Up to this point, the Windows Live Mail Desktop team could only inform users of new builds via email invites, blog entries and newsgroup posts. Starting from today"s Build 1226, any new builds will also be available through Microsoft Update. You can update with Automatic Updates, or alternatively, you can use the "Check for Updates" option in the Help menu – it should take you to Microsoft Update (if you"re on Vista, enable Microsoft Update on the Windows Update Client). Still unable to get the update? Be patient, the update will be available "in the next couple days" and you"ll also be able to grab it from ideas.live.com. This release is nothing major; it is mainly bug fixes and small improvements. It is not a mandatory one but the one available in the next couple weeks will be. The only known issue is losing the program shortcut when upgrading through Microsoft Update. The team emphasizes, however, that the software is still in beta and urges its testers to hunt down bugs.