Windows Live Space Powered by WordPress Now

Rather than continuing to push its currently limited blogging platform, Spaces, Microsoft has partnered with Automattic to provide WordPress.com blogs to all Live Spaces users.

Craving expandability and better spam protection, the Live team chose WordPress as its ideal platform partner due to WordPress’ impressive track record. Powering 8.5% of the web, almost 26 million sites, WordPress and WordPress.com serve over 250 million unique visitors every month. By developing this partnership, Microsoft has not only provided a solid service to their users but also has gained a large share of the personal blogging space.

Utilizing Messenger Connect, WordPress.com is changing as well. All blogs can be linked to a Live account, serving updates and media to the users’ news feed for full Messenger integration. This will not affect current RSS feed sharing, yet adds another avenue for connectivity.
If new Windows Live users, or those with out a blog, choose to create one, they will automatically be redirected to the cross-branded WordPress.com/Windows Live site. A new blog will be created like normal, but just as migrated pages, will be linked to the user’s Live account..

By choosing an established platform rather than attempting to develop their own, Microsoft has made a smart move, both financially and from the users’ standpoint. Many Spaces users may be familiar with WordPress already, and if they aren’t, it provides an avenue to learn and expand into a very robust platform. Also, by integrating WordPress.com’s currently impressive userbase, Microsoft will gain significantly from the potential increase in advertising revenue. This looks to be a win for all parties involved.

Microsoft Security Essential Available for Small Business in October

Microsoft said on Wednesday that it will make Security Essentials, its free anti-virus software, available to small businesses in October.

The announcement is a u-turn in licensing from earlier this year. Microsoft originally insisted that the product was strictly for home use and OEMs building home retail machines. Microsoft’s change of heart means small businesses will be able to download and install the product on up to 10 PCs in early October.

Microsoft says the reason is due to a change in the End User Licensing Agreement (EULA) that allows small business customers to legally download the software onto individually managed business PCs. “This new availability will allow small businesses to take advantage of Microsoft’s no-cost antimalware service that will help them save time, save money and remain productive while protecting them from viruses, spyware and other malicious threats”, wrote Microsoft’s Eric Foster in a blog posting on Wednesday.

Microsoft is currently readying a new version of Security Essentials. An early beta, released in July this year, shows that the future version will include a new protection engine and inspection system. Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is designed to work on Windows XP, Vista and 7 and protects end users against virus threats and spy ware. MSE is Microsoft’s free anti-virus and anti-spyware product that replaced Microsoft’s paid Windows Live OneCare subscription service which was withdrawn last year.

IE 9 Doesn't Require 7 SP1

Update: Microsoft reached out to us via email saying that IE9 will run on either Windows 7 RTM or Service Pack 1. It seems like IE9 could come out earlier than next year, and won’t actually require SP1 to work;

I want to follow up to let you know that the TechNet FAQ has been updated to provide further clarification about requirements for Internet Explorer 9.  Internet Explorer 9 will work on Windows 7 RTW and Windows 7 SP1.  When you install Internet Explorer 9 on a system that has Windows 7 RTM installed, additional operating system components are included as part of the installation of Internet Explorer 9.  Those “additional operating system components” will be part of Windows 7 SP1.  Either way, this will be a seamless process for the user.  Just wanted to make sure you had the latest.

Microsoft continues to push that it’s not essential for businesses to wait for SP1 and IE9, but to deploy now and roll out these updates later, when they are released. Microsoft explained on The Windows Blog why users shouldn’t wait for SP1 or IE9 to upgrade.

This gives an estimate of when a final IE9 release is expected, since Windows 7 SP1 isn’t due out until some time in the first half of 2011, but no specific date has been announced. A beta of Service Pack 1 is currently available.