Things Windows Live gets wrong
By Simon Bisson & Mary Branscombe in Editorial
Posted in Microsoft on
I’m a big fan of the new Messenger client and some of the other Live apps, especially Windows Live Photo Gallery. I do keep nagging the Live team to add information card support to Live ID- I actually pursued GM Brian Hall down a corridor at CES to say it again - but now I have a new set of complaints.
I wasn’t able to log in to Messenger for the first week after I got back to the UK from CES (apologies again to all the friends who think I either had terrible jetlag or was ignoring them!). The Windows Live troubleshooter on Vista made valiant attempts to get me online, to no avail, but I think the problem was that I needed to upgrade the beta versions I’d been using on Windows 7. I tried a few times: the secret seems to be closing far more apps than the installer asks you to. But along the way, I want to call out some things that are really unhelpful:
The Help button that launches the front page of MSN instead - presumably reading the news will help me calm down?
The pre-populated list cramming extra software onto my system: at least it asks but should the default really be to add a toolbar?
The ‘You’re Almost Done’ screen that sneaks in an attempt to switch my search provider and home screen. IE8 has almost learned the lesson that this is my PC, my browser and I get to choose the services I want to use: Live is giving it a bad name. And the Help Improve Windows Live customer experience improvement program? That I’d be happy to sign up for to get fewer problems next time I need to upgrade? No, that’s off by default.
Losing my Live ID: the installer is asking me to sign up for Live but I’ve had an ID for more years than I care to remember. I’ve been using it with the version of Messenger I’m upgrading! Why doesn’t it know this? Or why isn’t there a Sign In option next to Sign Up?
Telling me Windows Live is on my Start menu? Why isn’t the installer offering to launch the apps I want? Why doesn’t it remember the apps it asked me to close and offer opening those again as the defaults? How about using the IE8 session restore to give me my Web pages back?
I love being able to be signed in on two machines at once with Messenger; gives me more chance of seeing a message where I happen to be. I like groups and seeing what’s new with my contacts before I talk to them. I like getting automatic picture straighening and people spotting in Live Photo Gallery. It’s worth upgrading. But The upgrade experience? Nice app, shame about the installer…
Mary
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