On Sunday, Microsoft quietly released a beta version of a blogging application called Windows Live Writer, which lets users publish posts to blogs based on Windows Live Spaces-based blogs and to many other non-Microsoft blogs, including Blogger, TypePad, and WordPress. "Windows Live Writer is a desktop application that makes it easier to compose compelling blog posts using Windows Live Spaces or your current blog service," wrote J.J. Allaire, the Microsoft employee who created the tool, in a blog posting. "Blogging has turned the Web into a two-way communications medium. Our goal in creating Writer is to help make blogging more powerful, intuitive, and fun for everyone." Windows Live Writer includes WYSIWYG editing, simple photo and map publishing, and a software development kit (SDK) that will let developers extend the capabilities of the product as they see fit. It's compatible with many blog services thanks to its support of Really Simple Discoverability (RSD), the MetaWeblog API programming interface, and the Movable Type API, Allaire said. You can find out more and grab the free Windows Live Writer beta download from the Windows Live Writer blog on the Microsoft Web site. http://windowslivewriter.spaces.live.com/blog
