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The strategy is, of course, to make Windows reach into the Cloud. And this will become obvious with the availability of Windows 7 and Windows Live Wave 3. Brian Hall, general manager for the Windows Live Business Group, announced that the Redmond giant had placed a range of applications under the Windows Live Essentials brand umbrella and that the package would be made available as the extension of Windows 7 in the Cloud.

"For your Windows PC, we have a new set of programs that we’re calling Windows Live Essentials that connect your PC experience with Windows Live and the web," Hall stated. "It includes tools to help you manage your e-mail and calendar, even when you’re offline, to edit and post photos with people tags to Windows Live, to compose and publish rich blogs, and more. These programs are great to use with Windows Live – and with many other services that you and other Windows customers use."

According to Hall, the specific applications that have been transitioned to Windows Live Essentials are Windows Live Messenger, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Mail, Writer, Toolbar, and Family Safety. In this context, Microsoft has stripped what have grown to represent traditional Windows components such as image viewer and the email client from the operating system and will only deliver them via Windows Live.

"Windows Live Mail, one of several programs included in Windows Live Essentials, pulls all your e-mail accounts and contact lists together, including AOL, Gmail, Yahoo, and any POP or IMAP e-mail service. You can use Photo Gallery to post to one of many photo services that support our plug-in architecture. Or you can use Writer to post rich blog entries to any blogging service that supports Really Simple Discover (RSD). So every Windows user can communicate and share better with Windows Live Essentials," Hall said.