Microsoft Introduces Microsoft Account, a Re-Imagined version of Windows Live

Today Steven Sinofsky president of the Windows Division at Microsoft and Chris Jones the corporate VP of Windows Live Group has introduced the re-imagined cloud services ‘Microsoft Account’ for Windows 8 and Windows Phone in company’s building Windows 8 blog.

Microsoft Account is Re-imagined or updated version for Windows Live Services (announced on November 2005) which didn’t met the Microsoft Expectation of  a truly Connected Experience. Users will be able to use Microsoft Account for various Microsoft Product and services including Windows Login Authentication, Xbox Live, Zune or App Store, Mail, People, Photos, Messaging  etc.

Windows Live services and apps were built on versions of Windows that were simply not designed to be connected to a cloud service for anything other than updates, and as a result, they felt “bolted on” to the experience. This created some amount of customer confusion, which is noted in several reviews and editorials.  The names we used to describe our products added to that complexity: we used “Windows Live" to refer to software for your PC (Windows Live Essentials), a suite of web-based services (Hotmail, SkyDrive, and Messenger), your account relationship with Microsoft (Windows Live ID), and a host of other offers. 

Unlike Windows Live services, there won’t be any separate Microsoft Account brand to access same services on different platform. Microsoft Account will be deeply integrated with Windows 8, Windows Phone, Metro Style apps and other web platform services. So that user can have seamless  Windows Experience on any platform you choose. For Example, when you add a contact in one place, it shows up in the cloud and shared across Windows Phone, Windows 8, Hotmail, Messenger, and SkyDrive so on.

Once you are login to Windows 8, you are already connected to the cloud. Your PC setting roam along with you. So you can log in to a new PC and get start from where you left.Along with a Microsoft account, everyone gets a SkyDrive, which is cloud storage for documents, photos, your phone’s camera roll, and settings from your PC.

The chart below breaks down Microsoft’s software and services in the new world of Windows 8:

Service	Windows 8	Windows Phone	Web/HTML 5 (live.com)	API (dev. live.com)	Earlier Versions
Account	Microsoft account	Microsoft account	Account.live.com	OAUTH	Windows Live ID, Passport
Storage/ Docs	SkyDrive app, SkyDrive Desktop	SkyDrive app, Office app	SkyDrive.com	REST, JSON	FolderShare, Live Mesh, Windows Live Mesh
Email	Mail app	Mail app	Hotmail.com	EAS	Windows Live Mail, Outlook Express
Calendar	Calendar app	Calendar app	Calendar.live.com	EAS, REST	Windows Live Mail, Windows Calendar
Contacts	People app	People app	People.live.com	EAS, REST	Windows Contacts
Messaging	Messaging app	Messaging app	Integrated in Hotmail and SkyDrive	XMPP	MSN Messenger
Photos/ Videos	Photos app, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker	Photos app, Camera Roll	Photos.live.com	REST, JSON (via SkyDrive)	Windows Live Photo Gallery, Windows Live Movie Maker

 

Some of these Applications powered by cloud services include Mail, Calendar, People, Photos, Messaging, and SkyDrive are now available in Windows 8 Consumer Preview and also  Windows Phone comes with the same set of apps, powered by cloud services, and connected to your Microsoft account.

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