I’ve been using the Beta version of Windows Live Writer for the past couple of days. In a nutshell, Live Writer allows you to compose blog entries in an application and post them directly to your blog of choice.
This sort of app is nothing new – there are tons of apps out there to help you publish to a blog without using a web browser – but it’s the first one I’ve come across that supports Windows Live Spaces “out of the box”.
Although the Live Spaces web-site has become easier to navigate and much more useable for posting blog entries since it’s first days (and wow, was it awful back in the day – I regular lost tons of blog entries when you tried to post, it didn’t work within Firefox reliably, etc.) Live Writer gives the ability to be able to compose something in a nice WYSIWYG style interface, insert pictures, save draft copies for later, and so on.
It also allows you to easily modify already published blog postings – so if you post something and notice a mistake, you can rectify the mistake and re-post without any duplicate entries or needing to go to the site to make the changes.
All in all – am impressed with Live Writer, perhaps impressed… and perhaps a little bit relieved that I don’t need to use the Live web-site to post entries anymore!
One positive effect it will have on me is the ability to compose longer blog entries. When I’ve got time to blog, it’s usually whilst undertaking some other task (waiting for a server to reboot, etc.) or is fraught with interruptions like ‘phone calls, so the ability to be able to save a draft of what I’ve written and go back to it 5 minute, 30 minutes or even a day later is nice.
Windows Live Writer can be downloaded for free.
Richard Tubb is one of the best-known experts within the global IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) community. He launched and sold his own MSP business before creating a leading MSP media and consultancy practice. Richard helps IT business owner’s take back control by freeing up their time and building a business that can run without them. He’s the author of the book “The IT Business Owner’s Survival Guide” and writer of the award-winning blog www.tubblog.co.uk
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2 thoughts on Looking at the latest Windows Live Writer Beta
MATT
26TH JANUARY 2007 15:41:54
Good info! I'll be trying this out ASAP
RICHARD
26TH JANUARY 2007 17:01:13
I think the beta has been out for a while, but it's only through the blogsphere that I came across it.I guess like Google, and their many many gadgets, the Windows Live team can't push everything at once either!