Windows Live Writer, a free WYSIWYG blog editor that works with multiple blogging services, makes it easier for users to create and edit blog entries, even when offline. It's also the latest example of how Microsoft is embracing online services while simultaneously promoting the usefulness of desktop software that links to those services.

Pushing the Thick Client

Writer, which entered public beta testing in Aug. 2006, is a free, downloadable desktop application that offers a simple way to create, edit, and post blog entries. It works not only with Microsoft's Windows Live Spaces blogging service, but also with any service that supports the Metaweblog or Movable Type APIs, including popular services such as Blogger (owned by Google), LiveJournal, TypePad, and WordPress.

After a user enters a blog URL during setup, Writer displays a blank entry with all the user's settings (e.g., background, formatting) in place. Users may also install the Windows Live Toolbar with Writer to add a "Blog Me" button to Internet Explorer; when users click that button from any Web page, Writer will open a new blog entry with a link to the Web page. Entries created with Writer appear within the application exactly as they will appear online, and buttons at the top of the screen make it easy to change text formatting or insert links. This saves users from having to know HTML, although the HTML created by Writer is fairly clean and can easily be edited in Writer's HTML view mode.

Writer also includes dialog boxes that help users insert photos from a hard drive or another Web page, and insert a map from Microsoft's Windows Live Local service. An SDK allows developers to extend the application—for example, a developer could extend Writer to let users embed video files in their blog entries, or a blog tracking service (such as Technorati) could extend it to allow users to tag their entries.

Entries can be uploaded with a single click; once the entries are posted, users can edit and repost them, although they cannot access blog entries that weren't created with Writer.

The most curious aspect of Writer is that it makes little effort to promote Windows Live services, but instead allows users to access many competing services. In this way, it resembles Windows Live Mail Desktop, a desktop e-mail client that entered public beta testing in Aug. 2006 and that allows users to consolidate multiple e-mail accounts (including POP3, Google's Gmail, and Yahoo Mail accounts) in a single client. Although some of these Windows Live desktop applications will earn revenue by including advertisements, they may serve a larger strategic purpose as well: showing users that thick-client applications connected to online services can offer a superior user experience than Web browsers can.

Resources

Download the Windows Live Writer beta at ideas.live.com/programPage.aspx?versionId=4372c8c2-b76f-4d44-aea1-9835b61d8dc1.

The Windows Live Writer team's blog, which includes a link to the SDK, is at windowslivewriter.spaces.live.com.

Windows Live Mail Desktop is available for download at ideas.live.com/programpage.aspx?versionId=6ac2bed2-b5a4-4a0a-a897-e36dd191a9f4.