I wrote about how Google lets you personalize your own search homepage. Now I found out Microsoft is working on the same thing called
Windows Live. I hate to admit this, being a google fanboy, but it's better. The page is cleaner, has more customization (colour, column, page number) and will soon have MSN messenger integration.
Note that Yahoo is scheming their own, similar, beta homepage.
The lines are drawn and the battle has begun. It seems that each company is providing a suite of programs to synergize and bully us into brand loyalty. Before you could sample Yahoo mail, Google search and Microsoft chat, now it'd be odd (for the obsessive compulsives in us) and inconvienant not to collect a set. For example, although I like Microsoft's new homepage, it doesn't intergrate well with my Gmail and Gmail calendar so unless I want to switch to Hotmail, it'd be simplier to stay with Google's personalized homepage. But although I will stay with my Google homepage, I'm sad that I won't be able to throw in MSN Messenger. So if the company can convince you with just one quality program, you might desire the whole set.
EVIL.
Check out Windows massive suite
here.
Two programs to keep an eye out for are updates to their MSN messenger and Hotmail.
Windows Live Messenger - The next incarnation of MSN Messenger is in its beta stage. First thing I did was got rid of the tab buttons on the left side and the annoying video carousal on the bottom. The cool thing about the new MSN is that you can send offline messages and people will receive it the next time they log on.
Yes, finally, it's like ICQ now.
Windows Live Mail - Built from scratch, this is Window's next generation Hotmail. It seems to copy most of Gmail's features but adds some. For example, drag and drop capabilities and right click menu bars (emulating desktop mail programs such as Outlook).
Google has interesting programs coming also. They already owns the self publishing website, Blogger (from which this site is hosted on), but now they are coming out with
Google Page Creator, which is similar to Geocities. It's free webpage hosting for dummies. WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). No HTML required to make your own webpages.
Google Analytics can anaylze webpage statistics for you. See who visits your site and how they came upon it.
I could go on and on about the neat things that are in beta stages, but I'm sure I have lost everyone at "The lines are drawn and the battle has begun...."
