Microsoft has never been a slacker when it comes in figuring out how to get people to buy their new operating systems. Remember when they gave away a free web browser when everyone else was charging you to use theirs. I am sure the fact that they nearly bankrupted the other browser publishers was never really a part of their marketing campaign, but rather “a happy coincidence”.

They are at it again with the release of the Windows Live Essentials 2011 application suite which they claim adds power on top of your generic web experience. The new applications will eventually be available in 48 different languages.

According to Stephen Sinofsky, president of the Windows unit, “There are some really exciting and innovative things in it, and they also tap into the power of hardware. Movie Maker and Photo Gallery are all hardware-accelerated and do a really great job using accelerated video and accelerated graphics in general.”

The new package includes:

• Windows Live Photo Gallery –adds face recognition and the ability to select the best shot of each person to create a great family photo. (I am sure you have probably seen the commercial for it on TV)
• Movie Maker– adds the ability to upload to Flickr
• Messenger – adds the ability for users to chat with their Facebook friends
• Mail – manage multiple email accounts, calendars and contact lists
• Windows Live Mesh – new complication of live sync and the old live mesh program
• Family Safety – provides parental controls to protect children online
• Writer – Microsoft’s blogging platform that works with WordPress, blogger and TypePad

Dell has agreed to ship their new PCs with windows live essentials 2011 pre-installed on all laptop and desktop units.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that, in keeping with pushing the sale of new PCs this holiday season, the new application suite will only work on Vista and Windows 7 but not Windows XP.

Now, why am I not surprised?