microsoftNOW » windows live

How to synchronize your Outlook signature between multiple computers

Shijaz Abdulla — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:41:15 +0000

Windows Live Mesh not only helps you synchronize documents between computers, it also helps you synchronize Office settings such as Outlook email signatures, custom dictionaries, templates, etc.

I stumbled upon this feature this morning when I was synchronizing files between my Windows 7 PC and my Windows 8 tablet.

Windows Live Mesh is now part of the Windows Live Essentials bundle (free download).

You can also use Windows Live Mesh to synchronize Internet Explorer favorites between multiple computers. One of the great many advantages of running Windows all your computers – be it PC, laptop or tablet!

Uploading Photos & Videos to Facebook from Windows

Shijaz Abdulla — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:18:00 +0000

I came across the LiveUpload to Facebook tool on Codeplex today. This great tool helps you upload photos directly from Windows Live Photo Gallery or Windows Live Movie Maker.

Windows live Photo Gallery and Windows Live Movie Maker are two free tools that are part of the Windows Essentials download.

TBot – Windows Live Messenger Translation Bot

Shijaz Abdulla — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 13:09:00 +0000

Windows Live Messenger now has a translation bot, that will help you translate text from one language to another over IM. Simply add mtbot@hotmail.com to your messenger list and start talking!

I'm a-Live!

Shijaz Abdulla — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:14:00 +0000

The hosting company that hosts my website over at www.shijaz.com was upgrading their servers, and they wanted me to make some DNS changes so that I can point to the new servers.

I considered this a good opportunity to make use of Windows Live, the free hosting services from Microsoft. It rocks!

To make use of this service, you need to register a internet domain name, and then create an account at domains.live.com. This basically involves making some DNS changes. If you want to login to Hotmail (now Windows Live Mail) and send out & receive email using you@yourdomain.com email address, you just need to making your MX record point to Hotmail. You get a free 500 GB mailbox! The tasks mentioned in the website are easy to follow.

You can also "brand" Hotmail so that it looks like your own stuff. Here’s what I did with mine:

I also installed the Outlook Connector on my PC, which lets me access my email using Outlook, and synchronize my email, calendar and contacts – just like Outlook Anywhere/RPC over HTTP!

If you create an optional SRV record on your domain, you can even login to Windows Live Messenger using you@yourdomain.com as the sign-in name.

Windows Live Writer

Shijaz Abdulla — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:43:00 +0000

This is really cool.

Windows Live writer is a free tool from Microsoft that lets you post entries to your blog without having to log in to your blog provider website. It works more like Microsoft Word, with spell check as you type, easy formatting, and very easy insertion of pictures and tables. You can also put these cool drop shadows on your images!

If you’re a blogger, give it a shot. It is also available with the latest version of Windows Live Messenger. Works with Google Blogger too!

Did you know?

Shijaz Abdulla — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 04:02:00 +0000

There are over 450 million “active” users on Windows Live Messenger every month. That’s almost 8% of the world’s population. Bearing in mind that only 19% of the world’s population uses the internet, this is 40% of all internet users worldwide.

An “active” user is one who spends at least 12 hours per month in active chat (actual data transfer, not the hours spent simply signed in). Wow!

Microsoft buys Facebook stake

Shijaz Abdulla — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:59:00 +0000

Microsoft has taken an equity stake in the social networking website, Facebook and, in return, gets to expand its exclusive advertising deal to handle ads for Facebook on a global basis.

Facebook didn’t come cheap. Microsoft is spending $240 million for roughly a 1.6 percent stake, based on an overall valuation of privately-held Facebook at $15 billion. Not bad, considering the fact that Facebook is a company that was founded by three Harvard students in their dorm room in February 2004.

Microsoft had signed up an advertising deal with Facebook in August 2006, which made Microsoft adCenter the exclusive banner and link advertising partner for Facebook. But this was limited to the US.

Now Microsoft opens new doors in expanding its advertising outreach globally by acquiring a stake in the social networking site.

Of late, we are seeing a rush from Microsoft to follow the trends that Google and Yahoo are making in terms of advertising through online services. Windows Live is getting bigger, better and smarter everyday with newer features being added.

A thought:
Facebook is the only social networking site that is not blocked by the ISP in the UAE (Etisalat). Hmm.

Language translator on Windows Live

Shijaz Abdulla — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 04:57:00 +0000

Google has got the Language tools on its web page that let you translate to and from a number of languages. Microsoft has just come up with the same initiative in their Windows Live website. It’s called the Live Translator and it’s in beta – http://translator.live.com.