Planning events can sometimes be a bit daunting.  Sending the invitations, keeping track of who's coming, figuring out what people might want to bring or what they might want to do -- it's all a lot of work!  A lot of people I know have been using Evite.com as their event planning solution.  What a lot of those same people don't know is that there is a great event planning solution built right into Windows Live called (appropriately) Windows Live Events. 

I decided it was time to start spreading the word about this great product.  For some help, I asked Charlotte Jones, a Senior Product Manager on the Windows Live team to do a podcast with me where we explore everything Events has to offer. 

You can download this specific podcast in the format you prefer using the links below:

• Windows Live Events (WMA format)
• Windows Live Events (MP3 format)

Or subscribe to my whole podcast series using these links:

• Windows Live Podcast Series (WMA format)
• Windows Live Podcast Series (MP3 format)

We hope you like what you hear and give Events a try the next time you find yourself in the middle of organizing your next gathering.

- Marcus

P.S.  And if you want to read about the ultimate use of Windows Live Events, check out this post from Jamie, one of our Windows Live community members.

Digital pictures revolutionized the way people share photos, and digital video is poised to do the same thing to what we all used to call "home movies".  Now, with some relatively inexpensive equipment, some of the right software, and an internet connection you can produce and share your digital memories easier than ever before.

This post isn't going to get into the details of what video gear (cameras, lighting, microphones, etc.) you'll need.  There are plenty of other resources you can check out for that information.  I'm also not going to get into all the video editing software and techniques you could use.  I'll probably save that for a future post after doing some more of my own experimenting.  Instead, I just want to focus on the basics of sharing your videos once you've got them captured and stored on your PC.

So what better way to explain video sharing than with a video?  I know that's a bit recursive, but I hope you'll find it enlightening.

Video Sharing 101 Video Clip:

As you'll see in the video, I took the path of least resistance and used MSN Soapbox because it's built right into the publish menu of Windows Live Photo Gallery.  But you could use your favorite video sharing service (YouTube anyone?), grab the URL or embed code, and accomplish the same results. 

For some other good resources on video posting, check out these blog entries from some of my fellow Windows Live community members:

• Adding Video Codes Manually
• Getting your home videos to Spaces the easy way

Good luck and best wishes as you share your digital memories!

- Marcus

I'm on Facebook, and it seems a ton of people I know are too.  Not just my current friends, but folks I knew reaching way back into my college days.  It's definitely a cool way to find and connect with both new and old friends.

One of the things I recently found on Facebook is the whole "Become a Fan" thing.  You can become a fan of products, TV shows, politicians, websites, and the list goes on and on.  Being a Windows Live guy, I searched for Windows Live products to see what was there.  Did you know there is a Windows Live Messenger page with 425,336 fans?  That is, at least at the time I wrote this post.  That's almost as many fans as Facebook itself has!  Wow!  I also found a Windows Vista page with 9,900 fans. 

What are your thoughts on Facebook?  I know a lot of people start out on it and get a bit of Facebook fatigue after a while.  I kind of count myself in that camp, but I'm starting to look at it again, especially with their recent redesign.

- Marcus

Earlier this year, I had the chance to watch Microsoft employees from around the world compete in a demo competition intended to showcase Windows and Windows Live.  Two guys from the Charlotte, North Carolina office here in the United States were finalists for the US competition.  They presented a very cool yet heartwarming demo based on their real world use of Windows Live to help stay in touch with a child in Brazil that one of them is sponsoring.

The two employees are Karan Parkash and Eric Kamont.  Karan posted more details about the work they did, along with a video of their demo up here.  In this podcast, I talked with both of them via telephone to get more details on GIVE Live and how anyone can use their approach to keep in touch with someone else across the globe.

You can download this specific podcast in the format you prefer using the links below:

• GIVE Live (WMA format)
• GIVE Live (MP3 format)

Or subscribe to my whole podcast series using these links:

• Windows Live Podcast Series (WMA format)
• Windows Live Podcast Series (MP3 format)

- Marcus

Are you watching the Olympics?  Do you wish that was you out there swimming, cycling, running, or diving?  As part of Microsoft's overall celebration of this year's Olympic Games, the Windows Live team in the US has created this fun site called Reveal Your Inner Athlete.  You run through a quick quiz, and then the site tells you what your inner athlete is.  You can even upload your own picture of your very own head, and then share your inner athlete with your friends.  Mine turned out to be a tennis player:

Why not give it a try?

And after you're done, check out Quikboy's post about some of the other stuff Microsoft is doing, plus John Kavanagh's post about Olympics add-on to Windows Media Center.

Enjoy the games,

Marcus

Vacation season is upon us! I hope everyone is going to take a little time off to spend with your friends and family

As you snap all those digital photos, I thought it would be a great time for me to sit down with JP Wollersheim, a Senior Product Manager here at Microsoft who works on Windows Live Photo Gallery, and learn a bit more about that product.  Hopefully you'll find some inspiration here to try Photo Gallery as a solution for downloading, organizing, and sharing all those great vacation pictures!

You can download these specific podcasts using the links below:

• Photo Gallery (WMA format)
• Photo Gallery (MP3 format)

Or subscribe to my whole podcast series using these links:

• Windows Live Podcast Series (WMA format)
• Windows Live Podcast Series (MP3 format)

- Marcus