Microsoft officially launched its developer site for its Windows Live services at Tech Ed in Boston this week. The site offers tools that enable developers to extend Microsoft’s Web-based services.The site includes two software development kits (SDKs), one for Microsoft’s Virtual Earth search tool and another for creating gadgets that run on Live.com, the customizable portal where online users can aggregate Windows Live services. Gadgets are mini-applications that allow users to access information, such as news and weather reports, over the Internet.George Moore, a general manager for Windows Live platform at Microsoft, described the Virtual Earth Interactive SDK during a session at Tech Ed on Tuesday. The toolkit, among other things, enables developers to customize maps in Virtual Earth and add them to webpages. Moore also demonstrated how developers can extend Windows Live Messenger to add interactive bits of code that fire up tasks, or what Microsoft calls “activities,” so users chatting through the instant-messaging client can share webpages. “The activity opens up an activity window and navigates to any URL,” he said. “The activity code can interact with the IE object model as well as the [Live Messenger] API.”These activities allow people chatting through instant messaging to share webpages while they chat. Windows Live Messenger is the next version of the current MSN Messenger, and is currently in public beta. More information about Windows Live can be found here.At the conference Sunday, Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Ray Ozzie said Microsoft plans to gradually merge its consumer-focused Windows Live services with services for business customers. It’s still unclear, however, exactly how the company plans to do this.-Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau)This article is posted on our Microsoft Informer page. For more news on the Redmond, Wash.-based powerhouse, keep checking in.Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost The steep cost of a poor data management strategy Without a data management strategy, organizations stall digital progress, often putting their business trajectory at risk. Here’s how to move forward. By Jay Limbasiya, Global AI, Analytics, & Data Management Business Development, Unstructured Data Solutions, Dell Technologies Jun 09, 2023 6 mins Data Management feature How Capital One delivers data governance at scale With hundreds of petabytes of data in operation, the bank has adopted a hybrid model and a ‘sloped governance’ framework to ensure its lines of business get the data they need in real-time. By Thor Olavsrud Jun 09, 2023 6 mins Data Governance Data Management feature Assessing the business risk of AI bias The lengths to which AI can be biased are still being understood. The potential damage is, therefore, a big priority as companies increasingly use various AI tools for decision-making. By Karin Lindstrom Jun 09, 2023 4 mins CIO Artificial Intelligence IT Leadership brandpost Rebalancing through Recalibration: CIOs Operationalizing Pandemic-era Innovation By Kamal Nath, CEO, Sify Technologies Jun 08, 2023 6 mins CIO Digital Transformation Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe