Microsoft has refurbished, rebuilt, reworked, redesigned, revamped, and relaunched a braaaaand new MSN! Better than ever (or so Microsoft says).
So has MSN already jumped the shark, or has Microsoft prevented it from strapping on a pair of skis?
In IT Blogwatch, bloggers try something new all over again.
Filling in for our humble blogwatcher Richi Jennings, is a humbler Stephen Glasskeys.
John Ribeiro revamps, integrates, and productivates: [Ahem -Ed.]
Microsoft has unveiled [its] MSN portal [combining] access to personal productivity tools and content from a large number of providers.
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...the focus this time is also on top content from the Web instead of offering original content. MORE
From the port, Skipper Paul Thurrot watches a relaunch:
Microsoft's vaunted Bing content apps...are being relaunched under the Bing brand and are being ported to the web.
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These [changes] are part of a wider refocus for MSN, which has undergone numerous changes since its 1995 launch. To those of us in the US, MSN has faded to the background...but it still boasts over 410 million users worldwide, Microsoft tells me. MORE
And Mary Jo Foley grapples a whale:
Microsoft has been grappling with...its MSN.com portal for years. Around 2007 [it] came close to [abandoning] MSN.com. ... In 2010, Microsoft launched a new version of MSN.com that delivered on those goals. MORE
Straight from the horse's mouth:
At the top of the MSN homepage, users have quick access to what we call the Services Stripe. ... With a quick hover, you can easily check your email, browse your OneDrive, or even access your OneNote notebooks. We've also integrated popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, Office 365 and Skype. MORE
Then Jon Fingas points out the obvious:
Let's start with the obvious: the new MSN looks a lot like Windows, and that's not just because Microsoft is fond of brand synergy. The layout is both less cluttered and lets you personalize what you see...you can easily add, remove and shuffle the appropriate sections.
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You can check out the preview today. ... Microsoft hasn't said when it hopes to roll out the site to the public at large, but the Android and iOS apps should arrive with the next few months. MORE
Meanwhile Nancy Blair asks a realistic-rhetorical-relaunch:
When's the last time you visited MSN.com?
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Exactly.
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Microsoft is hoping to change that. MORE
