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Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 Hits Beta

July 08, 2010
By Lance Whitney, Journalist, IT Consultant, Web Developer

Microsoft (News - Alert) recently released the beta of its new Windows Live Essentials Wave 4, which offers updated versions of Live Mail, Messenger, Live Sync, and a few other handy tools. Though I was curious about all the applications, I was most anxious to check out the new version of Live Sync, which I wrote about in a previous column. The company's Windows Live blog offers a few details on the new version of Live Essentials. But to get the full feel you may want to download and try out the new beta yourself.

 
You can download the Wave 4 beta from Microsoft's Windows Live Essentials beta page. Upon triggering the wlsetup-webc.exe file, you'll be given a choice of which applications you want to install, including Messenger, Photo Gallery and Movie Maker, Sync, Bing bar, Mail, Writer, Family Safety, and Messenger Companion.
 
Though some of the programs are geared more toward consumers or home users, applications such as Messenger and Sync can definitely be of value in a business or corporate environment. Since Live Sync is the program I use the most often, I thought I'd offer a quick overview on its new beta edition.
 
The new beta of Windows Live Sync looks good. As I discussed in a prior column, I use Live Sync to keep documents, browser favorites, and other files in sync among different computers. Though Live Sync has always proven a useful tool, it has had a few limitations, which the new beta seems to address.
 
First off, the initial interface is more user friendly. Upon launching the Live Sync beta, you're greeted with a screen that identifies your current computer and displays a list of default folders that you might want to sync, including Downloads, Internet Explorer Favorites, and Microsoft Office styles and template. You can also browse your PC to set up other specific folders to sync, such as Documents, Music, or Pictures. After you've chosen a folder, Live Sync displays a list of devices with which you can sync that folder, including other PCs and your online SkyDrive storage space.
 
If you need to add devices to keep in sync, the tool will take you to your Live Sync Website where you can add computers and smartphones (a nice touch), view a list of synced folders, and make other adjustments. Though I need to spend more time playing around with the new Live Sync, so far it seems fairly intuitive and throws in some useful enhancements.
 
I did find the initial synchronization to be extremely slow, far slower than in the current version of Live Sync. But this is a beta product after all, so it's a safe bet Microsoft will be tweaking the tool further.
 
Stayed tuned for more information about Live Sync, Messenger, and the other Live Essential tools when their final versions hit the market later this year.

Lance Whitney is a journalist, IT consultant, and Web Developer with almost 20 years of experience in the IT world. To read more of Lance's articles, please visit his columnist page

Edited by Alice Straight

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