Main/News >> News Archives > The week of December 17 (2006) (you are here)

MSN custom colors for your font! MSN Emoticons list overview! Find a Date for online chats! Quality Hosting specials for Messers! free msn games

 Xbox 360 just for downloading mobile WLM?
Xbox 360 just for downloading mobile WLM?

dwergs says ( 22 Dec 2006 ):

 

telus windows live messenger mobile client xbox 360 contestTelus, Canada's second largest mobile service provider, is giving away one Xbox 360 per day until December 31st to customers who download the mobile Windows Live Messenger client to their IM-compatible phones*. On top of the $3 (CAD) monthly fee, Telus charges 5¢ per message you send but received messages are free. Like other mobile Windows Live Messenger clients we've seen, it allows you to send/receive emoticons and stay online during normal use of your phone, eg. making a call.

Obviously, this contest is only open to Telus customers in Canada.

>> More information at Telus.

*The application is available for: LG 200, LG 245, LG 490, LG 535, LG 6190, LG 8100, LG 8500, Motorola v262, Motorola v265, Motorola Razr v3c, Motorola KRZR K1m, Nokia 6265, Pantech 3200, Samsung a720 and Samsung a950. However, there is also a browser-based version available for owners of non-compatible handsets.

[Reported by: deviant]



 Five cities, one Nokia party. And you're invited!
Five cities, one Nokia party. And you're invited!

dwergs says ( 21 Dec 2006 ):

 

nokia's new year event on messengerSwapping Times Square for a worldwide approach, MSN has this year partnered with Nokia for online distribution of the mobile phone company's New Year's Eve event. On December 31st, a "global music celebration" will take place in five capitals around the world under the "Five cities, one party" slogan.

"Nokia New Year's Eve will bring viewers on a journey from east to west; starting in Hong Kong's Harbour City Ocean Terminal, followed by Mumbai's Andheri Stadium, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro and rounding off the night in New York."

Performances of world-famous artists including the Scissor Sisters, the Black Eyed Peas & Sergio Mendes (where else than in Rio?), Nelly Furtado, Rihanna, John Legend, etc. will be streamed live via the event's homepage and a one off, dedicated Windows Live Messenger tab shown in the five party regions (strangely, no direct streaming to Nokia phones). Starting today, the tab will offer exclusive artist content like interviews, as well as artist lists and updates.

The website also hints the existence of a Nokia New Year's Eve Messenger activity, but I couldn't get it to launch. Let me know if you can.

[Press release: Nokia]



 New virus trying to ruin your Christmas
New virus trying to ruin your Christmas

Inky says ( 20 Dec 2006 ):

 

Recently a new virus dubbed "Backdoor.Win32.MSNMaker.ab" (and also known under the name of "Troj/MSNMk-C"), has been spreading through Windows Live Messenger. Once your PC is infected it will spread itself to your buddies.

Like almost all other virusses, it tries to trick you into clicking a malicious link. The message you will receive via Messenger is similar to "check :D http://e-christmascards.info/****.exe (it has been known to include other URLs as well!), and pretends to be a e-card coming from your buddy. Do not click the link (we cannot say this often enough).

>> More information about Backdoor.Win32.MSNMaker.ab

[Also reported by: jimpimp]



 Soapbox adds sharing over Windows Live Messenger
Soapbox adds sharing over Windows Live Messenger

dwergs says ( 19 Dec 2006 ):

 

Sooner than expected, Microsoft has added Windows Live Messenger integration to Soapbox on MSN Video, its video service currently in private Beta.

Starting today approved Beta-users will see a new 'im this video" option under the share tab. Clicking it will allow the user to share the chosen video with an online Messenger contact of his choice. The latter doesn't have to be registered with Soapbox in order to watch the video, which opens in a seperate Messenger activity window. Naturally, both contacts are able to start and stop playback individually, and an auto-message informs when one of the contacts has exited the activity. More functionality will be added later on.

Soapbox on MSN Video Messenger activity

As reported in earlier news, Soapbox is expected to go public around March 2007.



 Congratulations! You are Person of the Year 2006!
Congratulations! You are Person of the Year 2006!

dwergs says ( 18 Dec 2006 ):

 

Each year since 1927, the prestigious Time magazine awards those who most affect the news and our lives with the Person of the Year title. The list of winners includes Mahatma Gandhi (1930), Martin Luther King Jr. (1963) and *yikes* even Adolf Hitler (1938). Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, and Bono won the accolade last year. And to our pleasant surprise, the Person of the Year 2006 is... YOU!!

Don't call your parents yet! Because Time also awarded me... and your best buddy... and probably most of the folks on your Messenger contact list.

Don't believe it? This year's Time award goes to all users who participate in Web 2.0 by uploading, commenting and actively creating content on sites such as YouTube, Wikipedia, MySpace and, obviously, Mess.be! So congratulations to every Messer who submitted a news story, posted on our forum, uploaded an emoticon or two, or contributed in any way to this website. This award is for YOU!

Especially for the occasion, we created this tool which allows you to make custom Display Picture with your name on the cover of Time's Person of the Year December 2006 issue (check out the real cover here).

Some examples:

time person of the year 2006 display pic time person of the year 2006 display pic time person of the year 2006 display picture

>> Get your personal edition of the Time - Person of the Year magazine cover.

And please send all your friends over here to make their own Time cover. They all deserve it (except that little scriptkiddie friend of yours who trashed our forum last June)...



 Quick News: Movistar + Microsoft, OCS 2007 and a LifeCam site
Quick News: Movistar + Microsoft, OCS 2007 and a LifeCam site

dwergs says ( 18 Dec 2006 ):

 

In Argentina, mobile operator Movistar has announced its partnership with Microsoft for offering Messenger and Hotmail to their customers. Thirty thousand people already use the service, but to give everyone a foretaste it will be free of charge until December 31st.

A new, private Beta version of Microsoft's enterprise product, Office Communications Server 2007, is now being tested by 2,500 companies. It's got VoIP (Voice over IP) all over it as one of the key features, and did you know it uses the same technology for advanced audio processing that ships with MSN Messenger 7.5 and Windows Live Messenger?

La LifeCam de Zazon is a French microsite in the form of a blog, dedicated to marketing the possibilities of Microsoft's LifeCams. A remote gym workout at the office, for instance. The site, which was created by Heaven, promises a new clip every week (comprehension of French not required, merci beaucoup!).

Psssst! It's almost Christmas, so feel free to enlarge our collection of animated emoticons for the holidays!



 New hack puts @live.* addresses up for grabs again
New hack puts @live.* addresses up for grabs again

dwergs says ( 17 Dec 2006 ):

 

In November we published a hack which allowed you to register @live.* addresses ahead of the game, and it took Microsoft long enough to fix the hole for ten thousands of us to get our hands on some good-looking, tiny account names.

Last Tuesday however, a Chinese blogger called xuybin published a new method to register any free @live-account of your choice. Just like our trick a month ago, his hack spread like wildfire (especially within the Chinese blogosphere) but amazingly enough it still hasn't been blocked by Microsoft. Maybe this is bound to change now that picturepan2 has nicely translated the step-by-step instructions into English for us. Here they are, and note that you need Firefox 2 or upwards.

1) Go here.
2) Click "Get started", under "Use a domain I already own" enter any domain you like.
3) Select "Create a new Windows Live ID in your domain".
4) Select View > Page Style > No Style. Ta-dah! The input box was hidden using CSS!
5) Select @live.com from the dropdown.
6) Select "Create a Windows Live e-mail address" and continue the registration.

Get one while you still can!

UPDATE: LiveSide adds that you need to log into mail.live.com in order to activate e-mail on your newly created account(s).

UPDATE #2: According to Messers Tutsumi and Maxtoid, the hack has now been disabled.

UPDATE #3: ...but many others are still able to succesfully register new @live.* accounts.

[Reported by: dj-tazzy-t, Poska & vlad]



 The Santa Claus Standoff
The Santa Claus Standoff

dwergs says ( 17 Dec 2006 ):

 

Santa Claus is so omnipresent on MSN property this year, it's alarming. Let's see, he's got three Spaces accounts, three Messenger addresses, and a couple of minisites. Either the old man is suffering from schizophrenia, or we just busted some online fraudsters. Reasoning from the latter, I submitted the Santa bots to a test... for the sake of all well-behaved kids worldwide!

santa messenger bots standoff

First candidate: Santa Robot, the oldest of the bunch. I saw through him as soon as he replied to my "Hi" with "Hi, I'm the Santa Robot. I'm away on vacation right now." Excuse me? Isn't Santa supposed to be wrapping billions of gifts right now instead of getting a tan in the Bahamas? Trying not to jump to premature conclusions, I asked him about Rudolph. This bot is so self-centric he replied with a link to sign up for his own IM alerts. I asked again and he sent me a link to his Space (which is crammed with Amazon affiliate links and Zune product placement). To my last attempt he replied "Which is your favorite raindeer?". What? Santa who cannot spell "reindeer" correctly? FAKE!

On to Santa #2. His address is northpole@live.com, which leads us to believe he's actually communicating LIVE from the NORTHPOLE. Bonus points for originality! And at least this bot knows a thing or two about Santa, like all nine names of his reindeer for instance. He also has the coolest avatar of the three (oooh, a Dynamic Display Picture!) but to be completely honest, it looks like a kid with a fake beard and dressed up as Santa to go trick or treating. Leaving aside the thin disguise, he kept asking me about my gender and what I wanted for Christmas. Me, you and everybody knows the REAL Santa has got all such inside information written in his "Book of Names" so he'll NEVER forget. I call bullshit on Santa #2.

Third one up came recommended by the retiring Sinterklaas bot we posted last month. I guess that's a trustworthy source of information since he's an actual "Saint". This guy cracks jokes (type JOKE) like no other without being afraid of some self-mockery, eg. "Question: Why is Christmas just like a day at the office? Answer: You do all the work and the fat guy with the suit gets all the credit.". He knew the lyrics and melodies to a dozen of Christmas songs (type SONGS), he's hospitable enough to show you around his crib (type VIDEO or click here) and even though he must be busy as hell he's always willing to play a game of Tic Tac Toe (type PLAY). Last but not least, he links to more than a dozen of charity organisations, because "Christmas is about sharing and caring". If you ask me, the real slim Santa just stood up, and I'm sure he'd beat the hell out of the other two impostors with his red boxing gloves and victory attitude!

>> Santa #1 (FRAUD!): Add santa.robot@hotmail.com, visit his Space.

>> Santa #2 (FRAUD!): Add northpole@live.com, visit his Space (suspiciously, he owns two) or visit his website.

>> Santa #3: Add santalivechat@hotmail.com, visit his website.



Click Here!

Back to the News Archives