November 2, 2005

By Walt Zwirko / WFAA-TV

Computer Corner is a weekly video report examining the latest trends in technology. Helpful links are listed. Walt Zwirko reports from WFAA-TV in Dallas.

With competitors like Yahoo and Google offering easy-to-use, feature-rich, customizable, online megasites, Microsoft this week introduced its own version.

It's called Windows Live, and it's a "beta" version, meaning it's a work in progress.

After a simple registration process, the streamlined interface lets you add content to a customized home page. The concept is similar to but much more limited than My Yahoo, which remains one of the best ways for you to create your own "home page" featuring information you select.

Content choices on Windows Live include news and information feeds from a variety of well-known, pre-selected sources like ESPN, USA Today, The New York Times and the BBC. Just click on the ones you like and drag them over to the main part of the screen.

If your favorite source isn't listed in the Live directory, use the search function to find it. I was able to subscribe to the Computer Corner RSS feed this way.

The selected feeds appear on your Windows Live home page in modules. Clicking on a headline takes you to the originating site for the full story.

I really like the way you can easily drag and rearrange the modules on your Windows Live home page; My Yahoo also permits customization, but changing the layout is a much more laborious task, involving clicking over to another page and moving lists and columns around.

Windows Live also has a Favorites section that lets you collect and arrange your personal collection of must-see Web sites. If you use Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, you can even export your existing bookmarks so it's available wherever you can log in to Windows Live.

At the Windows Live Safety Center, you can park your PC for free online services that include a scan to clean up unwanted files and a tune-up to boost performance.

For the time being, Windows Live has no advertising whatsoever (although there are a few promotional messages for Microsoft products and services) and the user interface is clean, intuitive and fast.

Microsoft says it also intends to offer Office Live early next year as a way for small businesses to establish an online presence, along with online tools that will work together with traditional Microsoft Office applications. Office Live will offer a free, basic, ad-supported service, but there will also be paid options for enhanced features.

Windows Live is an interesting combination of parts that don't quite work together yet. For some reason, there's no place to click on the Windows Live Favorites or Windows Live Safety Center pages to go back to the main Windows Live page. It is a beta version, after all.

So while I'm not ready to abandon My Yahoo yet, I will be keeping an eye on what's happening at Windows Live.

The price is right for new office software

You may expect to pay hundreds of dollars for a suite of office software, but you're about to find out how to get it for free.

OpenOffice.org is the address for a totally free suite of office productivity software.

The just-released OpenOffice.org 2.0 includes everything you need, including a word processor and a spreadsheet, along with an easy access quick starter.

What don't you get?

Well, there's nobody to call if you've got a problem.

But the free-software community has plenty of help available online.

OpenOffice.org 2.0 is available for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and other operating systems.