Windows Live

Just saw it posted on rb now and it looks very cool.

When I saw you can import an OPML file (i.e. import the list of feeds you're subscribed to in another RSS reader) I thought "Ah typical Microsoft, you probably can't export your feeds from Windows Live" but you can! That's pretty cool.

I think the Windows Live desktop is a good idea but I don't see a way to categorise feeds so you only view, say, security blogs at any one time. Instead it seems like you are expected to just scroll through all the feeds you've added. That can't be right, can it? I don't see a way to mark individual items on a feed as read and therefore hide them either.

You can move stuff around, but only above or below or beside existing stuff, it's not like a proper "desktop".

I can't think of what information I'd like on an online desktop.. Like I wouldn't care about seeing my buddy list while I'm reading emails.. or would I.. hmm.. it's definitely something I'll give a go anyway.

The thing I love about Windows Live is Windows Live Favourites. It's something I've wanted for a long long time.. an easy way to keep track of my favourites no matter what pc I am at. The site also allows you to export your favourites in a format which can be viewed offline as a HTML file. I love it.

The hardest part of trying out new technologies is that to really get the benefit of them (for example, this portable favourites storage idea) you have to change the way you work or use the computer. I am used to storing my favourites in my browser and I don't know if I would bother with the extra step of having to first go to a specific website, then log in before I could save a url. For that reason I can see it being a while before I being to use Live Favourites as a habit. Does anyone know if, when you import favourites, it merges them with existing favourites?

Overall though it's a cool new idea from Microsoft and I'm looking forward to using it more and seeing what gadgets come out for it. The new Live Mail should be cool too. Way too early to say if this is Microsoft just firing out a few small products to try to keep up with Google or whether they genuinely want to get involved in a big way in this area I think.