Received the Press Release from Microsoft on Windows Live Essentials. This is an upgraded version of the current version now. It has a slew of new features like facial recognition and extra. Read the Press Release.
Microsoft Previews Updated Windows Live Essentials
Windows Live Essentials connects Windows 7 to the cloud
SINGAPORE – June 4, 2010 – Microsoft Corp. today previewed the new Windows Live Essentials – a free suite of software that makes it simple for consumers to create and share polished photos and movies, organize email and stay in touch with their closest friends. Featuring significant updates to Windows Live Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Mail, Messenger and the addition of Windows Live Sync, the new Windows Live Essentials brings together the power of the PC and cloud to complete the Windows 7 experience.
As the ways people organize, connect and share with each other continue to shift towards the cloud, the PC continues to remain a powerful and private hub for many important activities, including managing mail, organizing photos, movies and listening to music. The new Windows Live Essentials brings these trends together by blending together the best of the PC with the best of the cloud.
According to Internet World Statistics, the Asia-Pacific region saw a 523% growth rate in Internet users between 2000 and 2009, higher than that of Europe or North America. Separately, according to eMarketer, by 2012, 4 out of 10 people online will be from Asia, while only 2 out of 10 will be from North America. These statistics show that Asians are leading the online revolution, which in turn means that they are more naturally inclined to using the cloud computing model to store and access information.
“We know people want advanced capabilities when it comes to managing photos and creating movies, but don’t want to spend hours doing it. With Windows Live, efficiency and agility are key, giving you the power to create and share photos, videos and other information in a matter of clicks,” said Haresh Khoobchandani, Senior Director, Business and Marketing Organisation, Microsoft Singapore. “We recognize people are increasingly communicating and sharing online. With this in mind, we designed Windows Live Essentials to connect Windows 7 to the cloud, making it easier for people to do more of what they want.”
Today, the average consumer has scattered photos and movies across their PC, phone and various inboxes. With this in mind, Microsoft significantly updated the new Windows Live Photo Gallery and Movie Maker with intuitive tools for organizing photos and movies, in addition to providing consumers with the tools to polish and then share their content online. This includes:
- Photo Fuse, a cutting-edge technology developed by Microsoft Research that allows people to take the best parts of similar photos and fuse them together into one “perfect” photo
- Facial Recognition, innovative face detection technology that automatically identifies people in photos based on past tags, so it’s easy to quickly find the perfect photo to share
- Retouch, a feature that gets rid of blemishes, scratches, bruises and stains on photos in a few clicks
- Batch Auto Adjust fine-tunes the exposure, color balance and sharpness in photos in a matter of moments, allowing people to take their photos’ quality from good to great without specialized editing skills or expensive software
- New Auto Movie themes allow consumers to add even more transitions, in addition to a title, captions, and a music soundtrack to photos and videos in mere minutes
- Precision Video and Audio Editing make it simple for consumers to find the sweet spot of each video or audio clip
- High-Definition Formats (720p and 1080p) make movies look even more polished and professional
- Additional Publishing Options including one-click uploads to Facebook, Flickr, YouTube or SkyDrive, or the option to save the movie onto a portable device, such as a Windows® phone or Zune HD player, give consumers even more ways to share with the people they care about
In designing the new Windows Live Essentials, we devoted a significant amount of time to listening to consumers and considering their feedback,” added Haresh Khoobchandani. “We believe the 136 million consumers in Asia already using Windows Live will be delighted with the new Essentials – a free update that will complete the Windows7 experience.”
Finally, Microsoft unveiled the new Windows Live Sync, a connected application that syncs files and folders across multiple PCs, including the Apple Mac platform. With Sync, consumers can also access their files and folders on the web – even if their PC is offline. Sync also provides remote access to your PCs from over the web from any Internet-connected PC.
Learn more about the new Windows Live Essentials at http://www.windowslivepreview.com.
The current Windows Live Essentials can be downloaded at http://download.live.com, with the beta versions of these programs rolling out in the coming months.
For more information, videos and photos, please visit the Microsoft News Center
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.]
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