Microsoft News Tracker

It’s rather an anticlimax since John Markoff has already told us all about it, but today Microsoft introduced spiffed up versions of some of their Windows Live software and a combined installer that will install them all as a suite:

Today we’re releasing beta versions of a new generation of Windows Live software designed for your Windows PC that makes it easier than ever to get connected to Windows Live or other services. This suite of software includes e-mail (Windows Live Mail), photo sharing (Windows Live Photo Gallery), a great publishing tool that lets you post directly to your blog (Windows Live Writer), parental controls (Windows Live OneCare Family Safety), a new version of Windows Live Messenger (8.5), and more.

Starting today, you’ll be able to install the entire suite of these downloadable Windows Live services at one time, from one place, instead of going through separate installations for each service. Of course, if you don’t want the entire suite, you can still get each application individually.

It’s rather an odd collection, but if you want the suite, head for http://get.live.com/wl/all and yes, it’s a beta too.