I am so happy right now. I found the program to unlock my most interested feature from Windows 7 Pre-Alpha built. Now, I my Aero Peek is enabled. Oh YES. What does it do? It is a simple feature actually. When I move my mouse on a task, I get to see the actual window without switching to it. This is important. Before, I don't know exactly the window looks like. Sure I have thumb preview and task title for clues, but I still can't see the exact window until I click it and switch to it. This often result in clicking the wrong window, so I have to try another one. This new Aero Peek brings up the window so I can see it clearly, then, back to where it was if I decided not to switch to it. One good example is reference. When I fill out my application form for my grad school, I would like to confirm my GRE scores. Before, I have to switch to my Excel where I saved my info and switch back to my IE for the rest of the form. Now, I can peek my Excel and get back to IE without any mouse click. This not only reduce my mouse click, but also I don't have to relocate my IE task again. This is extremely important when I am using Task Grouping. Task Grouping has been around since XP, but I always turn it off because I often click the wrong task and I have to click twice amount of mouse clicks, mouse movements, and my brain to remember what I have clicked.

 

Finally, a decent experience with Task Grouping. I am finally willing to switch from my old Win95 task bar style.

Live Wave 3 Social Services are out recently. A new feature or an improved existing feature is the glorified Profile page. Basically the old Profile page is now a facebook like page. It shows your basic information, your web activities, and your friends. A detail page contains more detailed info like Schools for better social network. It sounds good by itself, but it conflicts with Live Space. It even hides Space from the header. I wasn't happy their way of offering Social Services. It was messy and confusing. Thus, it got me to re-evaluate Live Wave3 offerings and Social Services in general.

 

First the Wave3 offerings. Aside from Hotmail, Contact/People, and Calender, Live offers many social oriented features. Event similar to eInvite. Group (New Feature). Space similar to MySpace, and Profile (New) similar to Facebook. Live Service has 4 social offerings for the same task, connect people together. But it takes them 4 separated domain for the same purpose. I don't think that's a good approach. So, next, someone make a new social trend, MS has to add one more of catch up? That's just say "they can do it, so can I". There is nothing innovative. Worse, users no longer know what to use. I believe all 4 offerings should be consolidated into one place. I don't know how yet. Besides, if I know I won't post it in public, haha. So I am going to analyze each services. What can be added or how it reflect on people's need.

 

Started from the first wave. The Forum. Forum is still an important role in social networking. It helps people connected by the same interest. Everyone has the right to open up a new topic and reply to it. However, forum is in-personal. There is almost no connection between each user. Everyone is talking to a stranger, thus, the content is usually based on the interest of the forum rather than people themselves. Not only that, a busy forum will have topic sinked down to next page within few hours. There is no social connection, but more of interest connection.

 

Then, a new player, Blog is born. It is simply put, a strip down version of Forum. One the blog owner can post topic, instead of everyone. This is certainly good choice for owner to share his thought as the main focus, rather than a tiny player in the gigantic forum ocean. The new article and many information based website is well suited for using blog as feedback. MySpace is the most popular player in this trend. It provides a good public space for individual to advertise themselves online. However, this only expose owner to the world, but not connecting to his friends.

 

There are many friend network before Facebook, but it is the most popular one right now. The first thing is you have to register to view your friend's profile. This is a strong taticts that forces people to register. The reaction is better than I thought. No one cares if they need to register. In fact, this is much better than MySpace because I myself would never open an MySpace account. I would only be a viewer, but not a contributor. Once users are forced to register, normally they will spend more time to complete their profile, thus, encourage them to show off their own profile as well. Now, the neat thing about Facebook is the friend network. You are much easier to find your long lost friends in your city or school. Facebook presented a much simpler open space for people to comment and add stuff. Anyway, I don't like it at all. It is actually really confusing for me. Like I can't even find a place to accept my friend's invitation.

 

A newer and getting more popular is the Twitter. It is much simpler as you just type like two sentence of what you are doing rather than anything meaningful or elaborate as a blog post. Sometimes people just want a quick update on what's your friends are doing. Or you just want to explore your inner STALKER desire. This is the place. Technically it is not stalking because the target shared it with you.

 

The future, actually I wouldn't be here if I already know.

 

But let's re-evaluate social network.

 

Looking back at Live services. It does offers all the experience that we currently know. But it used too many tools for the same purpose. For example, it uses Profile to expose yourself, but you have to use Home to know what your friends are doing. At worse, the message center are hidden. Space and Profile both expose yourself, but using different approach. And social features are integrated with hotmail in a rather bad manner. For example, I have many contacts I don't recognize because I don't know they are from my Space Network. I deleted them and realize I deleted my Space Network friends. Live offers everything and yet too messy and unfocused. Everything is in its own separate domain rather than coming together with harmony. I am in the process of discovering a better, more complete, and consistent social network experience. I have the criteria listed. The hard part is how to implement them that everything fits together nicely.

 

I would call it: Windows Live Social. Instead of everything is a separate place, Windows Live Social is a place that seems to be one entity, but they are all separate.

This is really cool. The Wave 3 for Live Space is out. My blog spaces some what different now. I am going to tweak it. The new live photo is moved to a better place, the SkyDrive. Now SkyDrive is the central place for everything. Good to see them consolidate some of the services into a more compelling experience.