Its raining Betas everywhere .. Soon after Microsoft announced that new version of MSN Messenger will be called Windows Live Messenger, they released the program for Beta testers .. The download size is huge, double the size of previous versions but I still decided to test it. So I downloaded it and installed it.. Here’s my experience with it …
Whats New ..?
- The interface: It clearly says “The Future of MSN Messenger” in the main window. They have redesigned the interface yet again .. I said “Wow ..!” when I first looked at it ..! Its more colorful (You can customize the colors) and its more sleek.. You can find most of the common task in the main interface without right clicking .. Just hover over a contact and most useful tasks are visible ..
Continue reading ‘Windows Live Messenger 8 Beta Reviewed’
It was a surprise waiting for me when I logged in to Hotmail last night .. I noticed the green button glowing under the Hotmail sign asking me to sign up for testing the new Hotmail Beta .. I thought wow Ive been selected as one of the lucky people who can actually test and contribute to the service before its released .. I clicked on the button immediately and was presented with a Beta signup agreement page which I read and accepted .. I was eager to see the new features ..
The interface: When I logged in to Hotmail beta (aka Kahuna) the first thing to notice is changed interface .. I really liked what I saw .. Such clean interface reminding me of Outlook 2003 .. Clicking on Inbox lead me to the folder where message view was selected as three pane view which is default in Outlook 2003 .. And when you click a message in the Preview Pane, its content are displayed in the Reading Pane immediately without the need to refresh the page .. Some features such as MSN Messenger contacts info was missing from email page .. I saw in their info pages though that they will soon be adding it… The Calender is also integrated seamlessly into the interface .. The Calender’s interface is also similar to the Outlook .. Adding new events such as Reminders or Notes is possible just at a click ..
New Features: Now thats the best part .. New features include :
Continue reading ‘New Hotmail Beta (Kahuna) Reviewed’
To continue with my earlier post , Now I will discuss what I want to have in the Instant Messenger of my choice .. Though some proceedings made me to modify my original post. Earlier I had decided that I will point out features separately for both messengers, but now as both Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger will start supporting each other’s networks, I guess the ultimate messenger program they will release around June 2006 will support both program’s features . . .So I will make an ambiguous list that is relevant to most clients.
A disclaimer: People like me usually chat on text mode. This partly due to chatting with many people at once, being a fast typist and, not wanting to appear as I am talking to my computer for that matter :D..
So, most of the features that I want are related to text conversations …
Continue reading ‘A User’s Guide to Instant Messengers - II’
I just read this exciting news that Yahoo and Microsoft are announcing an interoperability deal .. Ths will enable the users to communicate with each other … Ooh .. I was going to write about it in the second part of my Instant messeging article …
Yahoo and Microsoft will now command upwards of 44 percent of the market, according to research firm Radicati Group, putting new pressure on market leader AOL, which holds around 56 percent market share with AIM and ICQ. And according to recent comScore Media Metrix numbers, MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger together reach 33.5 million unique users each month, more than the 23 million running AIM.
It is not clear though that will they announce a new multiprotocol client or just connect their network .. I hope they wont go ahead and kill rivals this fashion.. When they are opening up, they should make it an open protocol like Xmpp . .. Although I see no reason to believe that they will encourage more IM service to join them .. I think this move is more in defence to Google Talk .. Anyways .. Lets see what happens ..
I hope that good features from both the client will add up and bad features will be minimized ..
The link to the story is here
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