messenger posts

Filed under: Software

Microsoft Messenger for Mac 7

by Scott McNulty (RSS feed) on Apr 29th, 2008

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.

Tags: messenger, messenger-for-mac, microsoft

Filed under: Software

Microsoft on Messenger for the Mac: it ain't dead!

by Scott McNulty (RSS feed) on Nov 7th, 2007

Our good friends in Redmond dropped us a note concerning Messenger for the Mac's future (based on this post). The Mac BU wants all Mac users to rest assured that Messenger for the Mac 6.0 will be included with Microsoft Office 2008 for the Mac. Not only is Messenger for the Mac 6.0 alive and well, the Mac BU's crack team of coders are hard at work on Messenger for Mac 7.0 which will have long awaited audio/video capabilities (and which is soon to be released into the hands of some lucky enterprise beta participants, mostly to test out the Office Communication Server 2007 integration).

This is welcome news to me because I use Messenger for the Mac everyday at my day job. I couldn't do my work without it (and who wants to run a VM for an IM client? Not this guy).

Tags: mac-bu, messenger, msn, msn-messenger

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Odds and ends

Microsoft done with current Messenger for Mac client, whole new app due next year

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Nov 5th, 2007

Microsoft is calling it quits on MSN Messenger for Mac, instead choosing to go with an all-new IM client that will work with both AIM/gTalk/ICQ users and folks still on the Messenger network. The Mac version of Messenger was plagued with bugs (and Scott's gripes), and seriously-- why would you use a client like Messenger when you've got iChat and Adium anyway? It's good news that they're planning a new client, and extra good news that it's supposed to work with other protocols.

So no more updates for Messenger on the Mac, but the new client is supposed to be "really, really cool and awesome." Sounds like just what the kids like these days. We'll believe it, of course, when we see it. Messenger 9 for Windows ships next year, so if this new Mac app gets delivered, it'll probably be sometime around then.

Update: A few readers said the post was confusing regarded Microsoft's plans for Messenger on the Mac, so updated for clarity.

Update II: Microsoft has responded, and the rumors of Messenger's demise were exaggerated-- Messenger 6.0 will be included with Office 2008, and Messenger 7.0 will have audio/video capabilities included, and will be beta testing soon. Makes us wonder what Liveside really heard Jenks say, but if you're a Messenger user like our own Scott McNulty, you'll be pretty happy to hear it's not going anywhere.

[via MacBytes]

Tags: mac, messenger, messenger-9, microsoft, msn, software, update

Filed under: Odds and ends, Internet Tools, Mods

Take Windows out of Messenger 6

by Alex Wollenschlaeger (RSS feed) on Oct 5th, 2006

At the risk of appearing to be fixated with Messenger for Mac (what can I say - despite its quirks, I like it), I'll point to a neat tip at Mac OSX Hints that allows you to throw out that pesky Windows Live logo Microsoft has foisted upon us with its latest IM client update.

The solution is pretty simply and amounts to nothing more than renaming an image - but that leaves you with a blank block in the client. So some posters have come up with more interesting solutions that let you personalize the application window.

What are you going to put there, may I suggest the TUAW logo? Hit the comments and show us your ideas.

[Via Digg]

Tags: live, messenger, microsoft, windows

Filed under: Software, Bugs/Recalls, Internet Tools, Software Update, Universal Binary

Messenger for Mac sign-in problems

by Alex Wollenschlaeger (RSS feed) on Oct 3rd, 2006

Looks like Microsoft's recent upgrading of Messenger for Mac to version 6 didn't go down as smoothly as they would have liked. Microsoft's own Messenger newsgroup is just one of the places buzzing with people having problems logging in.

I found this out while struggling through this jungle of versions myself. Going from 5.1.1 to 6.0.0 locked me out of the service, with only a typically vague error message to guide me. To make matters worse, I was able to log in to the fancy new Windows Live Messenger on PC. Trashing my preferences and going back to previous versions did nothing, and Google wasn't much more helpful. That was around the time I stumbled on to the newsgroup.

In the end, my solution was simple enough - I changed my admittedly weak Passport password to something a little more robust and, voila, I was in.

Are any of you having similar problems? Let me know in the comments if so and what workarounds you've found.

Tags: messenger, microsoft, problems

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