Microsoft begins updated Windows Live rollout

The new Windows Live profile features that were recently announced have begun to take effect, turning the formerly sterile Windows Live into a more cohesive portal for online content consumption.

New versions of Live Home, Spaces, Events, Skydrive, Groups, and Photos have been pushed out to users, joined by the Windows Live header bar. Since Microsoft is pulling together a number of disparate services, however, there is still a feeling of disconnection throughout the site.

The header bar features customizable backgrounds and information fields, for example, but when navigating away from the Live Home page, the bar frequently disappears altogether. In BetaNews tests this morning, many of the sub-directories returned error messages when attempting to navigate through the header bar. The updated Profile, for example, is still largely inaccessible.

It is currently also lacking in the customization department. In the left column of the Windows Live Home page is the user's mailbox and the "What's New with your Network" feed which provides Friendfeed or Facebook-style updates of user activity. In the right is a user profile summary, an MSN newsfeed, and the Windows Live team blog. Unlike the new Yahoo or iGoogle home pages, drag-and-drop customization of this page is not supported. Only the ability to change the vertical positioning of each item is currently present, and elements defaulted on the home page cannot be removed.

But the site is not without its merits. Photos features an intelligent slideshow app based on Silverlight, and has 25 GB of free storage in the associated SkyDrive account. Since most Windows Mobile handsets come with the ability to automatically push photos to a Windows Live account, this update gives mobile photo-takers a lot to work with.