At least for now, you can browse the names and headshots of , pre-reassignment. A separate page Live Labs . The group, formally announced in January 2006, even posted a rambling :

These new dynamics set the stage for the literal evolution of innovation. Startup costs and barriers to entry diminish; opportunities for creating entirely new value increase; human muscle no longer gates scalability; transactions are not bound by time, distance, or size; and something intangible - a better algorithm - can massively increase global utility and welfare. This pattern is not merely about new applications. It's about a revolution in how we create, share, and refine anything that can be digitally encoded, be it news and information, artistic forms, scientific breakthroughs, personal communications, economic transactions, and, yes, even software. This is not Web 2.0. It's World 2.0.

Microsoft isn't the only tech supercompany cutting back on projects that don't add to the bottom line. Google unplugged its virtual world in November, and Yahoo .

Live Labs's most high-profile project is , which correlates the data in multiple digital photographs to create a three-dimensional model of a place or object. It's not yet clear what will happen to Photosynth or the image viewer. Perhaps the remaining Live Labs staff will find a way to enhance Microsoft's search with more visual features like .

At least one project has a chance at life after Live Labs: In January, the group open-sourced their for website developers.