Windows Live Messenger 8.1

Publisher's description of Windows Live Messenger

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Windows Live Messenger 8.1 includes support for the im Initiative! Every time you start a conversation using im, Microsoft shares a portion of the program's advertising revenue with some of the world's most effective organizations dedicated to social causes. So any time you have an im conversation using Windows Live Messenger 8.1, you help address the issues you feel most passionate about. It's simple. All you have to do is join and start an instant messaging conversation.

Key Features: Call your friends' PC (free), mobile or landline phones. Calls require a microphone and speakers or a headset and broadband connection. Make calls for less than $.02 a minute to most places around the world with Verizon Web Calling. Start a video conversation within minutes with a webcam. Drop in photos and other stuff for friends in a Sharing Folder, as many as your computer can handle. With Windows Live Messenger you can now connect with your Yahoo! IM contacts.

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Editor's review of Windows Live Messenger

This program improves on its predecessor, MSN Messenger, with the ability to share folders and files locally with fellow users. Windows Live Messenger also serves up the standard emoticons, multiplayer-only gaming, free PC-to-PC calling, mobile phone messaging, and video chatting in a full 640x480-pixel screen. VoIP capabilities allow you to call telephones around the world for a fee, although you can't receive inbound calls from landlines or cell phones.

During the quick installation, Windows Live Messenger offers optional shortcuts, a sign-in assistant, and Rhapsody music software, as well as the ability to change your Internet Explorer home page to MSN. You can store up to 600 contacts, integrated with your Windows Live Mail account. We found the integration a bit heavy-handed, especially when links opened in IE rather than our default browser. Also, like most dedicated chat clients, the program is a memory hog.

The Sharing Folders feature lets you and your buddy transfer files by displaying a mirror of each others' files. You can drag and drop files into the chat window or Sharing Folder. Microsoft includes a free scanner for checking files for viruses, but it didn't recognize our Symantec AntiVirus. It's unclear whether the shared files are stored on both computers or on Microsoft servers, but you can access the files offline. We wish help were offline, too, especially since the online help is so general. While Windows Live Messenger isn't yet the ultimate communications hub, it's a solid, fun, multimedia chatting tool.

User reviews of Windows Live Messenger

• Average user rating: out of 304 votes
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  Windows Live Messenger

  great im tool

  by: barakat_khaled on 23-Aug-2007 02:08:14 AM

  Pros: Windows Live Messenger is all u need when its about communicating over the internet

  Was this review helpful? Yes | No (1 of 2 users said yes)

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  Windows Live Messenger

  favourite messenging utility

  by: sassy19a on 21-Jan-2006 07:21:50 PM

  Pros: none of the messengers like yahoo, icq etc. can beat the functions of msn messenger as yet. esp in their number of interactive emotions & winks. or the drawing board to display ur artisitc skills? background can also be customised with any picture u have in ur com. as I c it, all my frienz in singapore using msn messenger cos its emotions have simply overwhelmed all other messenging services. default winks might be too little but u can easily left click on an emotion ur frien send in conversation & save as ur own. wat a breeze...

  Cons: I prefer windows messenger clean interface without ads. & other options. & Msn messenger always have some problem in connection. keep disconnecting and connecting. well, but still 5 stars for mi. leader of the pack.

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  Windows Live Messenger

  WOW!

  by: lil_ddude on 10-Jan-2006 04:36:30 PM

  Pros: I used to have AIM, but alot of my friends have been switching over to MSN. I have never seen or downloaded it before, so I decided to try it. I signed up easily and fast, and signed in. HOLY CR*P! Just be seeing it for the first time I knew it was 100x better than anything else. A VERY nice looking program, very easy to use. I like that you can check your email in 1 click, send nudges, winks, cool emoticons, dynamic AND normal backgrounds, change the colour of everything to persomalize it, cool big animated emoticons from blue mountain (only a couple free though). Its really cool how its integrated with iTunes, Windows media, and MSN spaces! GREAT PROGRAM! Download this!

  Was this review helpful? Yes | No (15 of 18 users said yes)

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  Windows Live Messenger

  Solid tool for IM, but

  by: gbh1935 on 07-Jun-2006 04:40:16 PM

  Pros: If you are working with others using window IM, this tool is fine, but...

  Cons: considering all the various IM tools out there, it would be better in some cases to get a tool that supports more protocols for IM.

  Was this review helpful? Yes | No (3 of 5 users said yes)

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  Windows Live Messenger

  This is the only IM that I use.

  by: Chainmail2006 on 09-Aug-2007 06:18:47 AM

  Pros: It works great on both "XP" and "Vista". It's customizable with backgrounds and colors. You can invite friends to join in conversations. And I found a website that has hundreds of free winks. "Google" search "free winks for Windows Live "Messenger" and look for "Kiwee". I wish I could post the link but download.com isn't having any of that. There you will find hundreds including some you can add your own text or a photo to. It has audio winks and they are all free. I like this IM application and it's the only one I use.

  Cons: I hate that it starts with "Windows" by default. I'm always turning it off in "Tuneup Utilities" startup manager. Thats the only con I have with it.

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