The lineup in Windows Live Essentials 2011 requires Windows 7, Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Server 2008 SP2. Microsoft didn’t kill the tools, though it simply moved many of them to the cloud, and began to offer them as a separate download called Windows Live Essentials–a package comprising 7 of the 11 tools discussed in this article. However, a combination of customer complaints about “bloatware” and an effort by Microsoft to attract more users to Office led to the removal of most of those tools in Windows 7. Up through Windows Vista, the Windows operating system came preloaded with a variety of tools to get you started as soon as you booted up. Windows Live Messenger–a component of Windows Live Essentials–can integrate with your Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace social networks. Exchange is Microsoft’s messaging server used by many businesses for e-mail, but Exchange Active Sync has emerged as a standard used by many devices to sync mail, contact, and calendar information. The free Microsoft Outlook Hotmail Connector lets you view your Hotmail data from within Outlook, and Hotmail also supports Exchange Active Sync so your Hotmail e-mail, contacts, and calendar can be automatically synced with devices like the iPhone or iPad. Before Microsoft bought it, Hotmail was the first Web-based e-mail service, and one of the first to be free. HotmailĪlthough in many circles Hotmail gets about as much respect as AOL Instant Messenger or MySpace, Microsoft’s free Webmail service is capable. However, although you might not realize it, Microsoft also offers many of the same tools and services as Google–and also for free. Microsoft has a virtual monopoly on desktop operating systems with Windows and on office productivity with its Office suite–as well as a dominant share of the Web browser market with Internet Explorer.įor many, though, Microsoft is the big, evil corporation robbing the defenseless masses, while Google is the Robin Hood of the Web, altruistically delivering free goods and services.
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