The kind folks at the Mac BU dropped me a note announcing Messenger for Mac 7's availability. The big ticket item is full Audio/Visual conferencing support between Messenger on the Mac and on the PC. Sadly, this is only available for corporate accounts, so if you have a personal account you'll need to wait a little longer for that feature. Personal users, though, aren't entirely left out in the cold. You can now assign nicknames to contacts, search your contacts, and chat with people on your Bonjour network.I use Messenger for corporate IM everyday, so I was excited to get by hands on this new version. Sadly, I can't seem to be able to log into my account using Messenger for Mac 7, so I'll have to take Microsoft's word on the new features.
Update: Oops, Messenger 7 does work for my corporate account because it requires Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 (my workplace is still running 2005). Ah well, the neato new features will be mine soon enough.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
4-29-2008 @ 2:47PM
Data said...
So basicly it's a joke, again. I just can't believe it.
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4-29-2008 @ 3:44PM
DJM said...
I agree with you. It's just unbelieveable how MS handles Mac software.
+ My Office crashes every time i open it and it basically is useless
4-29-2008 @ 3:58PM
Dale said...
It's unbelievable that a corporation that exists to make money would put less effort into free software for a rival's operating system. The nerve of it!
4-29-2008 @ 4:01PM
Jon said...
Also, it only works with Office Communication Server 2007. My company uses Live Communication Server 2005 and Microsoft Messenger for Mac 7 will not work with it.
4-29-2008 @ 2:58PM
Macniatic said...
Terrible update.
The icon is badly designed. Is difficult to recognize in the Dock.
The only good think about this update was that they added the clear account history in the login panel.
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7-09-2008 @ 5:01PM
Eric said...
I actually kinda like the new icon, looks new and fresh. Too bad the rest of messenger isn't.
I really do like the nickname thing, helps tonnes, still waiting for A/V chat though
4-29-2008 @ 2:59PM
Etienne said...
Hah, I have to have a corporate account to use this?
What's the logic here? Personal accounts are far more popular and Messenger users have been demanding A/V support on the Mac for ages.
One slow step at a time, I guess.
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4-29-2008 @ 3:02PM
Blaktornado said...
I don't think I'll switch from Adium (
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4-29-2008 @ 3:32PM
Blaktornado said...
Well, I'm right.
Tried Messenger 7 and it was poor. Looked ugly and didn't really do anything that was too different from the old one.
Adium all the way, for me, it seems.
4-29-2008 @ 3:02PM
Cameron Williams said...
Tried to get the update, but the installer failed to download ffmpeg131installer.dmg correctly either automatically or manually. Anyone have a link to the file?
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4-29-2008 @ 3:04PM
alberto Azevedo said...
Laaaaaameeee!!!
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4-29-2008 @ 3:05PM
paul said...
I'm sure in 2012 they'll get around to adding the webcam feature people have been asking for since 1998.
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4-29-2008 @ 3:05PM
Cameron said...
Oops, auto-posted an old comment. This is a step in the right direction with personal messages and custom emoticons, but it still needs to add offline message support before it can become my main MSN client.
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4-29-2008 @ 3:15PM
Hugh said...
Well this is just great. I mean the number of people who use personal accounts *far* outweighs the corporate users. Perhaps a release with the A/V working and for both the majority and minority of users might have been a good idea. I'll stick to Adium at the moment. But it does seem silly that Microsoft can't even support its *own* protocol properly yet a third-party can. Unbelievable.
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4-29-2008 @ 3:29PM
Quine said...
i don't get why people use microsoft's chat network, its horrible. from what ive seen yahoo chat is better in every way, as is aim (though aim lacks a few things yahoo chat has). plus the client is total crap, so why use it?
how come nearly everything ms puts out is a pos? wait, nevermind, i already know.
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4-29-2008 @ 5:12PM
Dave Wood said...
I also can't believe people still use MSN for chat. It's terrible. At work, we've all switched to Skype, works the same for PC, and Mac, full video too.
4-29-2008 @ 5:15PM
Dave Wood said...
Oh, and I forgot to mention, Skype has encryption of IM's too, so unlike MSN, everyone in the office can't read my conversation. With MSN, it's easy to read every conversation on the network!
4-29-2008 @ 3:42PM
Hugh said...
It is quite obvious that the only reason anyone would use MSN is because the friends of the user use that protocol. Imagine if everyone used Yahoo!: no more MSN, because no-one would use it. Since it is one of the most popular here in the UK, it is plain to see that the majority of newbies to the IM world will choose MSN.
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4-29-2008 @ 3:42PM
Trevor said...
They couldn't even add offline messages? I couldn't give a crap about voice and video, cause at least people know you can't do them, but with offline messages people don't know you can't recieve them. Another let down by microsoft. What a waste of time.
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4-29-2008 @ 3:46PM
RobK said...
Quine - People use the MS Messenger chat Network if their friends are on it. MS Messenger is VERY popular in Canada, Australia and many other Countries (more popular than AIM and Yahoo). In the US, AIM is the most popular network.
Why is MS Messenger so popular outside the USA? I suspect it is because MS Messenger comes with windows out of the box.
It is a pity than MS does not provide Messenger for Mac with webcam support. I suspect this is intentional. ANother way MS is trying to force people to use Windows.
But there are alternatives. I believe Mercury Messenger for the mac and aMSN for the Mac support the MSN chat network and web cams!!
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