LiveInABox - Windows Live Service APIs and Examples In One Convenient Location

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LiveInABox is a collection of sample projects that show how to use the many Windows Live Services in your own web apps.  It's a 4MB MSI that sets up the sample web apps to run on your localhost IIS server, so you can modify and experiment with them on your local machine. You'll still need to be online so that the web apps can connect to Live services.

So far, the sample apps include coverage of the Windows Live Search API, Windows Live Local / Virtual Earth mapping API, the Windows Live Contacts Control (surprise!), Messenger Activity APIs, web gadgets and WPF/E - the Avalon-based web runtime engine.  We'll be adding more samples over time, so it'd be a good idea to grab the LiveInABox RSS feed so you can hear about updates automatically.

The LiveInABox project is hosted on CodePlex, Microsoft's open source project hosting web site.  This makes it easy for us to coordinate changes between geographically distributed contributors, publish source code to you, and accept community feedback and code contributions.

CodePlex is built on Visual Studio Team Foundation Server.  Members in a CodePlex project can manage the project and check in and check out changes right in Visual Studio.

If you have an app or code snippet that shows a cool or unique use of Windows Live Services that you want to stroke your ego and boost your street cred contribute, let us know!  You can contact us via the comments on the LiveInABox project homepage, via private messages on the people profile pages, via comments on this blog, or via plain old email.  Just don't talk to us face to face.  That would be weird.

If we are unable to incorporate your sample code directly into the LiveInABox project for some corporate reason, we can certainly help you set up your own CodePlex project and cross reference with LiveInABox.

Now all we have to do is agree on how to pronounce "LiveInABox" (it's del-fye / del-fee all over again!).  LYV-in-a-box? LIV-in-a-box?  livin-abox?  luh-VEIN-a-box?  

Ah, here we go:  livi-NAHB-ox!