If you use Windows Live, you may have noticed some recent changes to the header shown at the top of each page (if not, look at the top of this page). Indeed, we’ve completely redesigned the header. From now through the end of October, we will gradually roll out this new “Wave 2” header on all the Windows Live sites. You may not realize it at first glance, but we’ve actually doubled the number of features in the header!

Here’s a little bit of info about the changes.

Faster
We’ve done a ton of work to speed up the time it takes to download the header. As a result, the new header loads about 6 times faster than the old version, which means whichever page you’re trying to view on Windows Live loads faster too.

Smaller
Much as I might prefer otherwise, I know you don’t come to Windows Live to look at the header. With that in mind, we made the header about half as tall as before, leaving you more space for the content you came to see.

Easier to navigate
Perhaps the most obvious additions are the new Home, Hotmail, Spaces, and OneCare buttons. These links provide quick access to some of our most popular web services. They help you discover new services you might not be familiar with, and make it super easy to find them again later. (The Home button provides a link to the new Windows Live Home page, a great place to see the status of all your services at once, so you know when there’s anything new to check out.)

Better search
We’ve added support for site-specific searching within any Windows Live service. You already had the ability to search your own mailbox from within Hotmail. We’ve taken that concept and made it available no matter which Windows Live service you’re using. If you’re in Spaces, for example, you can now search for content on other blogs within Spaces, or anywhere on the Web.

Easier to use
We also made numerous subtle design changes for ease of use. These include changing the Windows Live button and menu interactions to work more like the Office 2007 button and menu; updating the design to look and feel more like Windows Vista; and making sure that top-level tasks like navigation, search, and sign-in are always just a click or two away.

More consistent
The previous version of the header wasn’t always consistent across services. This made it more difficult to get oriented as you moved from one service to another. Over the next few weeks, you’ll see a single new header become the standard across all of Windows Live.

So that’s the new header! Of course, there are always more ways to improve, and we’d love to hear what you have to say about it. Please let us know what you think!

Jesse Lim
Program Manager
Windows Live Team

It’s been an exciting week for us here in Redmond, as we’re starting to hear back from you about our new Windows Live programs and the unified installer. We can’t wait to hear even more as you try out all the new betas. Continue to let us know what you think here, and on the Feedback site, and you just might see your requests incorporated into the next release!

I just wanted to add a couple of things to take note of during the installation. 

First of all, you don’t have to install the entire suite. You can clear the check boxes for any products you don’t want right now, and just install one, if that’s all you want.

The only exception is if you already have some Windows Live products installed (like Messenger, for example). In that case, you’ll automatically get an upgrade for that product, even if you didn’t choose to install it explicitly. Because Windows Live products are designed to work together in integrated ways, if you install the beta of one product, we need to make sure you have the latest beta of other, related products at the same time.

If you DO choose to install multiple products at once, the cool thing is, as soon as each one finishes installing, you can start it immediately from a link you’ll see in the installer! No need to wait for everything to finish before you can jump right in and get started. 

Also, if you install through this page (http://get.live.com/wl/all), you can sign up for a new Windows Live ID or sign in with an existing one during installation. From there, you’ll be signed in to the new Windows Live Home page (http://home.live.com), where you can start playing with our new and updated web services while your other programs are being installed.

We sincerely hope you enjoy using the new programs as much as we enjoyed building them.

Jennifer Shen
Program Manager
Windows Live Team

P.S. We hear you loud and clear about the lack of Vista x64-bit support and we promise you we're working on it! As stated in the release notes, we are not supporting any 64-bit installations for this beta release, but this has always been in our plans for the final release. Due to your overwhelming feedback, we're working hard to release a version of the installer that supports 64-bit even sooner than previously planned. We’ll be sure to keep you all updated!

You’ve probably already read about some changes we’re making to Windows Live, and have seen some of your services change over the past few weeks. Starting now, you can test out the new suite of Windows Live software at http://get.live.com/wl/all. 

Windows Live makes it easy to store and manage your communications and information, and share what’s going on in your life with the people who mean the most to you. Many of you have already tried out new versions of our web services – Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Spaces, Windows Live SkyDrive beta, and the new Windows Live Home page beta. These have been designed to work together with a common navigation, so it is easy to switch between your e-mail, your space, your files, and your photos—from any browser.

Today we’re releasing beta versions of a new generation of Windows Live software designed for your Windows PC that makes it easier than ever to get connected to Windows Live or other services. This suite of software includes e-mail (Windows Live Mail), photo sharing (Windows Live Photo Gallery), a great publishing tool that lets you post directly to your blog (Windows Live Writer), parental controls (Windows Live OneCare Family Safety), a new version of Windows Live Messenger (8.5), and more.

Starting today, you’ll be able to install the entire suite of these downloadable Windows Live services at one time, from one place, instead of going through separate installations for each service. Of course, if you don’t want the entire suite, you can still get each application individually.

This new suite of applications is a new way that we can make connecting, communicating, and sharing anywhere a terrific experience on your Windows PC. Together with our web services, we have a complete suite that combines the best of the Web and the best of Windows, and works the way you want. 

I really hope you’ll download the betas today at http://get.live.com/wl/all, use them, and let us know what you think. Send us feedback anytime at http://feedback.live.com.

Thanks,

Chris Jones
Vice President
Windows Live Team