webDotWiz Online has a Space: Messenger

Windows Live Messenger add-ons - visit the Live Gallery

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:27:54 GMT

You now can easily get all the emoticons, display pictures, winks, backgrounds, activities and agents you want from the Live Messenger section of Windows Live Gallery at http://gallery.live.com/messenger.

Agents? Yes, help is at hand. Need a secretary? Get your own personal secretary to help you organise, do some calculations, keep notes, send emails and do translations.

Technorati tags: Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Gallery

Windows Live Messenger 8.5 trial version - not yet ready for Australia

Sat, 02 Jun 2007 05:53:55 GMT

A trial version, version 8.5, of Live Messenger is now available for download - but not yet for Australia.

For some screenshots of what's in store, see Inside Live Messenger, the Messenger team's blog space.

A couple of things to note:

Live Messenger 8.5 on Windows XP requires that XP has been updated to Service Pack 2
Mess 8.5 has in-built parental controls using Windows Live OneCare Family Safety settings
Updates will come through via Microsoft Update
Inside Live Messenger has some good screenshots of the install screens you'll see for any Windows Live service you install (e.g., Windows Live Writer or Windows Live Mail)
In the screenshots at Liveside.net, have a look at the large version of the Sharing Folders screenshot to spot the promotion of Live Folders.

Keep an eye on your feed from webDotWiz to find out when the Aussie version of Live Messenger 8.5 becomes available.

Technorati tags: Windows Live Messenger 8.5 beta, Windows Live

Emoticons list for Live Messenger

Mon, 07 May 2007 09:48:15 GMT

Via Inside Windows Live Messenger.

Here's a handy list of emoticons and the shortcut keystrokes for Live Messenger.

Right-click the pic above and use "Save As..." to save it then print it for handy reference. The size is about 390 x 940 pixels. If you don't get a nice, clear pic from the one above, try the original at Inside Windows Live Messenger.

Technorati tags: Emoticons, Windows Live Messenger

Messenger how-to's and free stuff

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:13:18 GMT

The Live Messenger team have posted Messenger Tips & free stuff! which you can find at the new Windows Live Messenger site (http://imagine-windowslive.com/Messenger/Post/).

The site is taken up with illustrated step-by-step instructions on the basics of using Live Messenger through to the more fun stuff such as sharing activities or playing games and using Messenger to make PC-to-PC calls.

As well, a reminder there are plenty of backgrounds and display pictures for free at Messenger Vibe (tip: refresh the page to view more free backgrounds and display pics).

Technorati tags: Live Messenger, background, display picture, home page

I'm making a difference project with Live Messenger

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 08:53:54 GMT

From the I'm Home site:

i’m is a new initiative from Windows Live™ Messenger. Every time you start a conversation using i’m, Microsoft shares a portion of the program's advertising revenue with some of the world's most effective organizations dedicated to social causes. We've set no cap on the amount we'll donate to each organization. The sky's the limit.

Even though Mess users outside the U.S. can't contribute to the organisations when starting a conversation, you can still raise awareness by addding the special emoticon to your display name so your U.S. friends become aware of the project.

You can choose from the following - simply add the code (e.g., *9mil) to your display name:

American Red Cross -- ready to help, code = *red+u
Boys & Girls Clubs of America -- providing a positive place for kids, code = *bgca
National AIDS Fund -- fighting AIDS, code = *naf
National MS Society -- joining the MS movement, code = *mssoc
ninemillion.org -- helping 9 million refugee kids, code = *9mil
Sierra Club -- exploring and protecting the planet, code = *sierra
StopGlobalWarming.org -- stopping global warming, code = *help
Susan G. Komen for the Cure -- finding the cure, code = *komen
UNICEF -- helping kids survive, code = *unicef

(this list is an excerpt from the Live Messenger team Space where you can read more about i'm).

As well as the special Mess emoticon, you can add an i'm banner of your choice to your own web site - go to here to see what's available and get the one that best fits on your site.

Technorati tags: i'm, make a difference, Live Messenger, emoticon, donate

Messenger 8.1 ready

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 09:15:04 GMT

Yesterday (Australian time) Live Messenger 8.1 became available for download.

The latest version has lots of new and improved features, including:

roaming identity (your display picture now goes with you whenever you move from one computer to another)
a better contact card
SMS phone book (click the mobile phone icon on the main screen)
send a text message to a friend's mobile (if they've registered their mobile phone with the Live Messaging system - they'll have a little mobile icon alongside; just right-click on their nickname in your contact list)
im and talk with your Yahoo! friends
2 free VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone calls to anywhere in the world (except from Australia at present - we'll have to wait and see if this service becomes available to Aussie Live Messers).
personal contact invitations when you add a new contact to your friend's list so they know who's inviting them.

Check out some screenshots and full description of the new and improved features at Inside Live Messenger (plenty of screenshots), Liveside (more screenshots; note the one which shows the phone icon on the main Messenger pane - scroll down until you see Update) and the Live Messenger features page.

Go get Windows Live Messenger 8.1 - and we in Australia will patiently wait to see if we get the VOIP service - from get.live.com/messenger/overview.

Technorati tags: Windows Live Messenger, download, Instant Messaging

Windows Live Messenger 8.1 available on Jan 25?

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 11:56:37 GMT

Rumour has it that the update to version 8.1 of Live Messenger will be available for download on January 25 (which probably means Fri for Aussies).

PC-to-phone calls will be enabled in this version for most countries and there'll be two free phone calls to anywhere in the world as part of the new version.

Calls from Live Mess 8.1 to phones within Australia and from Australia to overseas? We'll have to wait and see.

Via Liveside and Mess.be.

Watch a Soapbox video on Messenger with one of your contacts

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:41:32 GMT

Via the Soapbox on MSN Video team Space, Inside Live Messenger, Liveside.

To watch a video with a friend on your Messenger contact list:

sign into Soapbox on MSN Video and begin watching a video
click on the Share tab below the video player on the righ-hand side of the screen
look for im this video and click it
you'll be asked to choose a contact from your contact list who's also currently online
the Messenger activity window will open once your contact has accepted your invitation
watch the video together and chat about it while it's playing.

Technorati tags: Soapbox on MSN Video, Live Messenger, share video

Chat with Santa

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 09:08:38 GMT

Add

northpole@live.com

to your contact list on Windows Live Messenger, and from the morning of Christmas Eve, you can find out where he is on his journey around the world and ask him when he'll be visiting your house.

Keep up to date with what Santa is doing by visiting his Space at http://santaonspaces.spaces.live.com.

Technorati tags: Santa, Santa on Live Spaces, Santa on Live Messenger

Windows Live Messenger + Soapbox MSN Video - next year?

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 10:47:46 GMT

Liveside summarises a few points gleaned from a post on NewTeeVee that point to Soapbox on MSN Video working in Windows Live Messenger so you and one of your contacts can share a video to watch (much the same way that Live Maps can be shared or you play a game against a contact, for example).

As well, Soapbox on MSN Video could be coming to mobiles.

Technorati tags: Windows Live Messenger, Soapbox on MSN Video, mobiles

Windows Live Messenger 8.1 beta/trial now available

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 05:47:02 GMT

You can try out Live Messenger 8.1.

This version has several new features, including:

your display picture now travels with you
a better contact card display
sign out from the status menu (this one will save lots of time)
SMS phone book
updated menu for emoticons, winks, backgrounds and display pictures
automatic updates

Download Windows Live Messenger 8.1 beta from ideas.live.com.

Via Inside Messenger, Liveside.

Technorati tags: Windows Live Messenger 8.1 beta

Live Messenger 8.1 trial version this week?

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 09:41:42 GMT

Liveside, via some people who attended the Windows Live Sessions (French), Live Messenger version 8.1 in trial form will be released to the general public this week (in fact, on Oct 30). We'll see what comes about.

Apart from keeping an eye out here for any announcements, check ideas.live.com and Inside Windows Live Messenger (the Live Messenger team blog).

How many ways can you communicate with Live Messenger?

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 01:29:29 GMT

Highlight one of your contacts in Live Messenger.

Right click and count the number of ways you can get in touch with that person (choose someone who's online and someone who isn't to see if there are any differences).

Because we Australians don't have all the possibilities yet, see the choices available in the U.S. (and U.K.) where they have PC Call activated to call a contact's phone.

Technorati tags: Windows Live Messenger, communicate, get in touch with a contact

240 million + 110 million = 350 million messaging community

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 10:28:23 GMT

Without having to install a new version Live Messenger, the agreement between Microsoft and Yahoo! has created a messaging community of 350 million active accounts as of today.

That means you can mess with your Yahoo! friends from Live Messenger and they can mess you from Yahoo! Messenger.

Via Liveside.

Technorati: Windows+Live+Messenger, Yahoo!+Messenger

Some humour - Messenger videos on Soapbox

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 10:21:02 GMT

Nicole of Inside Windows Live Messenger has a post with links to a couple of videos on MSN Soapbox, Messenger Bottle (sholdn't it be Message in a Bottle?) being the funniest.

Technorati: Windows+Live+Messenger, MSN+Soapbox

More Live Messenger themes

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 11:07:48 GMT

Leah (of Inside Windows Live Messenger fame) has let us all know about the MessengerVibe site which offers plenty of Messenger themes created by talented graphic artists.

Technorati: Windows+Live+Messenger, theme+packs

More games for Windows Live Messenger

Sat, 26 Aug 2006 11:13:40 GMT

Many moons ago, the Rushworth Community House webDotWizards used to have time to have a game or two via MSN Messenger (as it was called in those times - now it's called Windows Live Messenger) during a Tuesday evening or Friday morning webDotWizards session (Not any more - webDotWiz works us all very hard: updating our Spaces, adding photos, adding sites to our Live Favorites, making Live Local collections - it's all work, work, work, but with lots of fun. Anonymous.).

Well, Debbie at Inside Live Messenger has news about the most popular games we play against our family and friends on Messenger and how her small team are developing new games.

In fact, to make life simple and so you can keep up to date with announcements of new games in Live Messenger, all you need do is visit New Messenger Games or, better, add a feed to your Live.com page.

webDotWiz is using the new Insert Tags... multiple tag plugin by Peder Borg Poulsen in this post.

Technorati: Windows+Live+Messenger, Live+Messenger, games

Windows Live Messenger update - chat with your Yahoo! friends

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 12:44:38 GMT

A new version of Live Messenger has just been released (build 8.0.0812 for the numerically minded - look at Help - About to see which version you're currently running). Download it from messenger.live.com.

The major new feature is that talking with Yahoo! Messenger Voice friends is now included - it's been trialled for last month or so (you probably saw the alert boxes pop up when you've been signing in and you may even been one of the testers ).

webDotWiz doesn't know of other changes but it appears the font sizes have been changed a bit and the contact card has a few subtle improvements - don't take his word for it though - it's late and he might be dreaming! Anyway, the main thing is to keep in contact with your family and friends with Live Messenger and have fun doing it.

During installation, one new item appears to be the option to also install the Windows Live Toolbar. webDotWiz is already using it. Apart from easily getting to Messenger or his Space or his Live Favorites, there's Onfolio, an extremely powerful tool to copy and store sections of web pages - a very efficient tool for research purposes, among other things (e.g., storing song lyrics). You can read more about what features on the Live Toolbar's homepage.

Tags: Windows Live Messenger, Messenger, Windows Live, Yahoo! Messenger with Voice.

Messenger - 7 years old on July 22

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 02:46:57 GMT

Windows Live Messenger (we used to know it as MSN Messenger) will be seven years old on July 22. webDotWiz has been using Messenger for a long time and can remember the days when we had to add a new contact to Messenger and then repeat the process to add that contact to our Hotmail - those days are long gone. Audio chats were possible but the audio is now far better. And video conversations are simple to start - the person on the other end doesn't even need a webcam to enjoy the video feed. Messenger can now be your central comms manager for audio, video, mail, and your Space, so you can easily keep in touch with family and friends... and in Australia we await with bated breath to be able to make phone calls to our contacts when we can't reach them through the free Messenger services.

To celebrate Messenger's 7th birthday, there are free sets of emoticons, display pictures and winks to download from either Blue Mountains/Kiwe9, Quebles or MeeGos.

Thanks for Leah from Inside Windows Live Messenger for the news about the upcoming birthday.

Use Windows Live Messenger to talk with your Yahoo friends

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 10:24:58 GMT

MessengerSays have announced that there will be a trial version of Windows Live Messenger released that enables Live Messers to chat with their Yahoo! friends without needing Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. If you want to try this latest update to Live Messenger, you'll have to sign up at ideas.live.com.

Windows Live Search now part of Windows Live Messenger

Tue, 27 Jun 2006 05:43:51 GMT

As promised by the Live Search team, Live Search is now part of Messenger. In a conversation windows with one of your contacts, click the Activities button to access Live Search. Currently its scoped to search the web, for images and news. You can share with your friend any site listed in the search results pane with one click.

Live Messenger features at messenger.live.com

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 11:16:53 GMT

Looking for a convenient way to read through all Live Messenger's features? Browse over to the messenger.live.com site and click the Features link. Note that you'll soon be able to talk to your friends on Yahoo! Messenger. As well there should be a page giving details on the Messenger phones and Microsoft's new web cams for Messenger but it's not up yet.

Windows Live Messenger download site

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 06:35:30 GMT

The Windows Live Messenger site, get.live.com/messenger/overview, is now, er, live, so you can download the new public release from there.

Live Messenger full version now available

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 22:28:18 GMT

It's here! No more beta and webDotWiz can now sign into Mess at home (and sign in with his other Live IDs as well). Everybody (on XP) can install the latest release and will be directed to do so by an update alert when you sign in. The Live Messenger site, messenger.live.com, is not yet, er, live yet but will be soon. So download from the link on Liveside (scroll down to Update 2...). For those who haven't been using the beta test version of Windows Live Messenger, you can get a list of new features at Inside Windows Live Messenger, the Messenger team's Space. All this news via Liveside - thanks guys.

Meet Billy Jones, Jack Sparrow and other pirates

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 01:31:29 GMT

Dead Man's Tale is a theme pack and activity/game for Windows Live Messenger. As a single player, you have to help Jack Sparrow. If you share the conversation with one of your contacts, you work together to sail safely through the Carribean and avoid the pirates.

Messenger release today (19th) or tomorrow

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 01:23:11 GMT

Liveside is reporting that Windows Live Messenger is to be released to the general public on June 19 or June 20 (depending on your time zone). This version of Messenger will take it from being in beta (trial) status to full version available to one and all (as long as they're running Windows XP). Keep an eye on the webDotWiz Space for news on the release. Also have a look at get.live.com (which at the time of writing is only showing a background image).

Live Messenger (Messenger 8) public release June 16?

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 07:05:46 GMT

Bink is reporting that Live Messenger will be released to the general public on Friday June 16. We can only wait and see.

Windows Live Messenger - new sites

Thu, 11 May 2006 09:02:52 GMT

With the public release of Windows Live Messenger 8 beta for the general public (rather than by invite, as has been the case for the past few months), there are a couple of new sites worth visiting:

Spread the Word, and
lots of info about Mess 8's new features, in particular a link to details about the Uniden WIN1200 Windows Live Messenger phone.

From Inside Windows Live Messenger and Liveside.

Windows Live Messenger beta avaiable to everybody

Wed, 10 May 2006 05:35:30 GMT

On May 9 Microsoft officially announced the availability of Windows Live Messenger version 8 beta (trial) to the public in general. Until now those wanting to try out Messenger 8 had to be invited or go through a process of acceptance in the testing process. Features highlighted in the press release included the following:

Windows Live Call with Verizon Web Calling service: With one click, users can go directly to the Windows Live Call feature and, through the Verizon Web Calling service, place affordable outbound local voice calls and domestic or international long-distance voice calls over the Internet. Service is already offered to Messenger customers in five countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain. As of next week, this calling service will be available in localized languages and currencies for six new markets — Austria, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands .
Cordless phones designed exclusively for Windows Live Messenger from Philips and Uniden.
Sharing Folders.
Windows Live contacts.
Offline instant messaging.
Video conversations.
Unified contacts (up to as many as 600).

To download, go to ideas.live.com and sign in. Remember that this beta version only allows one Live ID/Passport account/Hotmail account sign in.

Windows Live Messenger beta 8.0.0689 - what's new

Wed, 03 May 2006 10:17:34 GMT

Here are some of the features that webDotWiz noticed after installing the latest refresh of Windows Live Messenger 8 beta:

Vista look, that is, colouring is gradated from darkish to lighter, bottom to top.
New spinning icons.
Very fast to show list of contacts once sign in is done.
New icons
For Australia: icons for Mail, Sharing folders, Go to MSN Space, Go to Windows Live Today (used to be called MSN Today), Change colour scheme.
New icons for contacts and status.
Windows Live ID Assistance Sign-in Tool included in install.

As pointed out in the previous post, there are plenty of screenshots at the Windows Live Messenger team's Space. As well, look through some of the new features - yep, there are new sounds. Leah has posted some answers to questions asked by some messers at the end of her post.

You can read up about Windows Live Sign-in Assistant, especially in regard to those of us who have mutliple Live IDs (that is, we're the ones with more than one Hotmail account, to use the old terminology), at the Windows Live ID Space.

New build of Windows Live Messenger

Wed, 03 May 2006 01:47:11 GMT

The latest build of Windows Live Messenger is version 8.0.0689 and it's now available. Get it from www.ideas.live.com. To preview all the new layout and features, read through Leah's post on Windows Live Messenger team Space where there are copious numbers of screenshots.

Included with the new version is the Windows Live Sign-in Assistant which manages our Live ID sign-ins and will be especially useful to those of us with multiple Live ID accounts (we used to call them Hotmail or Passport accounts). Have a read about Windows Live ID Assistant on the Windows Live ID team's Space.

As soon as webDotWiz installs the latest Messenger, he'll post any pointers ASAP.

Messenger possible updates for April

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 11:07:05 GMT

Liveside is reporting several possible new features in the next build of Windows Live Messenger 8 for April. The first group includes:

the MSN Today page to be replaced by Widows Live Today
the new interface (as shown in My Blogs photo album and in an earlier post)
encrypting contact list
better Windows Live Call integration to show On the Phone as your status
device support for Windows Live Phone interfaces

The second announcement from Liveside shows new icons on the toolbar.

Access Friends List from Windows Live Messenger

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:38:02 GMT

Right click on a contact and on the popup menu click Friends list. You'll get the same page and layout as you would from your MSN Space. Dare talks more about this under the heading Social Networking in Windows Live Messenger and how it's an example of another feature common to MSN Spaces, Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Mail.

Offline IMing with Messenger 8

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 10:29:06 GMT

Under the heading, OIM FAQ 4, Nicole runs through the options with using offline messaging that's available in Messenger 8. Basically, it's as simple as double-clicking on a contact, typing in the text, and sending the message. Your contact will be able to read the message the next time they sign in - even if they're still only using Mess 7. Anyway, there's lot's more in Nicole's post about how the Windows Live Messenger team decide on new features to include/not include in future versions.

Sneak look at final Messenger 8 interface

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 10:02:43 GMT

Liveside and Bink both had a preview screenshot of the latest user interface for Messenger 8 a few days ago. Clcik the picture below for a larger view.

Messenger do's and don'ts

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 11:04:59 GMT

Nicole over on Inside Windows Live Messenger has a handy list of what to do and what not to do when using Messenger. Her post is too long to quote here so you'll have to go over and read it - click here.

Windows Live Messenger beta open to public

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 09:03:49 GMT

Bink is reporting that WL Messenger beta can now be downloaded by the public (rather than by invitation). The link that Bink gives is to MSN UK so whether it will work for Australia is unknown. As well, WL Messenger beta has been tied to one single account while it's in trial mode and there's no mention of a change on the MSN UK download page - just note that restriction on a computer used by several Messers.

How to use Sharing Folders

Sun, 12 Mar 2006 11:49:40 GMT

The Official Sharing Folders Cheat-Sheet is posted on the Inside Windows Live Messenger team space and, in brief, we're able to do the following (the synch feature will be a real timesaver):

Drag & drop files into the sharing window & keep the originals intact
Drag & drop files onto a buddy in the main window
Click "Add Files" in the sharing window and multi-select files to share
Use the shortcuts under My Computer or My Docs in the ‘Save As…’ dialog, and
Sync - Have something you absolutely have to share with a buddy ASAP? Just open your sharing folder, add the file, and keep the window open. You’ll see the “Synchronizing” status at the bottom kick in immediately because we prioritize that transfer when you’re looking at it.

Windows Live Messenger's Sharing Folder feature certainly beats the old method of sending one file at a time. Remember that both people can work on the same document (edit a wordprocessing doc, spreadsheet, touch up a photo, and so on) and save it back to the Shared Folder. But who's version gets saved? webDotWiz cannot adjudicate - sorry.

For all the details that explains what's going on behind the scenes, see the full post here.

Windows Live Messenger feedback

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 08:21:11 GMT

Leah's post, Yay! A New Version of Windows Live Messenger Beta, on Feb 27 didn't take long to collect comments - about 700 of them . You'll find a summary of them all over at Inside Windows Live Messenger under the heading A Summary Of Feedback On Latest WLM Beta.

Windows Live Messenger update

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 09:59:47 GMT

Those trialling WL Mess 8 would have by now been prompted to update to the latest version (8.0.566 on the Help/About menu). From feedback from users, the team have made a number of changes and improvements. It takes about two seconds to notice Leah over at Inside Windows Live Messenger has a detailed list of all the changes (and why they were made) so check there if you can't see everything that's been changed. There are plenty of screenshots for comparison purposes, too. And if you're wondering why all the fuss and want to try WLM yourself but haven't been invited, get over to ideas.live.com and sign up.

Update to Windows Live Messenger due

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 11:55:01 GMT

Leah, over at Inside Windows Live Messenger, has plenty of detail about the changes to the next trial version. In fact, we all should get notified of the update starting today or tomorrow. Plenty of screenshots, too, and lots of comments about the change to the interface.

Windows Live Messenger makeover

Fri, 17 Feb 2006 09:18:06 GMT

Having received plenty of feedback from testers of the new Windows Live Messenger, the development team have announced lots of changes to the interface (e.g., gone is the dizzying effect when we hovered the mouse over a contact in our contacts list).

The best place to go to view all these changes is the Inside Windows Live Messenger space and let the developers themselves show us the changes that we'll soon see.

Talking about IM, Robot

Sat, 04 Feb 2006 22:24:09 GMT

webDotWiz has passed around to many people the contact that enables you to ask questions of Encarta from Messenger (version 7.5 or Windows Live Messenger). The post below from MessengerSays gives some more (you'll have to click the link to get there as all the text didn't fit - MS employees have a larger quota than the rest of us!!).

Quote

IM, Robot

posted by Nicole

When I was driving the v7.0 Beta release over a year ago now (it seems like 5 years ago) I wanted a to provide an easy way to allow team members to get up-to-date information on status. I thought about writing a bot, so for example if you wanted to get the most up-to-date schedule info you could ask the bot “schedule?”. Although we did have some bot capabilities back then it was beyond my grasp and was apparently not a cheap endeavor. So instead I just sent the team my IM address to ask me questions any time I was online – definitely not a great solution.

I am very excited to say that now anyone can write their own Messenger bot with the help of the Conversagent BuddyScript SDK. Chatting with bots is amusing. I think it is even cooler to interact with them which is possible with the SDK. A couple examples I would love to see:

Tank Wars Bot: Imagine you want to play a tank wars and no one is online, no problem you can play with a bot. Sweet!

Go Hawks Bot: No matter what you say it replies with "Go Hawks Go". Especially fun to send to the poor Steelers fans. My prediction for Sunday: Seattle Wins - 37-28.

Need more ideas? Check out this post.</

Talking about Who Ya Gonna Call? Anyone in the World!

Wed, 25 Jan 2006 09:05:05 GMT

Inside Windows Live Messenger has more info about the phone that will be specifically available for phone calls in the new Messenger when the final release is available.

So what is it?
It’s a two-line phone. The first line plugs into a wall jack just like every other home phone you have. The second line is a USB connection to your computer. The base/charger stays near your PC but the handset is wireless, allowing you to take it all over your house. The WLM Phone will work right out of the box, no installation of drivers or control software. All you need is the latest version of Windows Live Messenger.

This phone is a one-stop shop for all your calling services. If you just pick up and dial like normal:
1. You can make a call using your local phone service.

2. You can also choose to open the Messenger interface.

Listen to each other's music in Messenger

Mon, 16 Jan 2006 08:34:35 GMT

Over at Messenger Says, Leah has given the steps you need so you can share your music list with a friend through WLM (it's not yet available in Australia but keep an eye out in the Activities list).

Here are the steps in summary (quoting):

How To Use It:

Open a conversation window
Hit “activities”
Select the second one down: Music Mix
When the play list opens, add tracks to it and jam away…together!

Details:

Remember – you’re sharing a play list. If you fastforward, skip, or stop a song, your buddy will hear the same thing you do.
Songs are not actually transferred to your buddy, only a compressed version is temporarily cached on their computer while you mix.
Playlist file formats are wma, mp3, & wav
Music Mix holds up to 25 songs at a time, each a max of 20MB in size. You must delete songs to add more
Album art info is shown at the top of the activity window only in the US, but obscure songs can sometimes show the wrong album art.
the Search button only shows up for songs added by your buddy, clicking it will take you to an MSN Music search for your song

Requirements:

Currently only available in the US, France, Germany, Japan, and the UK.
Requires WMP 10, which is available for Windows XP and up.
Now available on Windows Live Beta, but VERY SOON MSN Messenger users will see it show up in their activity menu as well, so keep checking it.