First up its the home screen which presents all the information one would expect in a clean and obvious fashion.

When clicking on the + next to the date presents a list of all the hours and any events on during the day. I presume the down arrow will take the user to the specific event.

Next up is a view of an event showing all the information that is likely to be needed.

And editing or adding an event presents the following screen.

Viewing a week is similar to the home page however days are listed even if there are no events on those days.

Month view allows the user to see which days have events on them and I guess users wont actually be able to jump to a day from this screen hence the “Go to date” at the bottom of the page.

When clicking “Go to date” a new calendar appears where the user can select a day to jump too.

Finally Liveside had an image of the options screen which only seems to allow users to select their time zone and which calendars appear.

I am glad that there are some image of the Calendar on a mobile browser, its certainly something that has been missing from the online suite and I just hope that there will be a way to sync the calendar on a Windows Mobile 6.5 device with the Windows Live service; I know its coming in Windows Phone 7 but it’d still be nice to have now.

Another thing to like about these images is the focus on touch with nice big buttons to access features rather than requiring a stylus or numbers all over the place. Wave 4 is looking increasingly like the biggest update yet to the suite and although a beta is still weeks away I am getting more excited about it.

I think the reason we have heard so little about Windows Live Wave 4 is because aspects of the suite are closely related to Windows Mobile 7 and as such Microsoft are reluctant to talk about it until their new mobile OS has been announced and demonstrated. Below I discuss some of the ideas I have had in which Windows Live Wave 4 could, hopefully, integrate with Windows Mobile 7.

Windows Live Devices?

We know Microsoft will be adding a new service, Devices, to the suite when they release wave 4 which suggests to me that many different gadgets, possibly including TVs, will be able to link up to Windows Live. It is also possible that aspects of the devices can be controlled, in some way, through the service. Currently Windows Live links up well with Digital Photo Frames, through FrameIt, and I expect the devices service to incorporate them. It is also understood that Live Mesh will become part of the Windows Live family so we see a place to add computers and mobiles to the service just like in Live Mesh. Finally I both believe and hope that the Microsoft My Phone service will utilise the Live Mesh technology, therefore become a Windows Live service; which should reduce the replication of data, such as contacts (currently Windows Live and My Phone don’t use the same list of contacts). To that end Microsoft won’t want to show off Windows Live Wave 4 yet as it would show the level of integration of phone storage of future Windows Phones and Windows Live.

If Microsoft is serious about the cloud then this is something they really need to do, by combining all their online services into a single place with the ability to centrally control linked devices and their storage it will make using Windows Phones and Windows Live much simpler for consumers.

Windows Live only services on mobiles?

If we now look at Windows 7 we saw Microsoft remove many of the default applications like Mail and Calendar so the company couldn’t be sued for bundling applications with the OS. Now the only way to access similar applications from Microsoft is to download the Windows Live suite. Microsoft could well follow a similar idea with Windows Mobile, but not for fear of being sued. It makes more sense to me to have a single calendar accessible on any Microsoft platform, whether that is Windows, Windows Mobile or on the cloud; the same can be said for contacts, tasks and several other aspects of Microsoft services. Instead of Microsoft providing downloadable applications to access these services I expect they will embed them within the OS with mobile calendar being the Windows Live Calendar. Some people could be concerned with the integration then between Windows Mobile and Office Outlook, however through the merging of Office and Windows Live in the cloud, through Web Apps, I can see a closer integration between Windows Live and Office Outlook.

It makes sense for Microsoft to only provide highly integrated services on their phones which link up with the cloud services of Windows Live; for example I would love to be able to sync my Windows Live Calendar with the calendar on my Windows Phone (why this has not yet been done still amazes me).

Windows Live going Social?

From job postings we know Microsoft are aiming to make Windows Mobile social by integrating several Social Networks deep within the OS, this could indeed mean an expansion for Windows Live. Microsoft My Phone already allows sharing photos on several Social Networking Sites from within the service. If then, as I predict, My Phone becomes part of Windows Live Microsoft will be making their online suite of services even more social. It makes sense that Microsoft would use Windows Live as the platform to share content, for a start they already have a good Photo service which I expect to soon be joined by a Video service. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if we see the launch of a URL shortening service from Microsoft, probably along the lines of WinLi.ve. Messenger is one of the most used Instant Messaging services and if Microsoft were able to leverage those social interactions through more aspects of Windows Live they could stand to gain quite a lot. Again if Microsoft were to use Windows Live as the means of consumers sharing content to Social Networks then they wouldn’t want to show parts of Windows Live before Windows Mobile.

For me it would seem Microsoft is gearing Windows Live up to be a platform for sharing content, they already have a lot of websites partnered up to allow people to keep informed of “What Is New” with their contacts; it would therefore be logical for Microsoft to provide a means of reversing the exchange of information and allowing posting of information to those services via Windows Live.

I am really looking forward to information on both products from Microsoft and would hope my ideas would only scratch the surface of what Microsoft has really been up too. I guess we shan’t be hearing much with regards either of the products for over a month until the Mobile World Congress kicks off in Barcelona on 15^th February; seems a long way off yet.

When I travel home it’s great to be able to go on my netbook in my bedroom, garden or kitchen and access my files from any one of my PCs, one just upstairs (yes I could just use the home network but that’s not the point) or one a few hundred of miles away in my flat.

What I use

I guess it would be best to start with the basic way to keep things in sync and that would be through the Windows Live service. This offers many ways to keep files, email, pictures, contacts, calendar, etc all synchronised from wherever you are. Obviously most of this is replicated very well by other companies and is not something new either. However the ability to use a single login name, Windows Live ID, to access the above list of services is great, it saves having to login in to many different types. When using multiple services one has to sign in on many websites offered by Google, Yahoo and others which is gets tiresome when logging in from different locations. I also like the UI and ability to swap between the different offerings so easily and when used with the application counterparts of these services it becomes a truly great way to keep a limited amount of things in sync.

As I have mentioned Windows Live the next logical service to look at would be SkyDrive as it is part of the Windows Live suite of services. This service allow a user to upload up to 25GB of data to “the cloud”; the cloud being online storage that is accessible from anywhere and its physical location is on servers in datacentres managed by some of the biggest names in tech, depending on the service in question. SkyDrive allows permission customisation to each folder to keep it open to everyone or make it only for the user. This is a free service which is great for such a large amount of online storage as some competition would make the user pay for a similar service. This is not a syncing service per say, but it can be used to store files that you may want to access wherever you are. For me this is a good service, however I hardly ever use it for reasons you will see below.

Another part of the Windows Live suite is Sync which is aimed at keeping all your pictures synchronised across multiple PCs but can be used to keep other files synchronised. I don’t use this service as, to me, it seems to have a very narrow focus but I am sure for some people this is great.

Windows Live wasn’t really designed to keep everything you need in sync, how ever it does have services that, in a lesser or great degree, offer syncing services so as you would expect Microsoft do have their own, dedicated, syncing service called Live Mesh. I use Mesh all of the time as it runs so quietly in the background syncing any folders you have set it to sync with “the cloud” and any other computers you have set it sync with. The service is great and now I am able to access any file I need where ever I am around the world and on any of my computers. It works by letting the user create Live Mesh Folders which can be accessed from the Live Desktop on the internet or by downloading the client software and then setting any folder on your PC, Mac or phone as a Live Mesh folder. This folder then acts like a normal folder, but with a sidebar to tell you all the necessary info, and keeps any file or folder within the Live Mesh folder up to date across your Mesh. A very simple, tidy way to make sure you have access to all that you need.

Talking of phones in the above paragraph there is a new service from Microsoft, MyPhone, aimed at keeping all the information (contacts, text, appointments, etc) and files (photos and files) on your Windows Mobile phone synced to “the cloud” so you can access it even if you don’t have your phone or if it gets lost or stolen. A new phone can download all this information from “the cloud” and it will be just like your old phone, aside from the apps you may have installed on it. I have this on my phone and like Live Mesh I don’t need to worry about it as it syncs silently at night.

Wherever I am in the world (with internet access) from the kitchen of a holiday home in Australia to my kitchen at home or my flat I am able to:

• access any of my files I need from anywhere in the world (via Live Mesh’s Live Desktop and/or Skydrive)
• access and view my photos collections online (via Windows Live Photos)
• view my emails, contacts and upcoming appointments (via Windows Live Hotmail, People and Calendar)
• access all the data I will need from my phone (via MyPhone)

I am also able to access some of the services even when offline such as:

• files and folders previously synced by Live Mesh
• emails, contacts and upcoming appointments by using the Windows Live Essentials Suite

I love being able to sync my files and folders but there are just a few things that I think need to be done to really make it a great set of offerings from Microsoft.

What I want to see

So with all the services it is possible to keep completely up to date but I don’t find this collection to be as simple and unified as it should and could be.

What I want to see is a single service provided by Microsoft that offers all the above and more so that it truly is the best way to keep everything synchronised. This should be done by putting everything under the Live Mesh service so having all online storage provided by Microsoft in one place with a larger storage, maybe 50GB, still all for free. By doing this I could go to one site and see all the files and folders on my PCs and my Phone and all the folders I have synced only to the Live Desktop and at the same time have everything syncing to everything else, which currently isn’t possible (I can only view the files and info on my phone from the internet on not on my PC).

In combining all the services it would make sense to make Live Mesh more like a desktop and allow better viewing capabilities of media on it, which would then negate the need for a separate service of Windows Live Photos. This is entirely possible as the service will support apps and so media apps could be written that use all the features of Photos and more making Live Mesh even better.

I don’t think that Windows Live Hotmail, People and Calendar should be combined in combined Live Mesh though as they are very different from the other services and shouldn’t be bundled with them.

To make the whole experience of Syncing better I believe that the service will need to be more of an extension to Windows and no a completely separate application and service. This could be done by having Live Mesh as a virtual drive which would really allow users to use Live Mesh as though it was part of the OS. By making it so integrated into Windows new users to the services would not be reluctant to try something new as it would feel just like Windows which in turn would likely see a rise in use of all the component parts of the combined Live Mesh.

By having a single service and site it would make for a much more streamlined and easy way to keep ones files and information synchronised across a large number of devices and accessible wherever they were.

One final thing

When looking ahead it is entirely conceivable that such changes are made to the services as we know that Windows 7 will be released on October 22^nd and I would expect some of Microsoft’s other services and products to be updated or released around that time. Live Mesh will surely be released over the next few months as it has been a Technical Preview and Beta for over a year now and much be getting very stable and mature, so perhaps they are busy adding in new features. Also MyPhone will have been in beta for quite a few months for the launch of Window 7 so it may too be finalised for the launch, maybe even being incorporated in another service.

Another thing to note is that Windows Live Wave 4 will hitting before the year is out and that within the update changes that are made could well be done to enhance the services, include greater integration via the linking of IDs to the OS and maybe even, as I hope, combine all of the Windows Live and other syncing services into one offering.

My thanks to @Adacosta for help and tips.