Windows/MSN Messenger?

[SiuiS]

Hi folks!

I've been meaning to get a group response somewhere but it's never even appropriate to the threads I frequent, so I figured I would make my own. Because google searches are inconclusive.

I've been getting official-seeming messages saying "Messenger is going to be discontinued, but you can use your Microsoft account to use Skype now". Which is fine except no one I trust has said anything about acing to stop using messenger, and the sender doesn't seem to connect back to Microsoft. Except, other places I go – my Xbox, my email account – have news blurbs about Skype, with no explicit mention of the switch but a lot of soft selling...

So how about you playground? Are you being forced to move or consolidate? Or is it a weird spam-scam?

[Beacon of Chaos]

Yeah, I got the same messages. Skype also has an option to sign in using a Messenger account (which works) so it's legit.

I'll miss MSN to be honest, though only for the way it links in with Windows Live Mail, giving me a helpful little alert whenever I get a new email. I'll live without it though.

[Flickerdart]

It's legitimate. Microsoft is shutting MSN down sometime this year due to a decline in user base.

[LaZodiac]

As legit as this is, I'm going to assume they'll botch up the shut down and not ACTUALLY succed in shutting down. I'm only switching over to SKYPE when I'm litereally forced to. Because that's the only way I'm ever using Skype.

[SiuiS]

Hm. Probably more apparent from a computer, then. I haven't updated my Skype app in a while.

Thanks, Diego! And flickerDart and LaZodiac!

[factotum]

It's legitimate. Microsoft is shutting MSN down sometime this year due to a decline in user base.

Or, more likely, because they spent a lot of money purchasing Skype and want to see some return on that investment sometime...

[Flickerdart]

Or, more likely, because they spent a lot of money purchasing Skype and want to see some return on that investment sometime...

Skype doesn't make money through text chat, so that's not really a contributing factor.

[Eloel]

Skype doesn't make money through text chat, so that's not really a contributing factor.

Then again, neither does MSN, Skype at least prompts you to spend money.

[scurv]

Meh, I been using skype for a few years with podcasting and virtual officeing. So no complaints here.

[Haruki-kun]

I abandoned ship already. I'm just using IRC now. And Facebook when necessary.

[Flickerdart]

Then again, neither does MSN, Skype at least prompts you to spend money.

MSN - at least the vanilla client - has image ads in the online users window and text ads under every conversation.

[Teddy]

It's legitimate. Microsoft is shutting MSN down sometime this year due to a decline in user base.

Or, more likely, because they spent a lot of money purchasing Skype and want to see some return on that investment sometime...

Or most likely, they spent a lot of money purchasing Skype and suddenly have to maintain two different chat service providers, of which only one has additional uses. Shutting down the chat-only service to avoid paying for redundancy makes perfect sense, IMO.

[factotum]

Shutting down the chat-only service to avoid paying for redundancy makes perfect sense, IMO.

Except Messenger isn't chat-only--you can do voice calls, webcam calls, transfer files...in fact, everything you can do with Skype! What Microsoft paid the money for was all those Skype users, not the actual software.

[Tebryn]

Then again, neither does MSN, Skype at least prompts you to spend money.

I've never been prompted to spend money on Skype and I've used it for voice calls for years.

[Gem_Knight]

I've never been prompted to spend money on Skype and I've used it for voice calls for years.

No but skype has the option to spend money on it, I don't know if you can do other things with skype credits, but one thing it does it let you call actual phone numbers and not just other chat users...

Frankly I dropped MSN and YiM ages back, and AiM always sucked... I use Skype just because I know other gamers on it...

[Tebryn]

No but skype has the option to spend money on it, I don't know if you can do other things with skype credits, but one thing it does it let you call actual phone numbers and not just other chat users...

Frankly I dropped MSN and YiM ages back, and AiM always sucked... I use Skype just because I know other gamers on it...

I know it does, but it's never said "Hey, spend money!" or anything like that. I dropped MSN a long time ago as well though. No real loss to see it go, a lot better programs are out there.

[SiuiS]

Really, the only reason I have IM programs at all is because people were getting upset I was PMing them about stuff they felt should be IM'd. And each one had a different system...

Except Messenger isn't chat-only--you can do voice calls, webcam calls, transfer files...in fact, everything you can do with Skype! What Microsoft paid the money for was all those Skype users, not the actual software.

So when merging, it's probably best to keep the name of the one layfolk know as having bells and whistles. Sounds about right to me.

[LaZodiac]

So the date of the forced conversion was pushed back to "April 8th At The Latest"

I'm going to take this as a minor "called it" scenario with the whole "they are actually to incompetent to make this change over happen"

[Teddy]

So the date of the forced conversion was pushed back to "April 8th At The Latest"

I'm going to take this as a minor "called it" scenario with the whole "they are actually to incompetent to make this change over happen"

Given, pushing deadlines is nothing new, and doesn't mean especially much in and on itself, because if there is but one universal constant, then it's the inability of companies to hold their own deadlines. Since Microsoft in the ideal case could halve the maintenance cost by killing off MSN, and probably won't be far behind in terms of actual costs (their lack of wish to merge them implies an architectural difference great enough to not allow any great degree of synchronisation), I fail to see why they'd ever choose to not go through with it...

[scurv]

Skype to Skype chat is free, If you want group video or a land-line number that is when you begin to spend your 15 every three months (or whatever it is now)