There;s a good deal of conflicting specifics available about Windows Reside Wave 4.Even though people who cover every single twist and flip of Microsoft;s next Windows Live support add-ons to Windows are inside the know (as are the tiny group of testers outdoors the organization who;ve been granted accessibility to beta variations), the common person public is almost certainly just a little puzzled. (I;m basing that statement around the reality I;m confused, although my career entails viewing Microsoft closely.)I made the decision to ask the excellent people over at LiveSide.net for some assist explaining what Windows Reside Wave four is and what to expect. Here;s a fast e-mail Q&A between me and Kip Kniskern, the main cook and bottle washer at the independent Windows-Live-watching site. (Note: These answers aren;t condoned or verified by Microsoft, but LiveSide has a pretty excellent track record, in terms of ferreting out details that only sneaky geniuses like them can do.)MJF: What are the components of the forthcoming Windows Live Essentials 2011 bundle?Kniskern: Same as before: Messenger, Live Mail, Writer, Photo ##############, Movie Maker, Family Safety. Bing Toolbar replaces Windows Reside Toolbar. Live Sync is there, but totally redone. We;ve mentioned that it will only be able to sync 2GB to the cloud, but that;s been lost in the shuffle a bit. Also the Live Mesh mobile sync did not appear to make the cut, so there;s no Live Sync mobile client, leaving the mobile sync story (the only one that matters, really) unresolved. Will it be My Phone? the KIN Studio (the only thing great about the KIN)? Possibly Live Sync adding a mobile client later in the beta?MJF: What would be the other Windows Reside Wave four services that aren’t in Essentials?Kniskern: Hotmail, SkyDrive (now much much more integrated), Office Live (is that what we;re calling Office Web Apps now?), the Windows Reside Home social network feed aggregator, which will replace Hotmail Today.MJF: Of all of these, which are going to get the biggest overhaul?Kniskern: Messenger gets tabs, and video calling is revamped. The Ribbon is added to all the Essentials services (basically Writer gets a ribbon and not much a great deal more, for example. The social networking aggregation is built into a great deal more services (Hotmail Today, a new sidebar in Messenger that everyone will immediately turn off,
Windows 7 Activation, etc.)MJF: So what do you think the rollout schedule for all this is, other than all of these things appear “inside the coming months”?Kniskern: First, Windows Live Essentials beta gets announced. Then, on June 15, Hotmail begins rollout. Somewhere end of June (blogger Francisco Martin is reporting June 21-25), Essentials downloads will be offered and the public beta starts. Final is “in the fall” - we;ve heard that it will coincide with
Windows 7 SP1, as the “first big feature update to Win7″.Readers: What else do you want to know about Windows Live Wave four? What;s still confusing you, if anything?