The latest beta version of Windows Live Essentials was released today --- do you have any idea what the "Live" means in the Windows Live brand? Don't know? Join the club; no one else does, either. It's time for Microsoft to finally put the "Live" name to death.

Windows Live is the name that Microsoft uses for a wide variety of software and services, ranging from Hotmail to Messenger, to its SkyDrive cloud-storage service, and the whole Windows Live Essentials suite. That suite is made up of software for making movies, handling photos, synching folders, handling your mail, and protecting your family.

What does movie-making software have to do with a file synchronization service? In a word, nothing. What does photo handling software have to do with family-protection software? Again, nothing. The only connection they all have is they are from Microsoft, they're available in the same download, and they're all given the Windows Live Essentials brand.

More: http://pcworld.com/article/199826/