MICROSOFT wants you to live a ‘Life Without Walls’, moving seamlessly between the Mobile, PC and the web. The digital giant has created a world where your virtual identity shadow you constantly, on the move, at work and at home, even online.

Some would say this is old wine in new bottle, as the instruments for this convergence have been around for some time. With GPRS, broadband and WiFi now becoming common, accessing e-mail, using IMs, browsing photos online and even VoIP calls are within easy reach, on the move, everywhere.

Microsoft’s push towards total convergence is built on the next generation of Windows Live, an integrated suite of online services available for download—at present only in beta. The highlights of this suite include new features like the Windows Live SkyDrive, which offers 25GB of online storage and promises tighter integration with other Windows Live services.

We’re already familiar with Windows Live Hotmail, which has been given a makeover once again and now has a simpler and sleeker interface. It is also available on your mobile and works like a free pushmail service.
Windows Live People is another step towards total convergence and acts like a central address book, containing your contacts from your phone-book, Hotmail and all the people in your Windows Live network.

The Windows Live Messenger too has been given a makeover, with a push towards making it more ‘personalised’. A ‘what's new’ feed keeps you updated on what your friends are doing; you can drag-and-drop photos into the conversation window for easy sharing. You can compile important contacts in the ‘favourites’ list and group chat with up to 20 people at the same time. You can personalise it further with video display pictures.

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