Windows Live Messenger

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger 8.1
Developer:	Microsoft
Latest release:	8.1.0178 / January 30, 2007
OS:	Microsoft Windows
Use:	Instant messaging client
License:	Freeware
Website:	[1]

Windows Live Messenger (WLM), commonly referred to by the previous names of MSN Messenger or MSN for short, is an advertisement-supported instant messaging client for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Mobile, first released on July 22, 1999 by Microsoft. It is part of Microsoft's Windows Live set of online services. The current version is 8.1, which was released on January 29, 2007.

"MSN Messenger" (or often just "MSN") is often also used to refer to the .NET Messenger Service (the protocols and servers that allow the system to operate), rather than any particular client. Corporations can also integrate their Live Communication Server and Active Directory with the network on behalf of its clients. Most major multi-protocol clients can also connect to the service.

Contents 1 Development of Windows Live Messenger 1.1 Windows Live Messenger 8.0 Beta 1 1.2 Windows Live Messenger 8.0 Beta 2 1.3 Windows Live Messenger 8.0 Beta 3 1.4 Windows Live Messenger 8.0 1.5 Windows Live Messenger 8.1 2 Features new to Windows Live Messenger 2.1 Sharing folders 2.2 PC-to-phone calls 2.3 Windows Live Messenger to Yahoo! 2.4 Offline messaging 2.5 Games and applications 2.6 i'm Initiative 2.7 Other changes 3 Protocol 4 Competition 5 References 6 See also 6.1 Other clients 7 External links

[edit] Development of Windows Live Messenger

[edit] Windows Live Messenger 8.0 Beta 1

The first beta to be released to the public it included a complete overhaul of the conversation window, with orange being the default instead of blue, although there was the option to customize this using the paintbrush symbol. The send and search buttons were put into different rounded boxes in the text area. The contact list was also completely redone, so that when you hovered your mouse over a contacts screen name, a more detailed and larger rectangle appeared in its place. The default color was also orange, and it contained the "Word Wheel" search box at the top, as in the final. Known bugs within this version include the offline conversation feature: although still advertised in the yellow bar at the top of the conversation box, it is useless to anyone who had not received an invitation (i.e., downloaded it from another site). It remained online and usable for about a month until an auto-update feature forced one to install Beta 2, rendering this version obsolete.

[edit] Windows Live Messenger 8.0 Beta 2

The second beta to be released to the public replaced the newly designed desktop icon with the Windows Messenger icon. The interface was once again changed so the display picture, text box and conversation box were all squared, with the default color being changed back to blue. The contact list also contained the symbols from MSN Messenger 7.5 and earlier. It only remained online for a couple of weeks until an auto-update feature forced one to install Beta 3, rendering this version obsolete.

[edit] Windows Live Messenger 8.0 Beta 3

This beta was nearly identical to the final. It introduced a brand new desktop icon not seen before, redesigned the interface to both the conversation and contact list windows to make it more pleasing, brought back the word wheel function on the contact list, and made the default color a dark-blue to light-blue fade. Anyone with this beta installed on their PC can continue to use it as of early August 2006.

[edit] Windows Live Messenger 8.0

Released June 19, 2006, this version has all features mentioned above working, for example offline conversations, the possibility to share files with other users, a new user interface, and much more. This version runs on Windows XP and later.

[edit] Windows Live Messenger 8.1

This version was released from Microsoft on January 29, 2007. New features include improvements for Windows Vista compatibility, roaming Display Pictures and Personal Messages (which means that the Display Picture is stored on Windows Live servers and will not change if you log in from another computer), and support for lower bandwidth connections when attempting to use Verizon web calling to make a PC to Phone call. Other small additions include a "Sign out" button in the status menu, a new Messenger buddy emoticon, and new menus for Winks, Emoticons, Backgrounds and Display Pictures. Remote desktop is still supported but the entire desktop is shared, with no ability to select individual applications.

The i'm initiative is also an added feature of 8.1.

[edit] Features new to Windows Live Messenger

To the features available in MSN Messenger, Windows Live Messenger adds the following:

[edit] Sharing folders

The Sharing Folder feature of Windows Live Messenger is an alternative to the "direct transfer" method of file distribution. When a user wants to deliver a file to another person on his or her contact list, the "sharing folder" window appears, which is an individualized representation of all previously shared items.

When files are added to the "sharing folder" for that particular person, the file will automatically be transferred to the corresponding computer when they are online. This means that the folder is literally "shared" between two computers. If a user deletes a file, for example, the file will also be deleted from the corresponding computer's shared folder.

To minimize risk of virus-infected transfers, the "sharing folder" feature is bundled with an anti-virus program. The "sharing folder" feature can only be used on computers with NTFS-formatted hard disks.

[edit] PC-to-phone calls

In addition to PC-to-PC calls that have been supported in previous versions, Windows Live Messenger now supports PC-to-phone calls with Windows Live Call. This feature is supported by Verizon, branded as "Verizon Web Calling". This feature is only available in select countries, including the US, the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Belgium, Spain, and Italy.

[edit] Windows Live Messenger to Yahoo!

On October 13, 2005, Yahoo! and Microsoft announced plans to introduce interoperability between their two messengers,^[1] creating the second largest instant messenger user base worldwide: 40 percent of all users (AIM currently holds 56 percent). The announcement comes after years of 3rd party interoperability success (most notably, Trillian, Gaim) and criticisms from Google that the major instant messengers were locking their networks. Microsoft has also had talks with AOL in an attempt to introduce further interoperability, but so far, AOL seems unwilling to participate.

Interoperability between Yahoo! and Windows Live Messenger was launched July 12, 2006.^[2][3] This allows Yahoo! and Windows Live Messenger users to talk to each other without the need to create an account on the other service, provided both contacts use the latest versions of the clients. However, if a user uses an older client, they will appear offline to the users on the other network.

[edit] Offline messaging

Unlike previous versions, one can start conversations even when his or her status is set to Appear Offline, similar to behaviour in Yahoo! Messenger. If talking to someone who has an older MSN Messenger client, they will lose the ability to talk to you after a short period of no activity, due to their client thinking you are offline.

[edit] Games and applications

Main article: Games and applications for Windows Live Messenger

There are various games and applications available in Windows Live Messenger that can be accessed via the conversation window by clicking the games icon and challenging your "buddy".

[edit] i'm Initiative

The i'm Initiative is a new program Microsoft launched in March 2007, that connects the user with nine of the world's most effective organizations dedicated to social causes through Windows Live Messenger. Every time someone has a conversation using i'm, Microsoft Corp. shares a portion of the program's advertising revenue with the organization of the user's choice. There is no set cap on the amount donated to each organization. The more i'm conversations the user has, the more money goes to one of the nine causes. Each participating organization is guaranteed a minimum donation of $100,000 during the first year of the program. There is currently no end date for the program. ^[4]. The i'm initiative only works with the most recent WLM version 8.1. The i'm initiative is available to those in the 50 United States and the District of Columbia.^[5]

[edit] Other changes

• Nicknames of individual contacts can be customized to appear differently from what the contact has set.
• Messages from contacts can now be time-stamped.
• Windows Live Messenger has the ability to turn off prepending of contact names if the same person writes multiple messages. If the same contact writes more than one message, the contact name will be displayed for only the first message. However, if messages are timestamped, and the time changes, the contact's name will be displayed with the new time.
• A color scheme can be chosen for the entire application, including the status window, and not just the conversation windows. A paint brush menu is situated below the personal message box in Windows Live Messenger, to facilitate choosing colors.
• Microsoft Passport has been replaced with Windows Live ID.
• Word wheel search within the contact list.
• As of version 8.1, your display picture and personal message are stored on the server, so wherever you sign in, the display picture and message will still appear. However, all computers must have version 8.1 for the feature to work.

[edit] Protocol

Windows Live Messenger uses the Microsoft Notification Protocol (MSNP) over TCP (and optionally over HTTP to deal with proxies) to connect to the .NET Messenger Service—a service offered on port 1863 of messenger.hotmail.com. Its current version is 14 (MSNP14), used by Windows Live Messenger and other third-party clients. MSNP14 adds Yahoo! Messenger interoperability. The protocol is not completely secret; Microsoft disclosed version 2 (MSNP2) to developers in 1999 in an Internet Draft, but never released versions 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, or 14 to the public. .NET Messenger Service servers currently only accept protocol versions from 8 and on, so the syntax of new commands from versions 8 through 14 is only known by using sniffers like Wireshark.

[edit] Competition

The most significant rivals of Windows Live Messenger are AIM and ICQ (both from AOL), Skype, Pidgin (formerly Gaim) and Jabber based clients including Google Talk.

In China, an instant messenger named QQ is predominantly used. Although used little outside of China, its domestic users number as many as 226 million. However, its popularity has recently been greatly weakened, since the entering into the Chinese market of MSN Messenger. Up until now, MSN Messenger has taken about 17 percent of the Chinese market.

[edit] References

1. ^ Yahoo and MSN marry IM services, vnunet.com, 2005-10-13
2. ^ Yahoo Interoperability Arrives
3. ^ Microsoft Press Release: Yahoo! and Microsoft Bridge Global Instant Messaging Communities
4. ^ i'm home
5. ^ i'm FAQ

[edit] See also

• Comparison of instant messaging clients
• Microsoft Messenger for Mac
• Windows Live Call

[edit] Other clients

• Adium (Mac OS X)
• Meetro (Mac OS X & Windows)
• Gaim (cross-platform)
• Miranda IM
• Naim (Command Line)
• Trillian (Windows)

[edit] External links

• Inside Windows Live Messenger — Official Blog
• MSN Messenger for other devices — Pocket PC, Pocket PC Phone Edition and Smartphone versions.