Microsoft Live: Hailstorm Take 2

When you get past the marketing fluff of "sea changes" and "21st century Internet," Microsoft did not announce a lot of new deliverables during its Tuesday services unveiling.

(Thankfully, the company also didnt try to position any of its newly minted Windows Live or Office Live services as examples of its "Web 2.0" prowess. We didnt notice a single mention of Web 2.0 during Chairman Bill Gates and Chief Technology Officer Ray Ozzies remarks. That earns Microsoft some big points in our book.)

But we did hear a more cohesive strategy for how the Redmondians intend to package and position the various MSN-branded properties—the Start.com aggregator, MSN Favorites, MSN Spaces, "Kahuna" Hotmail, MSN Messenger, Windows OneCare — that the company has been fielding like hot cakes under the Windows Live brand.

And we also heard Tuesday the beginnings of Microsofts planned repositioning of its small-business services, once known as bCentral, plus a couple of hints about future intended deliverables, as part of Microsofts Office Live offerings.

There was plenty Microsoft didnt say publicly about its Live announcement. But somebody at the company took some great notes, in terms of questions that company brass anticipated from press and analysts around Tuesdays announcements.

Here are a couple of our favorite Microsoft talking points about Microsoft Live:

Q: You have tried this before with HailStorm (aka .NET my services), and it did not work. Whats different this time?

A: Hailstorm was based on a similar vision but there are differences both with our approach as well as the market. For instance, with our live offerings/approach, a clearer, more sustainable business model exists relative to advertising funded approach that enables many of these services to be offered for free. At the same time, the pervasiveness of broadband and wireless connectivity have only driven even more demand for more personalized services as well as broader acceptance of software-based services.

Read the full story on Microsoft Watch: Microsoft Live: Hailstorm Take 2

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