Office Live Workspaces Community

I hadn’t realised until today but the Office Live Workspaces (OLW) team are attempting to build a fledgling social network around their product called Office Live Workspace Community. They have the notion of friends, sharing of RSS feeds, personal bio, private messages and avatars. You can see my public profile here: http://officeliveworkspacecommunity.com/user/Profile.aspx?UserID=3415

Similar to Zune Social, you log in with your Windows Live ID. This is good news, it means that we can expect to see integration with Windows Live services in the future. Here’s some ideas that I submitted on the OLW forums:

• If I give someone access to one of my Office Live Workspace (OLW) documents, I would like them to be notified on their Live Spaces "What’s New" feed.
• When I’m choosing people that I can share OLW documents with I’d like to be able to choose from my list of live contacts
• If someone edits a document in a workspace that I have access to, tell me (or at least give me the option to be told) via Live Alerts.
• Upload attachments in Hotmail/Windows Live mail directly into OLW
• If I have due dates set on my tasks, make them show up in Windows Live Calendar
• Same with event lists, make them appear in Windows Live Calendar. Conversely, let all my Live Events appear as an event list in OLW
• There’s a notion of ‘friends’ in OLW. These should show up in my Live Contacts. If that person is already in my contact list (i.e. the Live ID is already there) then there shouldn’t be a duplicate.
• Moreover, I’d like my OLW friends to automatically appear in a special group called "OLW Friends" or something.
• Provide a gadget that enables me to display the contents of a OLW on my Live Space or on http://my.live.com
• OLW has the notion of contact lists. I don’t think you should do this given that Live Contacts exists but if you ARE going to do it, allow people to import contacts from Live Contacts
• Hotmail should provide the ability to save a document to OLW
• Allow me to see if someone is online by leveraging Messenger Presence API and the Messenger IM control (http://dev.live.com/messenger/).
• If I’m on a web page somewhere that has a link to an Office document on it, provide a WL Toolbar button that enables me to upload it to OLW
• Allow me to import files that are on my skydrive

Its the usual sort of stuff that I always ask for and as usual I’m excited by the possibilities that exist by leveraging the Windows Live ID. Its not all good however, I don’t like the fact that I’m asked to supply information that I’ve supplied elsewhere.

Microsoft already know my name, location, friends, birthday, avatar and interests because its in my Live Profile. Isn’t one of the benefits of Live Services supposed to be the fact you only have to supply this information once? Admittedly Windows Live Data doesn’t yet expose much of this information – this needs to change as soon as possible. Are you listening Angus?

-Jamie

Windows Live Tags: clubhouse, story, office live workspaces

Another Zune idea – IM from Zune Social

The idea I posted yesterday regarding subscribing to podcasts via Zune Social got a bite so I’m posting another one to see if I can get some visibility of it. I originally put it on the Zune Social forums but as usual I haven’t got much feedback there.

 

Zune Social is cool in that you can see who likes the same music as you and meet them etc… but any conversation that you have is via messages that you leave in their inbox.

Hence, I’d love the ability to IM people from within Zune Social. The newly released Messenger Presence API and Messenger IM Control (http://dev.live.com/messenger/) could easily provide this ability. So my request is that [Zune Social] gives us the ability to see if people are online and IM them from Zune Social (to all the privacy advocates out there…don’t worry…the Presence API puts you in charge of who can IM you.)

Moreover, I’d like the ability to add people to my list of contacts. If they automatically appeared in a contact group called (e.g.) "Zune Social" then so much the better.

Also, this functionality should be available from the Zune software as well.

 

Now that there’s so many Windows Live properties out there, and the APIs are coming thick and fast, THIS is the new battleground. How can other services (both Microsoft and none-Microsoft) leverage these services for the greater good. Expect to see me publish a lot more ideas like these over the coming months.

Thoughts?

cheers

Jamie

 

HD View on show in Detroit

I’ve spoken before about HDView. Now check out some shots from the Detroit Motor show where its being used. Pretty cool!

 

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22641710/

 

(You’ll be prompted to install the HD Viewer)

 

-Jamie

 

Idea! Subscribe to a podcast without Zune software!

Here’s an idea I just had for subscribing to podcasts for my Zune.

 

I just found a podcast online that I wanted to subscribe to but couldn’t because I’m at work and I have Zune installed at home. Not a real problem, I just set a calendar reminder to remind me to do it later…but it occurred to me that this experience could be a lot better.

How about giving me the ability to subscribe to a podcast somewhere at http://social.zune.net. Next time I log in to Zune on my computer at home it automatically checks to see if I’ve subscribed to anything online and synchronizes that subscription to my Zune software?

Dare I say it …. software + services!!!

-Jamie

 

P.S. Another idea here too: http://jamiethomson.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!550F681DAD532637!3203.entry
 

Do you understand Live ID? Does your mum?

Here’s a little Windows Live anecdote. I had a revealing conversation today with someone who sits next to me at work. She asked if I knew a way that she could easily transfer a file to her home because it was too big to be sent by email. I knew that she had a hotmail address so I pointed her at http://skydrive.live.com. She went to skydrive, signed-in, and within 30 seconds she had her file uploaded and ready for her to collect from home later. Great experience, great convenience…she was really pleased.

 

A short while later she said that she wanted to transfer the same file to her sister but still make sure that no-one else could get it so I replied "No problem, if she has an email address then you can give her permission to get the file" (standard skydrive functionality, right?)

 

My colleague then replied that wouldn’t work because her sister had an email address but it wasn’t a hotmail email address. She didn’t understand that you can sign up for a Live ID with ANY email address, it doesn’t have to be one issued by Microsoft.

 

This was quite revealing to me. I would class my colleague as a savvy computer user but the news that a Live ID could be set up for any email address was a revelation to her. She simply didn’t know about it.

 

Clearly the Windows Live team need to do a better job of selling the fact that ANYONE can sign-up for a Live ID. Assuming that there’s a lot of people out there that have the same supposition as my colleague there’s a massive group of people that Windows Live isn’t reaching and they need to do something about that.

 

-Jamie

 

P.S. She’ll be shocked when I tell her that I don’t have a Microsoft issued email address and yet I still use Hotmail.

Messenger pervades

The ability to send people instant messages on the Live Messenger platform is expanding. Already it is possible to send/receive from IMs from your XBox, its now possible from Windows Media Center, and I strongly suspect that instant messaging will be built into Zune Social soon as well.

As Messenger starts to permeate other Microsoft properties I believe the requirement to show different statuses to different groups of people becomes more important. I personally would like the ability to appear online to all my work colleagues but offline to everyone else so that I don’t get distracted whilst I’m at work; I foresee that people would like to (for example) appear online to all their Xbox buddies while they’re using XBox Live but offline to everyone else. This functionality has been requested by people since version 8.0 of Live Messenger but still it hasn’t been provided, I hope that changes in the upcoming version 9.0.

---

With this in mind  I have just posted the following suggestion to the forums at Zune Social:

Zune Social is cool in that you can see who likes the same music as you and meet them etc… but any conversation that you have is via messages that you leave in their [Zune Social] inbox.

Hence, I’d love the ability to IM people from within Zune Social. The newly released Messenger Presence API and Messenger IM Control (http://dev.live.com/messenger/) could easily provide this ability. So, my request is that you give us the ability to see if people are online and IM them from Zune Social (to all the privacy advocates out there…don’t worry…the Presence API puts you in charge of who can IM you.)

Moreover, I’d like the ability to add people to my list of contacts. If they automatically appeared in a contact group called (e.g.) "Zune Social" then so much the better.

If you’re a Zune Social member and you think this would be a good idea, click through and add your weight to my request.

cheers

Jamie

Zuneshine!

I forgot to say in my post about my Zune card yesterday, you can view my Zune Social profile at http://social.zune.net/member/jamiethomson. If you’re a Zune social member yourself, add me as a friend and get to laugh at some embarrassing plays that will doubtlessly pop up from time to time (I generally play my whole list on random and there’s a few skeletons in my music collection). More the merrier. cheers.

 

-Jamie

 http://zcards.zune.net/xweb/lx/swf/zunecard.swf

Pandora. A sad day.

I just received the following email from Tim Westergren at Pandora:

 

hi, it’s Tim,

This is an email I hoped I would never have to send.

As you probably know, in July of 2007 we had to block usage of Pandora outside the U.S. because of the lack of a viable license structure for Internet radio streaming in other countries. It was a terrible day. We did however hold out some hope that a solution might exist for the UK, so we left it unblocked as we worked diligently with the rights organizations to negotiate an economically workable license fee. After over a year of trying, this has proved impossible. Both the PPL (which represents the record labels) and the MCPS/PRS Alliance (which represents music publishers) have demanded per track performance minima rates which are far too high to allow ad supported radio to operate and so, hugely disappointing and depressing to us as it is, we have to block the last territory outside of the US.

Based upon the IP address from which you recently visited Pandora, it appears that you are listening from the UK. If you are, in fact, listening from the US, and are denied access from Pandora on or after January 15th please contact Pandora Support: pandora-support@pandora.com.

It continues to astound me and the rest of the team here that the industry is not working more constructively to support the growth of services that introduce listeners to new music and that are totally supportive of paying fair royalties to the creators of music. I don’t often say such things, but the course being charted by the labels and publishers and their representative organizations is nothing short of disastrous for artists whom they purport to represent – and by that I mean both well known and indie artists. The only consequence of failing to support companies like Pandora that are attempting to build a sustainable radio business for the future will be the continued explosion of piracy, the continued constriction of opportunities for working musicians, and a worsening drought of new music for fans. As a former working musician myself, I find it very troubling.

We have been told to sign these totally unworkable license rates or switch off, non-negotiable…so that is what we are doing. Streaming illegally is just not in our DNA, and we have to take the threats of legal action seriously. Lest you think this is solely an international problem, you should know that we are also fighting for our survival here in the US, in the face of a crushing increase in web radio royalty rates, which if left unchanged, would mean the end of Pandora.

We know what an epicenter of musical creativity and fan support the UK has always been, which makes the prospect of not being able to launch there and having to block our first listeners all the more upsetting for us.

We know there is a lot of support from listeners and artists in the UK for Pandora and remain hopeful that at some point we’ll get beyond this. We’re going to keep fighting for a fair and workable rate structure that will allow us to bring Pandora back to you. We’ll be sure to let you know if Pandora becomes available in the UK. There may well come a day when we need to make a direct appeal for your support to move for governmental intervention as we have in the US. In the meantime, we have no choice but to turn off service to the UK.

Pandora will stop streaming to the UK as of January 15th, 2008.

Again, on behalf of all of us at Pandora, I’m very, very sorry.

-Tim Westergren
(Pandora founder)

Shame on you PPL and MCPS/PRS Alliance…shame on you.

RIP Pandora. I wasn’t an avid listener but I’ve listened to you, and enjoyed you, often. I’ll miss you!

-Jamie

Zune Plays are now uploading

After weeks of trying…the tracks that I’ve listened to on my Zune are finally getting uploaded to Zune Social. Here’s my Zune Card to prove it! (it might not show up if you’re reading this in a blog reader in which case head to http://jamiethomson.spaces.live.com or, even better, http://social.zune.net/member/jamiethomson to see it).

 http://zcards.zune.net/xweb/lx/swf/zunecard.swf

 

Thanks to Zach Johnson from the Zune team at Microsoft I was able to work out why my Zune plays were not being displayed. First I used Fiddler2 to capture the https requests that were sending the plays up to Zune Social from my Zune software. Here’s that request:

 

POST /usage/upload HTTP/1.1
Content-Type: plain/text
Authorization: WLID1.0 t=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&p=
User-Agent: Zune/2.1
Host: stats.zune.net
Content-Length: 281
Connection: Keep-Alive

CountryCode=GB&Usage=PlayLocal,ZunePCClient,3E160D00-0500-11DB-89CA-0019B92A3933,,2008/01/05:01:49:07,1&Usage=PlayLocal,ZunePCClient,37160D00-0500-11DB-89CA-0019B92A3933,,2008/01/05:01:49:07,1&Usage=PlayLocal,ZunePCClient,3A160D00-0500-11DB-89CA-0019B92A3933,,2008/01/05:01:49:07,1
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Sat, 05 Jan 2008 01:49:15 GMT
Server: Microsoft-IIS/6.0
X-Powered-By: ASP.NET
X-AspNet-Version: 2.0.50727
Cache-Control: public, max-age=28800
Expires: Sat, 05 Jan 2008 09:49:15 GMT
Content-Type: text/xml; charset=utf-8
Content-Length: 315

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<UsageReturn xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
  <userGuid>edf458d2-a6e8-4992-84db-286616e24ca7</userGuid>
  <minimumCallbackMinutes>15</minimumCallbackMinutes>
  <succeeded>true</succeeded>
</UsageReturn>

 

 

Zach and his colleagues ran this request through their systems and sure enough it didn’t work – same behaviour as I was seeing. On closer inspection it turned out that the problem was the that the CountryCode was set to "GB" (outlined in red above) and they filter out all none-US data . After that the workaround was simple. On Vista, Head into Control Panel–>Regional and Language Options and set Current format = "English (United States)":

 

 

Once that was set everything started working fine and as you can see above, I now have a Zune Card with something useful on it!

 

cheers

Jamie

 

“Microsoft exec” in Wired

A short one. Newly promoted (apparently) Microsoft exec Angus Logan appears in this month’s issue of Wired magazine. As I’m sure Angus isn’t vain enough to talk about it himself I’ll tell you that you can read what he has to say about Windows Live’s policies on screen scraping here.

-Jamie