUST use Messenger. This seems strange, given the
> fact that MS has announced its intention to allow users to work with
> either Windows Live Messenger or Yahoo Messenger in the future. It would
> make more sense to separate the two clients.
>
> But more importantly, I think the address book needs to become a separate
> application that can be accessed by either Messenger, Yahoo Messenger or
> WLMD.
>
> I just don't see how this new version was ever designed with the
> "customer" in mind.