I’m currently typing up this post using the freely available Windows Live Writer rather than the WordPress control panel as per usual. I installed the software as an optional extra when updating to the latest version of Windows Live Messenger and thought I may as well give it a try, and I must say that I’m reasonably impressed.
Installation and setup of the software was quick and painless, and the package appears to offer support for numerous blogging platforms including Windows Live Spaces, Blogger, WordPress, TypePad and more. Upon selecting the option to use WordPress (actually bundled in with a few other platforms in the menu) the software politely asked permission to contact my site and make a test-post (which it did without error and immediately removed) in order to generate the data required to show live previews within the package of how the post will look on my site.
All publishing features normally exposed through the WordPress control panel appear to be present without the hassle of having to connect to the site using a web-browser. I’m unsure if I’ll continue to use WLW for all my posting needs, but it definitely seems worthy of further investigation – I’ll make another post in a few weeks with my decision on continued use as well as a more detailed review once I’ve had a chance to play with some of the features on offer.