Just installed the new Windows Live Essentials beta and wow!  I already loved the Live Writer for blogging, but now the ribbon interface has come to the Essentials programs and it’s very nice.

Movie Maker is much improved.  It may not be iMovie, but it’s the best free movie program in Windows in my opinion.

Photo Gallery has made a HUGE jump forward.  Live Photo Gallery was already a fabulous tool for windows, but this really is amazing for a free program.  The easy of confirming faces to identify people is great.  The multiple built in ways to quickly post to Flickr, YouTube, SkyDrive, Facebook, etc. is very friendly.

Messenger isn’t nearly as annoying as it has been.  Sorry, but in the past it was horrible about the ads and junk in the way of the interface.  Much cleaner now.

Not making this a long post, but check it out at: http://explore.live.com/windows-live-essentials-beta