Open Your Windows to the Party Central

The good news is there’s going to be a huge New Year’s Eve party this year.

The bad news is you’re throwing it.

Don’t let the stress of planning a party take the joy out of the season. From creating the décor, the menu and the music, even the most organized planner can get overwhelmed. Thankfully, Windows Live will come to the rescue with several new features that are tuned towards making party-planning a breeze and at no extra cost! In fact, your party budget can even be significantly reduced.

Here are a few tips to make your party tops:

· Invitations: Windows Live Hotmail now lets you upload ALL of your contacts into one place, making it easier to reach everyone from one single and convenient invitation list.

· Menu: Afraid to serve your dinner guests that “signature” dish of instant noodles? Fret not, just ask mum to share all of her recipes with you on Windows SkyDrive. With 5GB of space, she might just be able to send the turkey through (or at least a picture of how it’s supposed to turn out)…

· Music: Use SkyDrive as your alternative DJ. You’ll need a lot of music to keep the party going all night long. Save yourself all the time, effort and most importantly, money, in getting a DJ or buying new CDs. As your guests RSVP, ask that they upload their favourite songs onto your shared SkyDrive. This way, everyone will have a shot at being DJ (and it eliminates the stress of music selection)…. Also, there’s the new girl or guy that you really want to kiss on the stroke of midnight! Look at their profile page to find out what sort of music they like, go out get their favourite songs and play it for them.

· Décor: Make your décor meaningful (and affordable). Guests will have a laugh, with a photo collage of some of the year’s fondest and funniest memories. Using Windows Photo Gallery, upload and print the best photos. Place the photos in existing frames to decorate your home. They’ll make for great conversation topics, and are yet another way to ensure your party is memorable...

Don’t let the party end…

· Memories: Upload all your photos onto Windows Live Photo Gallery for everyone to comment on afterward. This year, you can easily tag your guests in the pictures using new face recognition technology – and don’t waste precious time tagging the same people in different pictures over and over again.

· …and More Memories: With Windows Live Writer, you can compose your blog offline and then publish your entry with just a few clicks to one or multiple blogging sites. It's easy to bring your posts to life with photos, video, music, maps, emoticons, and more – and Writer lets you preview your blog before you publish, so you can be sure you've got your story straight.

To make your party a smashing success, download Windows Live on your PC at http://get.live.com. Install the latest range of Windows Live products for all of the newest applications at your fingertips.

Planning that New Year’s party has never easier. From invitations to music, with Windows Live by your side, you’re sure to be the host with the most.

Stay Organized and Loved this New Year

Congratulations! You've conquered 2008 but just barely.

2009 is coming at you fast and furiously, and with work, family, friends and so many activities on the radar, you may have a hard time managing your schedule. Even your trusty organizer has become tattered with all the constant thumbing through, writing, erasing.

With the new Windows Live suite of services, help yourself get organized.

Windows Live Calendar helps you stay organized with to-do lists and even share tasks and calendars with your loved ones. Upload your schedule online, share it with your partner and family members and see how your circle of important ones gets easier to manage with the new Windows Live Calendar. This way, your loved ones know where you are, and when you can’t be disturbed JWorried about missing birthdays? Planning your leave around public holidays!
You can also create automatically generated birthday and holiday calendars and never miss one single important occasion of your loved ones again. With Windows Live Calendar, you can synch your calendar to the national calendar, ensuring that you are up to date with important activities around the country.

Remember all the photographs you snapped over New Year’s eve?Upload them all on the new Windows Live Photos!

Create slide shows and share photos through your Windows Live applications. Your friends no longer have to look through hundreds of photographs to look for themselves, and you don’t have to explain to your loved ones who the people in the photo are because Windows Live Photos now comes with a simple people-tagging feature.

How will your friends know what you’ve posted? The beauty is that you don’t have to go ahead and tell them anymore, once you’ve posted your photos online, your contacts will receive an update in their ‘What’s new’ page. They are then free to check out the photos as they please.

Photos on the go – don’t carry multiple thumb drives
If loved ones want to download all those photos into their own PC, let them have it on Windows Live SkyDrive, with 25GB of online storage! Just add their Live ID to your SkyDrive folder, and send them the link. What's more, with the Windows Live SkyDrive, you can access your files anywhere without carrying with you bulky hard-drives or multiple thumb-drives.