I'm a huge fan of Google Reader and I use it multiple times a day. Sometimes too many times a day. In fact, if you're not careful, it'll suck most of the time out of your day. Anyway, recently Google revamped the UI and moved the subscription refresh button from the main interface to a drop down menu next to the word "Subscriptions".

The other day I accidentally clicked the word "Subscriptions" and saw the refresh AJAX call take place. So, if you need to refresh your subscription list to see what's new, save yourself a mouse click and click on the word "Subscriptions" for an immediate refresh.

Winding down my series of experiences with applications and services in the Windows Live Essentials suite, I want to start talking about some of the cool add-on’s that make the online experience a very powerful one.

Microsoft continues to offer a similar toolbar for users of MSN which pretty much does the same thing as Live Toolbar by offering the following services:

• Take MSN with you: MSN Toolbar is always with you when you're online on your PC. Stay up to date without leaving the Web page you're on.
• Put information at your fingertips: Top headlines, news and features from over twelve MSN channels with a single click. Connect with your friends through Windows Live Hotmail, Messenger and Spaces.
• Find it fast: Use the handy search box to find whatever you're after. Get Live Search results even when you use another search engine, plus make specific MSN channel searches.
• Customisable: Change the colour to jazz up your Internet browser!

Access to various Windows Live Toolbar services (click to enlarge)

The Windows Live Toolbar is more simplified but more cohesive, featuring a Live Search Box and links to Windows Live services such as your Windows Live Profile, Mail, Photos, Calendar, Sharing and Translation services. The Search field features an integrated list box so you can search specific content such as Web, News, Maps, Images, Feeds, current web page or your computer on the fly. The great thing about it is no matter where you are on the web you can stay signed in and have immediate access to these Windows Live services. You can preview your Mail inbox, see new photos from friends and family in your social network and preview events in your Calendar.

Adding a Toolbar button

Applications:

If you find the Live Toolbar predefined set of applications too limited, you can install additional buttons which range in services such as Wikipedia, Office Live or Live Skydrive. I love the Wikipedia button since I am always looking for information on topics that interest me, you can find more at the Windows Live Gallery where there is a healthy collection of add on’s for Live Toolbar.

Windows Live Gallery provides access to additional buttons for the Live Toolbar

Translating a web page from its native language to English using Translate. (click to enlarge)

Its way more simplified and focuses more on content. The Translate this page button handles translation of web pages written in foreign languages to your native language. How well does it work? I didn’t spend too much time to find out, but the speed is very fast. I translated a Windows Live Space written in Portuguese to English; the results were not impressive, but I could understand what was written on the page without too much deciphering. Translated pages can be viewed in multiple ways including side by side, Top/Bottom, Hover over with Translation or Translation with original. English speaking users have the option of translating up to 13 languages, worldwide languages that can be translated to English include Chinese Simplified and Mandarin, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, French and German to name a few. The only gripe I have about the Live Toolbar, it doesn’t support Firefox and there is no Internet Explorer 64-bit support either.

Previously

A Quick Look at Windows Live Sync
Windows Live Essentials – Integration with Microsoft Office 2007

Winding down my series of experiences with applications and services in the Windows Live Essentials suite, I want to start talking about some of the cool add-on’s that make the online experience a very powerful one.

The Outlook Connector provides access to your Windows Live services such as Hotmail, Contacts and Calendar inside of Microsoft Office Outlook with the ability to sync between the two. The advantages are you are able to utilize the rich capabilities of Outlook for syncing, viewing multiple calendars for instance, keep offline copies of your hotmail email and contacts.

You can manage how you receive your Hotmail messages from the Outlook Connector menu

Storage availability being displayed by the Server Status Toolbar.

When you install Live Essentials, a new menu is added to Outlook called Outlook Connector. From there you can sign into to the service which requires a Hotmail or Live ID, additional requirements include Outlook 2003 or later. Benefits include having additional Hotmail accounts and the ability to manage them as one profile. The Server Status toolbar manages the synchronization between your Windows Live services (Mail, Contacts and Calendar) along with displaying your storage usage. I am a bit curious about the storage usage, since the toolbar displays 625 MBs out of 500 GBs for my account. I don’t think I would never need that amount of storage just for mail so it must be some mistake. Another great thing about managing your Mail, Contacts and Calendar, it’s automatically exposed to the Windows Search Index in Vista or Windows Desktop Search if you are running it on Windows XP.

With the Outlook Connector, you can view your Windows Live Hotmail contacts in Outlook. By organizing your contacts in Outlook, you can take advantage of the advanced contact management features that Outlook 2007 offers such as the new Business Card View, Instant Search, and the ability to sort contacts by different criteria such as location or colour category. Additionally, any changes you make to contact information in Outlook will automatically be synchronized with the Web version in your Windows Live Hotmail account.

With the Outlook Connector, you can view your calendars from Windows Live Calendar in Microsoft Office Outlook, including other people’s calendars that have been shared with you. By managing your calendars in Outlook, you can take advantage of the time-management features that Outlook offers such as viewing multiple calendars in Outlook at the same time. With Outlook 2007 and the Outlook Connector, you can also:

• View tasks and flagged messages beneath your appointments on the days in which they are due
• Categorize your appointments with custom colour categories
• Overlay multiple calendars

Changes you make to your Windows Live Calendar Beta calendars in Outlook are automatically synchronized with the Web version in your Windows Live Hotmail account.

Previously

A Quick Look at Windows Live Toolbar
A Quick Look at Windows Live Sync
Windows Live Essentials – Integration with Microsoft Office 2007

Resources:

Microsoft Office Outlook Connector overview