Messaging Made Easy (Microsoft MSN Messenger Service)

Member Name: shopaholicleo

Product:	Microsoft MSN Messenger Service
Date:	21/11/08 (140 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to keep in touch with friends and family

Disadvantages: Can be addictive at times and makes me have less face to face chats

MSN Messenger has been a part of my life for almost 10 years. It became the place to be seen in Year 8, kind of like a Facebook of the early noughties, and everyone was on it regardless of whether you liked them or not. I used to end up adding much of my class, and when they popped up online I would probably say hello and not much else, and hours were spent having inane conversations about what I was doing (nothing) or abusing the emoticon feature (smiley faces, cakes, etc). Now MSN plays a lesser role in my life, but I still find it a very useful way to keep in touch with people.

You need to set up a Hotmail account before you start, and download the program, but once you've done this you can start adding your friend's e-mail addresses, and as soon as they've accepted you as a contact, you'll be able to see whether they're online or not. The useful thing is that you can update your status as being online, out to lunch or even appearing offline, so you can see if there's anyone worth talking to before you reveal your true status. I often appear offline, though there seems to be a bug as other people seem to think I'm online, therefore making it look like I'm on the internet constantly, which is kind of true but not something I want everyone to know. Anyway, once you and your desired contact are online at the same time (or not, in some cases; they can pick up the message later on) you can begin a text conversation.

Now I do prefer talking to people about things face to face, but for when you want to say something somewhat embarrassing that'd be difficult to talk about in person, then MSN is perfect. You can get an instant response to any issues you have from friends, though it is difficult to gauge the reaction of others (similarly you can hide your reaction, when you hear about something you may not like). MSN helps us to hide our emotions when necessary and spare hurt feelings, but if all of your deepest conversations are happening here, then it can begin to affect your face-to-face conversations, especially if you misinterpret something. I tend to use it to keep up with family and friends, since I'm, at university, though I often come over all lazy and message my friend who lives above me and another who lives around the corner (though I do see them on a daily basis, so I think I can allow this). It's great to use when you don't feel like speaking (hungover times especially), but be aware that typing up a long explanation of events can take a while and could potentially bore the recipient.

MSN doesn't really dominate my life as much as it used to anymore, and I tend to use it in combination with Facebook and Skype, which can be better to use in certain situations. You can also use Facebook and Skype for instant messaging, but I prefer to stick to MSN as it saves conversations and seems the most straightforward to use (I don't want some of the randoms who add me on facebook knowing when I'm online, plus not everyone can use Skype). Pretty much anyone can download the application, so whether you have a Mac, Windows or a certain type of mobile phone, then you can use this anytime.

The MSN service does occasionally fail, but I don't feel as lost without it as I did when I was younger, but now there's plenty of other ways of communicating. It normally gets sorted out quickly enough. There is a way of using it with a webcam, but it doesn't seem to work with my Mac, but I'd prefer to use Skype for voice chat anyway. It seems to be constantly evolving as well, (but the Mac version not so much, so I don't know the full extent) so that you can talk to people while showing up as offline, or 'nudge' them or share your entire music collection. I will probably use it less and less over time, but it still holds a special place in my heart as the place where many revelations have been uncovered. Seems this review has been rather therapeutic...

Summary: A good way to chat

Reliability:
Ease of use:
Installation:
Noise:
Speed:
Variety of features: