A superb way to keep in contact. (Microsoft MSN Messenger Service)

Member Name: Lakerfanster

Product:	Microsoft MSN Messenger Service
Date:	23/08/07 (162 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great to keep in touch, Send files

Disadvantages: Nothing

INTRODUCTION

With the internet being so available nowadays the number of people using messenger services has shown astonishing growth with people choosing to use Yahoo, AOL, Skype and of course the most well known messager service MSN Messenger.

Microsoft released the first MSN Messenger application in 1999 and have worked on tweaking it ever since adding new features every so often and releasing new versions to download. Gradually getting more and more sophisticated Microsoft began to pass the other messenger services in popularity.

GETTING MSN MESSENGER

All you need to download MSN Messenger or Windows Live Messenger as the new versions are called is a computer with the internet and preferably Windows although their is a basic version for Apple Mac users.

MSN Messenger is very simple to download and once you have downloaded the software onto your computer from the msn website then you can start to add your friends and family to your contact list as long as they have an account too. It's really easy to sign up for a free acount. You get an MSN email address which you use to log in.

BASIC FEATURES

When you are signed to MSN Messenger your contacts who are online will be shown by a little green icon. You can send instant messages to your contacts when they are online and send files like videos and music via a download.

You can set your contacts in order and seperate them into certain groups. These are the following Family, other contacts and work. You can also edit the name of certain groups so that you can keep your msn contact list the way you want it. For instance you could have school friends in one section and college friends in another section.

EMOTICONS

I'm sure everyone of you who have one of the messenger programs whether it be Yahoo, AOL or MSN Messenger will have used emoticons at some point.
These are little icons which show your mood and you can also send emoticons that are to do with love. Hearts, Roses etc.

There are many hundreds of emoticons on msn messenger and there are more coming up all the time which you can download from various sites. Whilst I do admit to using emoticons during nearly all of my conversations I draw the line at some of the stupid ones that shout hello or something to you.

SEARCH

This is a great feature that allows you to add a contact by looking around msn for the person you are looking for or if you know their email address all you need to do is just type in the address and the program will add their account to your friends list and you will be able to chat to them once they have added you.

If a friend of yours has moved abroad and you want to keep in touch then MSN Messenger is a great tool to have because you can contact them for free. This is also great if you talk on message boards about your favourite band or sports team, you can talk to your new friends on msn messenger and become great friends.

THE LAYOUT

I am impressed with the layout of the MSN Messenger as It is very easy to navigate around the various items and menus and everything looks neat. Everything is laid out and you can see what everything does just by moving the cursor over the icon and it will come up with the feature.



MSN MESSENGER NOW

With the release of the 8th version of Messenger in January 2007 Microsoft changed the name to Windows Live Messenger and added a number of new features including the following.

PC Calls to Phones - You can now call landlines and mobiles as opposed to your contacts PC before. This feature is only available in a limited number of countries including the US, the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Belgium, Spain, and Italy.

Sharing Folders

This feature means you can send your files into a file on your contacts computer that will only receive the files you send them. This keeps your files in a neat order in order of contact. A great idea if you receive a lot of files from your contacts.

Windows Live to other IM's

You have the ability on Windows Live Messenger to talk to Yahoo friends without having to have a Yahoo acount. This is a particularly good feature if you don't want too many downloads on your computer and if you have only a few Yahoo friends and have loads of Windows Live Messenger.

Offline messaging

This is a great feature if you know someone will be offline when you are online and you won't be online when they come online. This feature allows you to send a message to someone who is offline which they will receive when they are back online.

I particularly like this feature if you have missed something you wanted to ask them or if you are going to be online at different times you could for instance say give me a call when you get this message.

OVERALL

I have been using MSN Messenger for just over 5 years and have grown to really enjoy sending messages over the internet to my friends and it allows you to keep in contact with so many people you would normally have lost touch with.

Summary: Great program.

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