Trying out Windows Live Writer

I’m spending the week-end on the Win7 side of my MBP’s hard disk, so I decided I should try the Windows Live suite, including Mail (neat), Photo Gallery (serviceable) and Writer, which I am using to write this post.

Inserting links is straightforward enough. I wonder about code though:

def pyfunc(x):

y = x+2

return y*x

Well, yeah, it works, but it is ugly. However, it turns out that Windows Live Writer has a neat extension system. Moreover, a kind soul wrote a plugin specifically tailored for use with WordPress. In particular, the plugin inserts the right “shortcode,’’ so you get WordPress.com’s built-in code rendering. Here’s what you get:

def pyfunc(x):
  y = x+2
  return y*x

For other blogging platforms, GeSHi is also available. However, it does not seem to work as well with WordPress.com blogs.