Microsoft to developers: Experiment a little
MS-Watch | at | by Mike
The Redmond software maker is building an 'Experimentation Platform' where it will allow Microsoft and third-party developers to test new Live-based services before rolling them out.
The new site, known as the Windows Live Experimentation Platform, went live on Thursday. The site is running on top of Office Live, a set of service extensions to Microsoft Office that Microsoft released to beta testers earlier this year.
Experimentation Platform is Microsoft's latest move toward making Windows Live not just a collection of services, but a developer platform in its own right. Microsoft rivals Google, Yahoo, Amazon and eBay all are embarking on similar strategies, by exposing more services as open application-programming interfaces and encouraging developers to build mash-ups, composite applications and other consumer and business software atop their respective platforms.