Main/News >> News Archives > The week of April 08 (2007) (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

 Battleships Extreme game hauls navy recruits, air force pursues
Battleships Extreme game hauls navy recruits, air force pursues

dwergs says ( 14 Apr 2007 ):

 

The Battleships Extreme game added to Messenger half a year ago has lured enough recruits for the Royal Australian Navy to fill two battleships! The Messenger game has managed to fill 15 per cent of the navy's annual recruitment target.

At first their media agency was reluctant to book a campaign on Messenger, but Lieutenant-Commander Ian Lumsden persisted because a lot of users are in the 16 to 24 year old key target demographic. Proving him entirely right, the navy's first half-banner ad had "spectacular results, culminating in 37,000 click-throughs to the Defence jobs website and 268 job applications".

Then the Battleships adaptation came along with help from the creative guys at Visual Jazz and so far there have been more than two million game plays by 760,000 Messenger users since its launch in September, each player spending an average of 10 to 30 minutes with the game.

Enlistments in the navy directly from Messenger number five a week! "If you look at that over a year, that would fill up a couple of ships," Lt-Cdr Lumsden said. "What is really cool about this thing is my cost per acquisition has really plummeted, because MSN really likes the content. So they have done a deal with us (and) we are not paying to have it up there any more. I worked out my cost per acquisition on that game so far is about $9.50."

supreme air combatThe Royal Australian Air Force is now mimicking the campaign with another game called Supreme Air Combat which you can play via our games launcher nevertheless. It's not as much fun as Battleships Extreme so I do hope that -when it's their turn- the Royal Australian Army will come up with a more exciting game.

>> Launch Battleships Extreme and Supreme Air Combat via Mess.be's Messenger games launcher.

[Source: Australian IT]



 Updated: MessengerDiscovery Live 1.3
Updated: MessengerDiscovery Live 1.3

dwergs says ( 13 Apr 2007 ):

 

messengerdiscovery live addon for windows live messengerWithin a month after its previous release, MessengerDiscovery Live has been upped to v1.3.0300 already. Maybe the most important change is the complete support for Windows Vista. But that's not all: the Display Picture Manager has been expanded with a few more options and has been made easier to use too, the History log now also stores Personal Status Messages, there are about 8 new commands (eg. !font, !send and !) and 20 bug fixes. For a full changelog check this page (Note: it was loading pretty slow at the time of writing).

>> Download MessengerDiscovery Live v1.3.

[Reported by: GiveItDeath and warmth]



 Windows Live for Windows Mobile (G2) gets update
Windows Live for Windows Mobile (G2) gets update

dwergs says ( 13 Apr 2007 ):

 

About a week ago Microsoft released a new Beta-version of Windows Live for Windows Mobile (aka G2). In addition to a few new features, version 10.6.0026.1400 brings significant improvements to connectivity, stability, battery life, contacts handling (eg. duplicate contact detection), and the fit and finish of the user interface.

Running on Smartphones and PocketPCs running Windows Mobile 5.x, Windows Live for Windows Mobile allows easy and efficient access to Windows Live (Hot)mail, Windows Live Contacts, Windows Live Spaces, Windows Live Search and the tasty hot mobile Windows Live Messenger client. For more information check out our earlier post(s).

History repeats itself and this beta-version was almost immediately leaked to the public via a slew of unofficial websites. Of course, you could go ahead and query our friend Google (we do NOT endorse any results of that search) but just be a good boy/girl and wait until the final release, will you?



 Hotmail and Messenger outage affected few
Hotmail and Messenger outage affected few

dwergs says ( 13 Apr 2007 ):

 

The Seattle P-I reports that some users of Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger were unable to log in for a few hours on Thursday because of an undisclosed problem with the system. No word on exactly how many people were experiencing problems but judging from the few reports I received from you guys (just two!) it seems Microsoft's not minimizing the issue when they say only a "small percentage" of the hundreds of millions were affected. Users who were signed in before and during the entire period of instability weren't affected either.

"We hate it when anybody has trouble accessing the services, obviously," said Adam Sohn, a director in Microsoft's Online Services Group. However, Sohn added, "There have been much bigger incidents in the history of large-scale Internet services, both for us and for other people. [...] This was just a hiccup. It's an unfortunate one, but that's part of what you have to deal with in running services at this scale." "Microsoft identified the problem internally and was able to correct it relatively quickly", Sohn said. He said it was not the result of any malicious activity.
The log-in problems became evident shortly before 9 AM PDT and were resolved a few hours later.

PS: Somehow it feels weird writing about "Hotmail" again, as if I just stepped out of my DeLorean...

[Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer]



 Avast, you're wrong! CustoMess is clean as a whistle
Avast, you're wrong! CustoMess is clean as a whistle

dwergs says ( 12 Apr 2007 ):

 

No, it's not Talk Like A Pirate Day already. I'm refering to a Czech anti-virus program called Avast which mistakes our CustoMess freeware for a worm. Same for another free virus scanner called AVG which wrongly identifies CustoMess_Uninstall.exe as Win32:VB-DAH [Wrm].

The false positives were first reported last month by Messer orfu on our forum and by Arattilion via the contact form.

customessAlthough you can always be assured that a CustoMess download via Mess.be is 100% free of adware, spyware and malware, we understand your concerns. CustoMess daddy Timothy has investigated the issue and discovered that these virus scanners trigger on a call that makes desktop and Start menu shortcuts. See, nothing harmful here and you can safely continue to use CustoMess to import quality emoticons, Display Pictures, backgrounds and whatnot into MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger for free.

CustoMess 3.0, the forthcoming successor to the current version, will come with a setup that doesn't make these programs to go paranoid.

>> Download CustoMess 2.5.



 Patchou is prepping Plus! anniversary and major contest
Patchou is prepping Plus! anniversary and major contest

dwergs says ( 12 Apr 2007 ):

 

Things are going frenzy for Patchou and Messenger Plus! Live! To celebrate the addon's sixth anniversary, a new version will be released next month that'll pair off with the BIGGEST Plus! (maybe even Messenger) competition ever! A few Xbox 360 Elites here, a bunch of Nintendo Wiis there, throw in some Playstation 3 consoles, more Wide LCD Computer Screens than Chuck Norris can hold, and lots (no, I mean LOTS) of Messenger Plus! merchandise. Easter Bunny, you've got some competition from a programmer in Canada!

No need to develop a script, you don't even need to promote Plus! to your blog readers or anything. This time everybody gets an equal chance to win, so you're up against over a dozen million of users. Further details are yet to be revealed, but I suggest you download Messenger Plus! Live 4.21 as soon as it appears on our site!

[Source: Msgpluslive.net] [Reported by: MenthiX]



 More integration of Search coming to Messenger
More integration of Search coming to Messenger

dwergs says ( 11 Apr 2007 ):

 

Microsoft's search service is currently integrated into Windows Live Messenger via a search input field at the bottom of the contact list (under the ad), a Search button inside the conversation window for shared searching, and a Search activity which allows you to quickly insert search result links into the ongoing conversation.

Without revealing any specifics, Steve Berkowitz, Senior Vice President of Microsoft's Online Services Group, in his keynote speech at the Search Engine Strategies conference in New York told the told the audience to expect further integration of search into Windows Live Hotmail, Spaces and Messenger in order to make Windows Live Search better and more enticing.

Berkowitz also said Microsoft will integrate "more social content" (more "social networking and pre-programmed content") into MSN and that the company will not only focus on destination-driven search (eg. based on keywords) but equally, if not more, on "convenience search," or search integrated into "experiences," like gaming, online chat, and the like.

>> For full coverage of Berkowitz' keynote refer to Mary Jo Foley's post.



 More specifics on Xbox 360 Messenger
More specifics on Xbox 360 Messenger

dwergs says ( 11 Apr 2007 ):

 

Gamasutra spoke with Aaron Greenberg, Group Product Manager for Xbox Live and the Xbox 360 and managed to secure some details on the Windows Live Messenger/Xbox 360 integration:

Gamasutra: Will there be any sort of charge for the ability to use the chat service? What about cross-platform use?

Greenberg: There is no charge to use instant messenger on the Xbox 360. Both Gold and Silver level members will have full access to the service, free of charge [...]

Gamasutra: So how will multi-platform Live messaging actually work?

Greenberg: Chatting with friends across different platforms is simple and seamless. Just like on your PC today, your friends list will tell you if a person is on a computer or mobile device, and once this service launches it will tell you if your friend is on their Xbox 360.

xbox 360 and windows live messengerChatting with IM on your Xbox 360 will support the ability to have 6 different conversations at one time as well as do group chats with 3 different people in one conversation. So ideally you could be on your console and a friend could be at work on their PC and your girlfriend or wife could be on their cell phone all in the same conversation.

You can either use the guide to manage your chats or take advantage of the chat box overlay that you can have up while you are playing a game, watching a movie or TV show.

Gamasutra: What can you tell us about the add-on peripheral mini-keyboard controller? It looks interesting, but also looks like added weight could be a concern.

Greenberg: It is actually very light and fits perfectly with the controller. I was playing around with it today and you can hardly notice that it is there. It is designed in a way to still have a comfortable feel so that your gameplay should not be affected. Of course, being able to quickly snap it on and off, similar to the headset, allows our consumers flexibility if they don’t want it always connected to their controller.

Gamasutra: Are you worried about Messenger spam? It seems like that would be particularly annoying if it popped up while watching a movie, for instance.

xbox 360 messengerGreenberg: We are not worried about Messenger spam. Privacy settings on the Xbox 360 allow you to choose if you want to receive messages from all gamers, friends or nobody. You can also appear away or offline to people on your friends list so that they won’t send you messages when you don’t want to be disturbed.

We have also built in the flexibility to, for example, appear online to your gaming friends but offline to your IM friends. We want to ensure that our consumers only receive messages when they want them.

Gamasutra: Finally, will the service include filters for Messenger versus Xbox Live people?

Greenberg: Your Messenger friends list will be separate from your Xbox Live friends list, so you will be able to easily search through either list. The IM friends list has a different icon instead of their gamer picture next to their name.

>> Read the complete Q&A here.

On a related note, Kotaku asked John Rodman, Senior Product Manager for Xbox Live and Xbox 360, if this was a step toward the Live Anywhere feature first announced last year. "I can't speak to the progress of the overall program, but I can say this is one of the building blocks come to life," he said confirming it's "not just about IM".



 3 slashes Mobile Internet/Messenger prices
3 slashes Mobile Internet/Messenger prices

dwergs says ( 11 Apr 2007 ):

 

We have covered 3's groundbreaking X-Series several times before, and now the mobile operator is launching a complementary data package for people in the UK but outside the current X-Series customer base. At a flat monthly rate of £5 (about US$10), those among 3 UK's 3.9 million customers with 'recently' launched handsets will too have access to web services like mobile TV streaming via Slingbox, Skype and Windows Live Messenger. There's a maximum download limit of 1gb per month which shouldn't be too much of a hindrance for Windows Live Messenger users since that equals thousands and thousands of instant messages.

With 3 setting the tone for cheaper mobile web access, rival companies are expected to follow suit so let the price war begin!

[Source: Tech.co.uk]



 Introducing: Windows Live Messenger on Xbox 360
Introducing: Windows Live Messenger on Xbox 360

dwergs says ( 09 Apr 2007 ):

 

windows live messenger on xbox 360It's been first hinted a very long time ago, but in the week of May 7th Windows Live Messenger will finally be unified with Xbox LIVE. The Xbox 360 Spring Update will provide Xbox 360 owners access to the basic Windows Live Messenger text chat feature with up to six people on their contact list and simultaneously while playing games, watching movies or listening to music. Your Messenger contacts will be able to check out your gamertag as well as the game you're playing.

Furthermore a QWERTY input device will be released this Summer that will connect directly into the Xbox 360 controller to support text and instant messaging.

>> Read the press article on Xbox.com (including screenshots and a list of other enhancements).

>> Watch the YouTube video.

>> UPDATE: Hands-on with the input device on Flickr.

[Reported by: Wokerz]



Click Here!

Back to the News Archives