Yes, it’s still a beta, but they’re looking good. Microsoft has released the latest version of their Live Essentials pack, including Messenger, Mail, Writer, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Family Safety, Toolbar and more. Get them here.
My main interest was Windows Live Writer, which is one of my must have applications that just keeps getting better and better (which I may have mentioned before). But this time I actually download some of the other parts to see whether they are up to scratch. My opinion: none too shabby. The Live toolbar is moderately useful, and I use Mail for syncing up my News feeds. I have to say that Photo Gallery is average though, and Movie Maker seems to have gone from mildy functional to almost single-functional. I know people ask for simplicity, but I’ll be interested to see whether the feedback Microsoft gets on this one indicates they’ve taken the concept just a little too far.
Here’s my obligatory Live Writer screenshot – I just love this program.
