The Future of Online Chatting! (Microsoft MSN Messenger Service)

Member Name: racing_gawp

Product:	Microsoft MSN Messenger Service
Date:	02/04/04 (216 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: connected to your hotmail account, Free chat to friends

Disadvantages: disconnecting buddies, sometimes signing in gets delayed

Msn Messenger is a real time online chatting service which has become a must have for all internet users, with 25% of all internet users being connected to the network you will know many people you can connect to, to enjoy online text chatting!

Downloading and installing ...................
The latest version of msn messenger can be downloaded from http://www.msn.co.uk/messenger , this will take a couple of mins depending on your connection speed. Once installed all you have to do is sign up to a hotmail email account. This will take a matter of minutes. After this registration period your ready to go. The user has to input into the msn messenger start up screen their email address and password and the program will load up.

First impressions....
This review is based on the latest version which is 6.1. The looks are clean and clear and very simple, even to the new user.
Whenever you sign in you get information on the amount of emails you have recieved and a link which will allow you to view them.
But the real fun starts with of course interacting with friends, to get connected to these friends all you need to find out is their hotmail address.

General use.........
Once you have connected to a few friends, once they are online at the same time as you. You can open a dialog box between you two or more people if wanted. Whenever someone signs in you will get a notification in the bottom right of the screen. You can personalize the font and colour of text and also msn has provided you with a number of emotions such as a smile, crying, a wink, thumbs up. All to make the interaction as fun as possible. With the latest version you can also provide a personalized picture of yourself or anything else. The closer the picture resembles you the better, mine is a monkey.
But online chatting via text on a screen is not all msn provide.
With the use of a microphone you can have a voice conversation with others though when i have
tried this the installation of this has been testing on the patience. Additionally web cams can also be installed so a web conferences can be held.
File transfers can be sent over msn so photos or documents can be sent safely while chatting which is a advantage over email, often wondering if that individual can open that file okay.
A new development is the use of online games, the one that i have tried and have liked is age of empires 2 online, which allows you to play against or with friends if both of you own the same game. As this application is of microsoft origin unfortunatly it is only microsoft games which have this support but is still a good addition to the internet experience.

Can i pick and choose who i talk to???
Yes even if you have added a friend to your msn list, you can block them so you can avoid their ramblings. Best thing is that they dont know you have blocked them. Therefore everyone is happy. Also if you are busy (such as writing a review on dooyoo) you can set your messenger status to busy or out to lunch so people know your not going to talk but are still signed in.

Overall.......
Msn messenger is a great addition to anyone's computer system and in some cases is essential to keeping in touch with loved ones. This application provides communication at zero cost (well except from your internet fee, but sure does beat long distance phone calls). It provides great facilities to personalize your msn to suit you, letting you choose your name, picture and font type. Msn has kept ontop of technological developments with the use of webcams and file transfers.
But of course things can't b perfect, often you cannot sign in for some reason, due to appartly the servers being busy. But for a free service you can't really complain. A
;lso when a user has been disconnected it still records them aslong online aswell, i've talked to myself for many minutes before realizing quite often.
Fully recommended, has become a internet essential for myself. I would be totally lost without it now

Summary: