macnn
04/29/2008, 3:10pm, EDT
Tuesday, April 29th
Messenger for Mac 7 adds Bonjour, AV meetings
Microsoft has released Messenger for Mac 7, the latest version of its ported instant messaging client. For all users the major addition is support for Apple's Bonjour technology, which lets users more quickly detect other users and peripherals on a network. It is now also possible to sort through contacts with a new search tool, and create nicknames for people that will remain unchanged even as their screen name is altered.
Corporate users can now host multi-party audio and video conferences, a feature enhanced by the ability to more rapidly check someone's chat availability. Finally the software has improved support for Office Communications Server 2007, granting users the ability to search corporate-level address books from within Messenger. The download is 21MB, and requires Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later. It should not be used with Live Communications Server 2005, which only supports up to Messenger 6.
Filed under: software, enterprise
Other story tags: Microsoft, Bonjour, messenger
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good deal
One of the few Microsoft programs I actually like. Glad it's been updated!
No AV? No thanks?
What are they thinking? In this day and age, releasing a messenger client without AV features? (I mean for everyone, not just corporate users)I'll stick to iChat, thanks.
Video = fail
Video doesn't work at my company, where we've had OCS '07 installed and running for a while now. Epic fail. It didn't work in beta either.The app just locks up whenever I call, see that the party on the other end didn't get the video call, and then attempt to hang up from my end. Force quit is my only option. Good game MS.
ichat rules
It has AIM video and audio support so you can talk to mac and windows users. Just tell them to dump msn. Getting asked if you 'have msn' these days usually means the person wants to show you their bits on webcam. You have to feel sorry for Microsoft - they probably never expected to make a porno endorsed program.
and Skype...?
I'm curious to see whether there is any chance at all that this would unseat Skype as the most popular audio/video communications tool for Mac users. While many of us use iChat with other Mac users, due to iChat's heavy port requirements, we often default to Skype when behind a corporate firewall, or when communicating with Windows users. I still find it quite surprising that AIM (iChat's networking protocol) is still the most widely used IM protocol; I know of no Windows users (outside of the AOL walled garden) who have tried and continued to use AIM for Windows. When A/V conferencing with Windows people, I always end up using Skype.With MSN messenger so popular among third-world countries (as well as 'emerging markets' in Europe), I wouldn't be surprised if the availability of A/V on MSN for Mac moves it up a notch or two.
msn and the world
Ahem MSN is popular in every country except the US of A. Its the most used chat client in Canada and I would argue Europe and Australia. I don't know very many people use use AIM, Yahoo or any of the others. Every one I know and i have 800 people on my msn list use MSN.
it's popular
because it's bundled, the same way that ie is popular. you buy a computer, don't know scratch about any alternatives and voila! you've got everything right there with ms stamped all over it. if they actually competed this would not be. when have they ever won a fair competition? wow. 800! impressive. is that your nearest and dearest friends?
In Europe MSN rules
Why, MSN is pouplar in Europe is beside the point, Athens is quite right.I really don't bother about IM at all as I find it distracting. However anyone I know that do care will use MSN and most of them will have a webcam. Not having webcam support in MSN for OSX is actually a real handicap for a lot of users in Europe and can even be considered a deal-breaker when it comes to computer purchases for some people...
re: msn and the world
MSN is the most popular chat protocol in Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia. AOL has less than 1% of users in those markets. I would say Skype and Yahoo vie for second.And I agree that any MSN client that doesn't support A/V for all users is half-assed. Mercury can do it. aMSN can do it. So why the hell can't Microsoft themselves get together an implementation of their own protocol?I'll tell you why... politics against Apple. They don't want to make their Mac programs even close to equal to the PC versions, even though they easily could. Witness Office 2008. MS made Excel too slow to use on Mac. Office 2004 was fine. The only explanation is that MS did it deliberately to make the Mac less competitive for people who need to use Excel.
Re: it's popular
because it's bundled, the same way that ie is popular. Gee, then wouldn't it be, by far, the most widely used chat client in the US as well? Or are Americans somehow 'smarter' then the rest of the world and know how to find one of 500 options.