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Microsoft are re-inventing a lot of their products with a new range they are calling "Windows Live Ideas". At the moment these are in the beta stage such as Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Safety Center, Live.com etc. But one of the most exciting will be the new product to take over the fantastic MSN Messenger product range. This is to be renamed as "Windows Live Messenger" and should prove to be quite interesting! Below is the lowdown as stated by Microsoft's Live.Ideas page:
What it is
Windows Live Messenger will be the next-generation MSN Messenger. It will have everything you already love about Messenger—your contact list, emoticons, and instant access to your friends via text, voice, and video—plus new ways to connect and share documents with almost magical ease. As always, it will be free to download Messenger and use most of its features.
What you will be able to do with it
• Send all your familiar winks and emoticons, plus some cool new ones
• Have real-time text, video and voice conversations*
• Call your friends’ mobile or land-line telephones by signing up for MCI Web Calling to make affordable domestic and international calls
• Easily share documents of all kinds with Sharing Folders
• Make free PC-to-PC calls with other Messenger users
*Both parties must have compatible Web cameras, speakers, and microphones.
System Requirements
• Multimedia PC
• Pentium 233 MHz process (500 MHz recommended)
• Microsoft Windows XP
• Minimum 128 MB of RAM (256 MB recommended)
• Up to 50 MB of hard disk space for installation, 15 MB to run the program.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 SP1 or later must be installed on your computer, though it does not need to be your default.
• Minimum 800 x 600 screen resolution
Frequently Asked Questions
Voice calling? How will that work?
Using Windows Live Call in Messenger, you’ll be able to start making calls within minutes to your friends’ across the country or around the world by singing up for MCI Web Calling. You will be able to purchase minutes upfront from MCI and then add minutes when your balance runs low. One of the great things about this will be the affordable domestic and international calls you will be able to make.
What are Sharing Folders?
Sharing Folders will be a new and simple way for you to share personal photos, documents, and files with your Messenger contacts. You will be able to create a Sharing Folder by simply dragging files onto a contact name in Messenger. This will create an exact copy of the files on both you and your contact's computers, and create a Sharing Folder that can be accessed from Messenger, and on the desktop.
I can already share documents using e-mail. So what's the big deal?
The Sharing Folder will be easier than email for sharing photos and documents. In a Sharing Folder, any time a file in the folder is added, modified, or deleted, those changes will be synchronized with the person you’re sharing with. The Sharing File icon in Messenger will also show you a gleam on a contact so you will know when a Sharing File has been updated. And it will be a simple drag-and-drop to share files, even simpler than the “send file” and “save as” functions you are already familiar with in Messenger. The Sharing Folders will work pretty much like the PC folder experience you already know, so it will make sense right away. Just like in Windows, you will be able to drag and drop, get different views of files, copy, paste, etc. You will be able to access a Sharing Folder from your desktop, to manage files whether online or offline. And a Sharing Folder requires virtually zero setup or configuration, and efficiently handles file synchronization without any fuss.
What it is
Windows Live Messenger will be the next-generation MSN Messenger. It will have everything you already love about Messenger—your contact list, emoticons, and instant access to your friends via text, voice, and video—plus new ways to connect and share documents with almost magical ease. As always, it will be free to download Messenger and use most of its features.
What you will be able to do with it
• Send all your familiar winks and emoticons, plus some cool new ones
• Have real-time text, video and voice conversations*
• Call your friends’ mobile or land-line telephones by signing up for MCI Web Calling to make affordable domestic and international calls
• Easily share documents of all kinds with Sharing Folders
• Make free PC-to-PC calls with other Messenger users
*Both parties must have compatible Web cameras, speakers, and microphones.
System Requirements
• Multimedia PC
• Pentium 233 MHz process (500 MHz recommended)
• Microsoft Windows XP
• Minimum 128 MB of RAM (256 MB recommended)
• Up to 50 MB of hard disk space for installation, 15 MB to run the program.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 SP1 or later must be installed on your computer, though it does not need to be your default.
• Minimum 800 x 600 screen resolution
Frequently Asked Questions
Voice calling? How will that work?
Using Windows Live Call in Messenger, you’ll be able to start making calls within minutes to your friends’ across the country or around the world by singing up for MCI Web Calling. You will be able to purchase minutes upfront from MCI and then add minutes when your balance runs low. One of the great things about this will be the affordable domestic and international calls you will be able to make.
What are Sharing Folders?
Sharing Folders will be a new and simple way for you to share personal photos, documents, and files with your Messenger contacts. You will be able to create a Sharing Folder by simply dragging files onto a contact name in Messenger. This will create an exact copy of the files on both you and your contact's computers, and create a Sharing Folder that can be accessed from Messenger, and on the desktop.
I can already share documents using e-mail. So what's the big deal?
The Sharing Folder will be easier than email for sharing photos and documents. In a Sharing Folder, any time a file in the folder is added, modified, or deleted, those changes will be synchronized with the person you’re sharing with. The Sharing File icon in Messenger will also show you a gleam on a contact so you will know when a Sharing File has been updated. And it will be a simple drag-and-drop to share files, even simpler than the “send file” and “save as” functions you are already familiar with in Messenger. The Sharing Folders will work pretty much like the PC folder experience you already know, so it will make sense right away. Just like in Windows, you will be able to drag and drop, get different views of files, copy, paste, etc. You will be able to access a Sharing Folder from your desktop, to manage files whether online or offline. And a Sharing Folder requires virtually zero setup or configuration, and efficiently handles file synchronization without any fuss.
