Microsoft has just released a major update to Windows Live Writer today, and I'm giving it a test run with the post. Windows Live Writer is an application (not an online site or service) that lets you manage your blog and compose / edit posts. I've been using it for over a year now, and have been quite happy even though it was beta version 1.0.
In this new version is support for Wordpress and TypePad page authoring - which extends the usefulness of the program beyond just posts. Spell checking is done inline, and you can add categories to your site on the fly. There is support for extended entries ("more" links) and a paste special to paste the clipboard as HTML or text - stripping out all HTML in the process (handy for all those times cutting and pasting from a website destroys the formatting).
Perhaps the biggest feature for me is the addition of an API that I can use from my site to interact with Windows Live Writer. Since I'm using a custom blog, this API will let me define exactly what features of Writer I support and add some custom buttons and link inside of Writer to help manage my site.
Overall, this looks to be a nice, polished and fixed version of the beta, with a few more added features. Everything from before is here, and some things have minor upgrades (I can now remind myself to tag a post before publishing). The real reason for the upgrade is the API - some cool things will come of it I'm sure. In fact, if you have a Wordpress.com or TypePad.com blog, you already have Writer API support!
If you want to read more impressions of Writer, check out this post on LiveSide.
