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 Pssst, here's a tip to win those two special edition notepads
Pssst, here's a tip to win those two special edition notepads

dwergs says ( 16 Sep 2006 ):

 

If you want to win those two MSN notepads I'm giving away, you have to (at least at this point) upload more than 20 animated emoticons to beat the top uploader. Hurry, because you only got until next Thursday...



 If Mess.be is acting weird for you...
If Mess.be is acting weird for you...

dwergs says ( 15 Sep 2006 ):

 

The next hour or so, our site or your browser (and mouse pointer) might act a bit weird and show errors during your visit. No we're not taking over your computer, but we're running some tests on the current layout so we can make the right decisions on our next one (yes, finally!). Please ignore for now, it'll all be over soon and it won't hurt a bit ;)

UPDATE: We've finished testing and the results were surprising yet inspiring. If the site still looks weird it's because Chuck Norris has beaten up some of the code.



 Mess Patch Generation 5 is here!
<b>Mess Patch Generation 5</b> is here!

dwergs says ( 15 Sep 2006 ):

 

Yes ladies and gents, Mess Patch development is still going fast and furious. It seems that each time a new Messenger build comes around, we can not only provide you with a quality patch that lets you tweak it like just don't care, but also show off with some drastic improvements instead of the same old boring set of (yet A-MA-ZING) features.

Marking another milestone in the almost two year existence of Mess Patch, we're proud to launch Generation 5 which comes with an extremely useful Online Help system complete with before & after screenshots so you know exactly how each option will "mess" with your Messenger.

Also new are the Personalization Options, allowing you to customize your contact list as you wish including the Tabs on the side! We teamed up with Daniel to integrate TabServe inside the patch so you can choose to have only the Tabs you want.

mess patch iconApart from the obligatory minor fixes, Generation 5 also comes with a new, more advanced update system. And let's give a big warm welcome back to, yes, the Mess.be Custom Games (thanks Koen)! We've also added the option to "Add CustoMess Button To Upper Panel" as requested by Chris Milne so you have a direct link to our other free (content) customization software right within Messenger. Another new option allows you to "Remove Emoticons From Personal Messages" (requested by Mr. Rockafella), simply because they look odd and distorted in there.

We're releasing two versions of Generation 5 simultaneously (currently English-only, multilingual versions will follow), one for the latest official version: Windows Live Messenger 8.0.0812 and another compatible with both builds of the Windows Live Messenger 8.1 Beta (8.1.0064 and 8.1.0066). The latter comes with extra options that let you remove the sarcastic smile emoticon from the Display Picture container and fix the black background bug in Contact Cards.

For a complete overview of features and changes, click the links below that corresponds to your current version of Windows Live Messenger.

>> Download Mess Patch Generation 5 for Windows Live Messenger 8.0.0812.

>> Download Mess Patch Generation 5 for Windows Live Messenger 8.1.0064 and 8.1.0066.

[Big up to Rolando for lifting Mess Patch to another level again, and thanks to Daniel for the green light on TabServe integration] [Can you Digg it?]



 My favorite notepad for your animated emoticons
My favorite notepad for your animated emoticons

dwergs says ( 14 Sep 2006 ):

 

We have nearly 6000 free emoticons on offer for you here at Mess.be, but although custom animated emoticons are allowed since MSN Messenger 7.0 most of them are still static. It's time to harvest animated emoticons... and lots of them!

Wanna help a hand? Register with our gallery (if you haven't done so already) and start uploading them into the most appropriate emoticon categories. I'll personally send two limited edition (and hard-to-get) MSN notepads to the person who uploaded the most (approved) animated emoticons by this time next week. Make sure your e-mail address is correct so I can contact you!

Remember: maximum dimensions for animated emoticons are 50 by 50 pixels, and maximum filesize is 150 kb. And again, try to upload them into the most fitting category... it helps a lot.



 Reminder to those who edited theirs hosts file
Reminder to those who edited theirs hosts file

dwergs says ( 14 Sep 2006 ):

 

Just a quick heads up for those who applied this fix for the sign-in issues Messenger was having at the start of the week: the servers are stable again (they've been so for a while) and it's time to undo your changes and remove those lines from the hosts file.



 Third Windows Live Messenger Ad: Smoking kills
Third Windows Live Messenger Ad: Smoking kills

dwergs says ( 13 Sep 2006 ):

 

The third and last commercial clip promoting Windows Live Messenger to professionals was supposed to go live last Monday (September 11th) over at CommunicationEvolved.com. But because of one specific shot, that would've been EXTREMELY BAD timing (hint: do two smoking towers say anything to you?). Instead, I found the French branded version floating around unofficially on a videosharing website and since you seemed to like the previous ones I've embedded it below.



UPDATE: We learned from Messer angelus999 that Microsoft uploaded the third clip to the Communication Evolved website and added a download link to a Messenger theme pack which includes two MSN Display Pictures, two free Winks, two Backgrounds and two Emoticons.



 Windows Live Messenger 8.1.0066 via auto-update
Windows Live Messenger 8.1.0066 via auto-update

dwergs says ( 13 Sep 2006 ):

 

As you can read here, Microsoft has started to distribute Windows Live Messenger Beta Build 8.1.0066 to its testers. Contrary to what we learned yesterday, the Show my location location feature is still present (now opening in the browser) but the installation indeed takes longer, as expected.

While we haven't found any other apparent changes in this specific build, we have learned about two new features in the Windows Live Messenger 8.1 Beta. Messer MattNotley discovered that conversation windows do not have to be closed anymore when you set your status to Appear Offline. And deAd pointed us to a Frequently used display pictures menu inside the conversation window (click the little arrow left underneath your current DP). Both nice improvements if you ask me.

Finally, several Messers have reported the leaked Beta to be fake because it's still referred to as 8.0 at various locations inside software. Heck, there's even a mention of Windows Live Messenger 7.5! We won't claim all versions out there are genuine, but we can confirm that somebody at Microsoft did a very hasty search & replace job on the original Beta! ;)

Together with Microsoft we do not recommend upgrading to this version unless you're an official Beta-tester.

UPDATE: Those having troubles with the auto-update can download version 8.1.0066 directly from here.

[Also reported by: )(Rockerboy & smooth-criminal]



 Microsoft asks artists to design Messenger content
Microsoft asks artists to design Messenger content

dwergs says ( 12 Sep 2006 ):

 

A week or two ago Microsoft launched a new website (stupidly titled Teen Home Page) offering free Messenger theme packs by 27 visual artists, illustrators, photographers and painters. Each one did a Messenger background and three MSN Display Pictures, which you can add instantly into MSN and Windows Live Messenger via a click on a button.

Featured are Andy Kowalczyk, Apex, Arlo Jamrog, Brian Barneclo, Damon Soule, David Franklin, David Verrecchia, Eric Bailey, Ferris Plock, Greg Galinsky, Hannah Stouffer, John Trippe, Joshua Silveri, Kelly Tunstall, Liza Oesterle, Maria Gillespie, Mike Maxwell, Nate Hooper, Nate VanDyke, NoPattern, Richard Marr, Romanowski, Scott Barry, Sirron Norris (not related to), Thomas Brodahl, Von Glitschka & Vulcan.

Though the site presents them as "your favorite artists" these names probably don't ring any bells, but you might've seen their work before unknowingly. NoPattern, for instance, designed the album covers for Less Than Jake and the upcoming Lupe Fiasco, and Nate Van Dyke did illustrations for XBOX Magazine.

>> Discover the free Messenger theme packs here (refresh the page to view different artists).

We at Mess.be also have put professional artists in the spotlight (since 2003!), asking them to design MSN Display Pictures and/or MSN Emoticons especially for our visitors. The fine work of Michael Lalonde, Jason Pultz, R Stevens, Mr. Fart & Nozzman can be downloaded automatically via CustoMess.



 Details on upcoming 8.1 Beta build
Details on upcoming 8.1 Beta build

dwergs says ( 12 Sep 2006 ):

 

Within the next two days a new build of the Windows Live Messenger 8.1 Beta will be available through Messenger's built-in auto-update feature.

Because the upcoming refresh comes with installation logging, it will take a lot longer to install. Of course, the logging is Beta-only will not be enabled in the final release. Also, the currently rather buggy "location feature" for Personal Status Messages will be removed in the new build for further internal finetuning.

Windows Live Messenger 8.1 is currently in Managed Beta-phase.



 UPDATE: Worldwide sign-in trouble, how to fix
<b>UPDATE</b>: Worldwide sign-in trouble, how to fix

dwergs says ( 11 Sep 2006 ):

 

Messers from Australia around the world are reporting sign-in errors with Windows Live Messenger occuring for over 5 hours already. Windows Messenger or web-based Messenger users, or those currently already signed in are not experiencing any trouble.

UPDATE: Here's a temporary fix for error 81000314 and 80072745 by linx05: just put the following lines in your hosts file:

65.54.239.80 messenger.hotmail.com
65.54.239.80 dp.msnmessenger.akadns.net

More info on how to edit your hosts file here. System reboot might be required.

UPDATE #2: mario has made a nice little tool that automatically enables/disables the fix for you. Use at your own risk though.

[Reported by: Ancyru, bojo, Underlord, lifex, Mad_Griffith & JakSmit]



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