I just got an email from Microsoft yesterday that Windows Live Messenger will stop working everywhere except in China(I don't know why that is) on 15th March 2013. That is Microsoft are closing down Windows Live Messenger and I have also read other posts on the web that have said the same thing. We knew that Microsoft were going to replace WLM with Skype,but we did not know it would happen so quickly. I have successfully avoided upgrading to the horrible Windows Live Essentials 2011 and 2012 version. Instead I use WLE 2009 version on both my Windows 7 and Windows 8,and also on Windows Vista. I have tried Skype once and it did not even work on my netbooks. Also it is not very user friendly and although we will be able to use our Windows Live or MSN ID with Skype to sing in with. I just don't want to use Skype. From what I have read the other WLE such as Windows Live Mail and Photo Gallery will still work after that date. It is only the messenger that will stop working,so I will just uninstall Messenger and keep the Windows Live Photo Gallery. Some people are using older versions of WLM on windows 7 such as WLM 8.5 and even MSM Messenger 7.5,but from what I read all old versions of Messenger will also stop working after 15th March. If you are using aMSN,Emesene an MSN Messenger clone,they too will stop working,and you won't even be able to use Pidgin with your MSN account anymore after that date. So it seems that Microsoft are shutting down their Windows Live Messenger servers after March 15th. Well as for me,I won't be installing Skype NO WAY. I will use Aim Messenger,the old version, and Google Talk which I also have on my computer.
Beside the poll, the results of which may only be interesting to know from an 'academic' standpoint, it is inevitable that Messenger is going out. What I would be more interested in knowing is why you (Ms. Borman) "won't be installing Skype". What are your reasons? Are you just accustomed to Messenger or your other favorite programs that you don't feel comfortable using Skype, or are there other reasons? And if AIM, Google Talk, etc., are sufficient replacements or alternatives, then is there still a problem? If you are worried about contacts (and I must confess I'm not sure if Skype will automatically sync former Messenger contacts, etc.) then I would think getting used to a new/different program is less of a sacrifice than losing contacts (given those people will just move to Skype rather than use your alternative programs). But I'm sure you're not the only person who has become accustomed to using Messenger and does not welcome the change. But I think that is about as much you can get out of this poll and thread, a certain amount of commiseration. As you will know it is not going to change anything.
Well I tried Skype once about a year ago and I got this error message saying that my hardware is not compatible with video chat.Which is rubbish because I have Aim Messenger and Windows Live Messenger install and they work with video chat. So I don't think that Skype runs well on a netbook. We won't be able to use WLM after 15th March but Microsoft are not stopping support for the other WLE like Photo Gallery and Windows Live Mail. So we can still use those including WLE 2009 the Windows XP version. Which I use instead of the horrible WLE 2011 and 2012 version on my Windows 7 and Windows 8 as well as on Windows Vista.
Well the fact that Microsoft have chosen to discontinue WLM is not the end of the world. As I have Aim Messenger my friends and contacts on MSN could open an account on AOL Mail and install Aim Messenger and I could chat to them there, or they could open a G Mail account and use Google Talk. One of the disadvantages of Windows Live and Hotmail accounts is that they have changed it.So that if you have not logged into your account after a certain time, I think it's two months,your account is deactivated the same as it is with Yahoo. Where as with AOL and Google they never delete your account once you create it.So even if you have been inactive for a long time,your account will always be there for you when you get back.One of the reasons I stopped using Yahoo Mail is because I have several other accounts and so you have to log in from time to time to keep it active but you don't have to do that with AOL and G Mail. Also you can stil use Windows Live Mail,Windows Photo Gallery and Windows Movie Maker 2009 on Windows 7 and Windows 8. It's only the Messenger that is going not the rest of Windows Live Essentials.
Yeah, netbooks aren't the greatest thing on earth and I'm not surprised you would have a problem here or there running certain softwares. Driver support isn't going to be great either. Good luck settling on a new favorite. I never used Live Messenger much, and when I did I found myself using the little chat window for it included with Hotmail. Chatting with friends can be quiet nice. Chatboxes on forums, however, is another story. At this very moment they're making demeaning remarks about you. Do you think they would if they would be old and on their deathbeds, looking back at their lives? They feel so strong and superior, but in reality they are cowardly and feeble people propped by either youth or some other tenacious energy seeking escape from their sordid consciences. So these days I just minimize that chatbox. I hope it doesn't affect you negatively that certain people just won't grow up and be kind. We are on a tech forum after all, it has become the norm. Just like Bill Hicks said: "We live in a world where the ego-driven cleverness of the mind is praised, rather than the intelligence of the heart."
Well according to what other people have told me,Skype does work on Netbooks,except if the netbook is very old maybe,which mine are not. I think the problem is more that I am not very computer savy and have limited experience with computers. Take Trillian Messenger for example,that is unusable,I could not figure out how to use it and I still cant.Skype is the same thing I think. Some forums like Windows 7 Forums.com insist that their moderators have use Skype so they can keep in contact with other members of staff. But why Skype why not Aim messenger or Google Talk which is easy to use and works? They also say that Skype works better on Linux than on Windows. Maybe that's it.
There is only one, old version 3.2.0.175 which works on windows 7 without any problems, you might wanna try it. (I hate new version)
But there has been no mention of Windows Messenger 4.7 the one that comes with Windows XP. Some people are still using it. Will that work after 15th March?
Well I have looked on the other websites and it seems that nobody knows for sure if the messenger clones such as aMSN will still work with our MSN accounts after 15th March. As for the other messengers such as Pidgin and Trillian. They say they will as long as you don't merge your Windows Live account with Skype. If you want to carry on using video chat on Windows Live the easiest way would be to just merge your account with Skype. There is also a Skype for Windows 8 but if I did choose to install Skype that would not work on my Windows 8. As I am running it on a netbook and the version of Skype for Windows 8 is a Metro app. So I would have to install the Skype for Windows 7, which is not the Metro version, and should work on Windows 8. But I don't like Skype enough to want to start using it,no. In other words I don't want to use Skype.
Yeah I know some people who use Pidgin and they like it. Whatever you do, don't invite vymrdal, because he's annoying whatever chat client (make that: continent) you're on