微软将重新设计Live.com网站

上周Live.com重新设计主页，分析家们询问微软CEO史蒂夫.鲍尔默微软公司是如何计划主页使之更符合用户视觉。
从周三开始，美国的访客就可以看到一个新的Liva.com的主页，它看起来变化不大。主页除了放映的背景图片周期性变化之外，其它的与原来大致相似图片放映的是几个广场，有一只老鼠通过广场。如果用户多停留一秒，一个带有消息的窗口会弹出来，如果点击它，就会带给用户一页附加消息，包括地图和图片。
当前的图片是一个人坐在一条小船上，荡游在非洲的一条河里。图片的信息符合生活博茨瓦纳的动物的情况和关于这个国家自然特征的一些事实。
这项设计在上个月的试验中获得了良好的反应，根据资深的研发部经理克里斯.瑞纳（Chris Rayner）和资深项目经理扎克.卡特（Zach Gutt）发表的博客就可知道，他们都是微软Live.com体验团队的用户。
像原来的设计一样，主页突出了搜索栏让用户选择搜索的图片和视频。连接点到网页可以搜索到Live地图，消息和其它微软的提供。
“我们人这想新的设计是一个伟大的开端，但还有更多需要发现，我们将探索我们下一个主页的版本使网站的搜索导向更加令人感兴趣”雇员在博客中写道。
上周分析家询问鲍尔默微软公司是如何更改令人混乱的在线服务标志使人们能够更容易的找到微软在线服务，据说还会有更多的变化。微软拥有MSN和Live两项在线服务，有些时候，同样的在线服务却把两个名字都包括了。
鲍尔默称微软一直力图一种能将两项服务合并的新方式。然而，Live.com主页包括链接到MSN.com和Live主页窗口，因此目前的设计还不能忙于这个问题。
事实上，虽然图片可能会给Live.com主页更多的美感，但微软在在线搜索和广告上始终无法与谷歌抗衡，除非它阐明它的在线服务。
在搜索上，谷歌比微软占有令人畏惧的主导地位，微软甚至远落后于雅虎居第三，微软公司在与雅虎经过几个月的谈判后失败了没有成功收购雅虎。

原文如下：

Microsoft Redesigns Live.com

    Nancy Gohring  July 30, 2008 4:10 PM PDT

    A redesign of the Live.com home page may not be quite what analysts had in mind last week when they asked Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer about how the software giant plans to streamline its online presence.
    Starting Wednesday, visitors in the U.S. are being shown a new Live.com page -- although they may not notice it's new. The page looks mostly the same as before, except it now features a background photo that apparently will change periodically.
The photo features a few blurry squares that show up when a mouse passes over them. If the user hovers for an extra second, a box pops up with a message that, when clicked, brings them to a page with additional information, including maps and photos.
The current photo features a man on a long boat on an African river. The information squares point to photos of animals that live in Botswana and other facts about the country's natural features.
The design was well-received among customers trialing it last month, according to a blog post by Chris Rayner, senior product manager, and Zach Gutt, senior program manager, both of Microsoft's Live search user experience team.
Like the previous design, the page predominantly features the search bar and lets users choose to search images and videos. Links point to Web pages for Live maps, news and other Microsoft offerings.
"We think the new design is a great start, but there's more to come, with lots of interesting directions that we'll be exploring in our next releases of the home page," the employees wrote on the blog.
Analysts who asked Ballmer last week how the company might fix its confusing online branding to make it easier for users to find Microsoft's online services might be relieved to hear that there are more changes to come. Microsoft maintains both the MSN and Live online brands, and in some cases the same online services carry both names.
Ballmer said Microsoft has been working on a way to combine its online services under a single Web page. However, the new Live.com page includes links to MSN.com and the Windows Live home page, so the current redesign hasn't addressed that problem.
Indeed, while the pictures might give the Live.com home page more aesthetic appeal, Microsoft is unlikely to gain ground against Google in online search and advertising until it clarifies its online services. In search, Google continues to hold a daunting lead over Microsoft, which runs a distant third even to Yahoo, the company Microsoft failed to acquire after months of negotiations.