Windows Live Favorites lets you save, import, and arrange bookmarks in subject folders, then view saved links without leaving the page--but it doesn't hook you up with other users' favorite URLs the way Del.icio.us does.
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Soapbox, Microsoft's new video site, is a solid video-sharing service with plenty of features. But where's the content?
Del.icio.us lets you save, import, and tag bookmarks without fuss. As the most popular take-it-with-you bookmarking service, Del.icio.us can be a powerful tool for sharing content with other users.
Google Notebook lets you save the text, the images, and the URL of origin for Web sites that interest you, but its features are limited.
Yahoo Answers' community of millions puts plenty of heads together to pose questions and post replies, but it can also force you to filter out signal from noise.
Video and image attachments provide Answerbag with the potential to offer more show-and-tell replies than Yahoo Answers and Windows Live QnA, but only if users exercise those features wisely.
Microsoft's beta version of a free service that filters Web sites for content for children makes parents and guardians system administrators for their kids' Windows Live accounts.
Google Apps lets you brand online services with your own URL, but it doesn't eat the costs of domain registration as Microsoft Office Live does.
Blogger beta allows tagging, as well as drag-and-drop layout editing, and it lets you wall off your blog to strangers, but most current Blogger users will have to set up another blog from scratch to try the new features.
Windows Live Writer beta lets you insert and edit personalized maps and images to blogs hosted by multiple blogging services.
If you want to share files and stream media within a secure social-networking environment, Glide Write 1.0 beta makes a good, go-anywhere word processor, but its rivals are easier to set up for stand-alone writing and editing.
This reputation-based, peer-to-peer question-and-answer service lets you seek and offer all kinds of knowledge online while integrating with other Windows Live Contacts, Messenger, and Spaces.
If you're tired of just reading or writing text blogs and want new ways to add life to your online abode, Windows Live Spaces makes room for Gadgets and interactive tools that visitors to your personal page can play with.
If you enjoy steady Internet access, Zoho Writer beta offers intuitive controls and can replace Microsoft Word for basic editing and formatting, if you can tolerate its beta glitches.
This low-key, encrypted IM client handily integrates your Outlook calendar and contacts and includes video and voice chatting.
Windows Live Toolbar can enhance the usefulness of Internet Explorer, make Web surfing more fun, and spare you some mouse clicks--if you take the time to get acquainted with its features.
Designed to replace Outlook Express, Windows Live Desktop Mail beta is a preview edition of Microsoft's new, free desktop e-mail application, which lets you edit images and read messages from Gmail and Yahoo accounts.
Despite some limitations, Google Maps for Mobile is a simple and handy app that brings interactive maps, driving directions, and traffic info to your mobile device.
Windows Live Safety Center offers online scans to secure your PC against viruses and spyware, as well as to suggest performance tweaks, such as when to defrag your hard drive.
JotSpot wiki 2 offers a friendly way to build an Intranet and collaborate with people online, with helpful tools that include a spreadsheet maker and a word processor.
