Microsoft explained in January 2013 that March 15 th is the beginning of a transition from Live Messenger to Skype. Microsoft bought Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion and recently began announcing that it would retire its Live Messenger client on March 15, forcing users (numbering 100+ million) to move to Skype for their IM needs. Announced Microsoft, “Windows Live Messenger goes beyond the traditional instant messaging (IM) service, enabling people to connect and share, with free PC-to-PC calls and inexpensive calls from a PC to phones around the world, video calling, easy sharing with Sharing Folders, and more.” On June 20, 2006, Microsoft launched Windows Live Messenger as part of their new Windows Live Services. Google also launched Google Talk and eBay bought Skype. Microsoft and Yahoo announced a deal that would allow Microsoft users and Yahoo users to IM each other, hoping to push AIM out of the top spot. The top three IM services in 2005 were still AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo. It is praised by PC Magazine in November 2003 for being intuitive, having tight integration of various communication tools, and having a customizable interface. MSN was already on version 6.0 at this time. In order to download MSN Messenger, you needed to sign in with a Hotmail account.īy 2003, AIM ( AOL Instant Messenger) was the top IM, and Microsoft and Yahoo were second and third. MSN Messenger was Microsoft’s foray into the IM field. Messaging clients such as AOL Instant Messenger began in the mid-1990s.Ī PC Magazine article from January of 2000, gives an overview of Instant Messaging options out there at the time and mentions MSN 1.0. BBSs (bulletin board systems) and other peer-to-peer networks allowed for messages to be sent between users. Some form of real time messaging was going on in the 1980s and 90s, before the term IM was coined.

It allows people to type messages to each other in real time.

Instant messaging, or IM, has been around in some form for a long time. You’ll be able to instant message and video chat with them just like before, and also discover new ways of staying in touch with Skype on your mobile and tablet. Update to Skype and sign in using a Microsoft Account (same as your Messenger ID) and all your Messenger contacts will be at your fingertips. We are retiring the existing Windows Live Messenger service globally (except for mainland China where Messenger will continue to be available) and bringing the great features of Messenger and Skype together. Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: MSN and Windows Live Messenger History ()

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