Whew, so it's finally public: Microsoft Photography & Video Blog : Announcing the Windows Live Photo Gallery, Beta 1 .

I joined the team back on March 19th, just over three months ago. It's a fantastic team creating a fun product that is important to anyone who takes digital pictures or video. I'm really proud of everyone who worked so hard to get this initial release out. It was agility in action.

And soon, everyone will have a chance to download the revised photo gallery and give it a go. I love the organization the photo gallery gives you, along with the groovy ability to publish up to Spaces. And photo-stitching into a panoramic shot is always a bit magical.

We have an abundance of features to consider going forward, too. So, when the time comes, give it a try and provide us your feedback.