Looks like Windows Live brand is going to be discontinued in the future and Windows Live accounts are going to be migrated to Microsoft account which is overall at the top level just like Apple ID, Google account, etc. Microsoft Account is the new identity service for individuals who use Microsoft products and services. In Windows 8, you can choose to login locally or by your Windows Live/Hotmail account. From there, you can check your billing for services like Xbox Live, Zune and Windows store. In fact, our Microsoft account is connected to Xbox Live Gamertag so you can track high scores and games in various ways. First way will be the Xbox Companion app for smartphone and tablet devices including Windows 8. Second will be your console and third is the website. Regardless of which way to track high scores and games, certain games are for other Xbox Live platforms such as Windows 8 Metro games and Windows Phone 7 games. It may be the same for Games for Windows Live. In next several months across the Microsoft product line, your Windows Live ID will be migrated to Microsoft account. That also includes other Microsoft services you’ve used that will be merged in the migration process.
Accessing your Microsoft account is like accessing Hotmail account where you can manage your contacts, calendar, inbox and cloud storage. With Windows 8 and Windows Phone along with certain desktop apps for Windows, they connect to your mail account as well. With Microsoft account, your devices are shared across all Microsoft products and services.
When you logon to Windows 8 for the first time using the Microsoft account, it uses cloud services to roam settings across computers running Windows 8. Along with the account, you get the Skydrive where your cloud data is stored. Also, you can use the Camera app to take photos and videos and then store them to your Skydrive. For Office documents, they are accessed via Office Web Apps or Office client applications. Man, there should be Metro version of Office, not the desktop one. How the heck can that app be used properly on the tablets?
Speaking of Social Networking, you can get contacts from your respective Social Networking accounts in your Hotmail contact list which was already way before Windows 8 existed in prototype form. With your Hotmail account connected to your Social networking accounts, you can mail or instant message your contacts that way from your device.
As Windows 8 is designed to be cloud-powered and similar to smartphone devices, it comes with Metro style apps for communication, sharing, scheduling, photos, videos and other stuffs. They are powered by cloud services which is thankful so that when you log on to your Microsoft account on multiple devices, your stuff stored on those apps will be the same on multiple devices as they are stored on the cloud. It may be similar to using Windows Live Mail and Messenger where your mails, tasks, contacts and calendar are stored in the cloud. For Windows 7 users, you’ll still be using the Windows Live Essentials applications.
Note: Unfortunately, additional apps like Movie Maker and Photo Gallery are not available in the Consumer Preview but it may be useful for me to explore the Metro version of Movie Maker to see if I can use that a lot.
