Microsoft ditches Windows Live Messenger for Skype

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

People still use AIM?

Yes but it's very rare to find those people. And those people are probably diehard AIM users. AIM isn't popular today, it's dead. Just like America Online/AOL as an ISP (in a whole, most of the whole company's services are dead except for their sites like Engadget and Joystiq).

Fuck sake, MSN is my main means of contact, this blows, i hate Skype, i fucking Loathe it.

I know MSN is fucking shit now because of the crap Microsoft keep adding to it, hell you can't change your screen name any more, but i'm not changing it, i'll stick with version 7, and when tech wizzes create some form to keep it running, because i have over 800 contacts on my list and i'm not going to import them all over to skype thank you.

Sadly there is nothing you can do about it. You either have to move to Skype or quit altogether. I have Windows 8 installed, and they have a Messaging app preinstalled which signs you in automatically to Facebook and MSN...what use is that messaging app now if they remove MSN? Just Facebook? (In before somebody says "Skype", Skype has its own app...)

Edited November 7, 2012 by Ming Ming Shana

[Stritix]

What a shame. I prefer Windows Live Messenger over Skype by miles. I don't like Skype's interface at all.

[Naysu]

im using msn as I type now, use it every day, for seeing new emails, for sending and recieving pictures without skypes 'save as?' annoyance, withought even seeing a preview of what it is they are sending you. the only reason I got skype was to multi call.

i much prefer the look of msn, its a shame how its changed over the years, the drawing feature was the best thing they added and i have no idea why they removed it... but to live off skype from now on just saddens me...

i guess ill have to make do :/ but like soniko says if the geeks get it running again ill stay with it XD

[Carbo]

I abandoned MSN the moment the service insisted on the modernization with the lacking ability to change display names and pictures on your own accord, instead favoring Microsoft account horseshit - the same thing YouTube seems to be wanting to impose on people right now.

If Skype does the same thing words won't be able to describe my anger about this. With all that said, with MSN Messenger gone I feel nothing of value's been lost thanks to all the features that have been removed since it's glory days.

[Remy]

So they're no longer using it? I don't really use my MSN account for much but Windows 8 signed me into it by default, and I can't remove the Messenger part without turning off everything else. Bummer.

I wouldn't normally care, but a spambot took over my brother's account and it doesn't shut up >.>

[goku262002]

Aww man...this is just a serious blow to me.

This was and is my thing! Messenger was allways my IM client for years. I have chat logs detailing every chat I've ever had on messenger dating back to 2004!

Though my messenger is acting weird right now, I still use it all the time. though I can't say the same for the 100+ contacts I've known for years. guess whenever I get my messenger fixed I'll inform whos left of this bad news.

Damnit MS, allways stabbing me, a loyal customer and user, in the back somehow.

Edited November 7, 2012 by goku262002

[\gunther]

I'm kind of sad to see it go, considering that I've had MSN since I started actively using the internet, but I haven't been using it much these days since everyone and their granny has switched to Skype (even though I still slightly prefer MSN's interface).

Thank God that you'll at least be able to import your contacts.

[Jetronic]

Just so we're clear, since I'm just hearing about this, will MSN be completely unusable once this takes effect?

Cause...well...I actually like it despite some of the issues with it :U

[Coral]

My messenger of choice has always been AIM. It came with my first ever internet provider and I just enjoyed using it for its simplicity. It wasn't until recently that I started using MSN after getting a hotmail account. I like it for what it is, but it just never appealed to me in the same way that AIM did for some reason so I guess I'm kind of eh hearing this news. Don't have a Skype and I don't plan on getting one in the near future, but I hear it's a pretty snazzy program.

If the transition means that my msn messenger will evolve into a Skype then I don't know how I feel about that.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Coral

[DawningWolf]

I remember when I used to use AIM and MSN. I was with a site who used instant messaging. Then we got bigger and eventually moved to skype and also started to do voice calls. I can't say I am going to miss MSN, but with how big skype is now. I think everyone should move to it anyway.

[Kevin]

I'm not surprised by this move since Microsoft has been focusing more on Skype and there's been talks of integrating MSN with Skype anyway. MSN was a big part of my time on the internet and I have so many memories from talking to various people on there. It's a shame to see it go.

[goku262002]

So blue blood was telling me that if I really didn't want to move on to Skype that there was some decent messenger alternatives that are also able to talk with skype people too.

So tell me, which WLM messenger clone is the best out there and has the same if not more features then WLM and can talk to skype people as well?

Edited November 28, 2012 by goku262002

[Chaos Warp]

I admit I will miss Live Messenger, used to talk to friends on it in elementary school all the time, kinda nostalgic for me. All I can hope is that Microsoft doesn't ruin Skype.

Edited November 28, 2012 by Collide-It-Chaos

[Remynaka]

They WOULD kill MSN after I JUST started using it again. So what about our hotmail accounts? I don't wanna switch to a NEW service you have to pay for to use 100% of. :c The fuck.

[Heybunny]

I've used MSN for years and I'll be sorry to see it go. The thing I think I'll miss is the ability to link/drag an image into the MSN window and have it bring up a preview without making the other person download it/click it first.

I would also like to know how I'm going to get hotmail email notifications without MSN running, as well.

[goku262002]

Yahoo! Messenger discontinues interoperability with Windows Live Messenger

And thats that. Shame because I liked that feature.

[Salamander]

Mark me down as another one who uses MSN for e-mail notifications. I'm not even sure why I got it originally; I don't like IMing and I've barely spoken to anyone on it for years, and only then at their invitation. But F5ing my inbox all day from next March is not my idea of convenience or technological improvement.

[goku262002]

Welp, 24 hours until the end of Windows Live Messenger. fuck I'm going to hate using skype.

[JezMM]

I already use both programs so the move doesn't bother me too much but buuuh MSN is such a relic of my early online life it's gonna be really sad to see it go.  8C

[-blank-]

This honestly doesn't bother me. I prefer Skype anyway so I don't really care.

[Badnik Mechanic]

Goodbye email notifications... Hello to a lot of business being lost because nobody is going to get alerts instantly.

[JezMM]

Oh geez yeah.  I really hope they bring the offline messaging up to Live Messenger's standard.  The way Skype handles it is useless.

[Sean]

I just copied my contacts list and their emails to a notepad file for nostalgia's sake. I don't really go on it anymore but it kinda sucks because I used it so much back in the day.

[JezMM]

You can merge your Live account into your Skype account supposedly.  Haven't done it myself yet but plan to (not quite sure why considering the only people I talk to on Live Messenger that I don't also have on Skype are people who annoy me and I talk to out of politeness lol).

[goku262002]

arn't they going to force merge the accounts soon enough anyways?

theres a bug in 6.3 so your gonna have to go back to 6.2 in order to merge.