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 Windows Live in plain English, Messenger in paper cut-outs

dwergs says ( 20 Nov 2008 ):

Common Craft is a Seattle-based production company which makes "complex ideas easier to understand" through short, explanatory videos in their typical, stripped-down "paperworks" style. Sachi and Lee LeFever, the people behind the company, have covered topics such as Phising, RSS and even zombies. Recently, Microsoft hired them to do a tutorial on Windows Live Wave 3 and specifically its What's new feature. The video is targeted at novice users -you Messers won't learn anything new- so I'm guessing it'll end up on the windowslive.com domain, but Common Craft has already published it at the link below. >> Windows Live.com by Common Craft.

 NXE brings a slightly updated Messenger

Inky says ( 19 Nov 2008 ):

Today the New Xbox Experience for the Xbox 360 was released world-wide, and with it comes a slightly updated "Chat & IM" feature. While last years Fall Update brought us a lot of improvements, the "improvements" in NXE for Messenger are rather lack-luster. The first and foremost change is that "Chat & IM" has been somewhat tucked away in the Guide (which can be accessed by pressing the Xbox button on your controller). For as far as we know, this is only place where users can sign in to Messenger. The second disappointment is the lack of new features and the meager performance. While sign-in performance was somewhat improved in the previous Fall Update, it still takes a full minute to sign in, with most Xboxes "freezing" while loading a large contact list. On top of that, the Messenger application still doesn't support display pictures and custom emoticons, as well as lacking support for Multiple Points of Presence, signing you out from every other computer or device. On the up-side, chatting does appear to be slightly faster, and contact lists are better integrated with your Friends list. It is clear however that Microsoft has spent very little time on the Messenger application, which may not be all that surprising; Messenger on the Xbox 360 doesn't appear to be all that popular, mostly because owners of the console are more interested in gaming than socializing with their buddies. Unfortunately, Microsoft has never released usage statistics for the Xbox 360 Messenger application, so we may never know ;-) [Thanks to Joost for the screenshots]

 New eBuddy Web Messenger faster, steadier, easier

dwergs says ( 18 Nov 2008 ):

A few improvements to their Web Messenger have been reported by the eBuddy camp: - Contact list loads twice as fast. The eBuddy blog claims "no more waiting" but I'd rephrase that as "less waiting". - Many stability fixes: no more reasonless disconnections and outdated statuses. - Redesigned and easier adding a network to your account procedure. - Redesigned popup windows. - One-click display name and custom status changing. - New FAQ/Help pages. Just log in at eBuddy.com to check out all the changes. [Source: eBuddy blog]

 OMG! They killed the green Messenger buddy (almost)

dwergs says ( 18 Nov 2008 ):

Long Zheng of I Started Something got a hold of the hi-res Windows Live Wave 3 icons, including the Windows Live Messenger one which was first spotted in a blurry video a few weeks ago. Not only has the classic green Messenger buddy been kicked out of the main user interface -the so-called Messenger Pawn in the contact list has been replaced with colored little gems- but as you can see he's also been overtaken by his blue brother who's now the bigger and foremost buddy in the core brand icon. They've put the Messenger buddies on a diet too, making them slimmer and taller. One could argue the cute buddies have matured. Then again, a commenter at I Started Something says it looks kinda like the little men are going to beat him up... The blue and green (and sometimes silver) buddies reappear in the Windows Live Groups and Windows Live People icons, but it's the orange ribbon surrounding them that makes it the Windows Live Messenger Wave 3 icon. The same ribbon seems to be characteristic of all the Windows Live Wave 3 icons. As with every Messenger buddy revamp, we're throwing a Mess with the Messenger Buddy contest. More details will follow later, but those who know the drill can start brutalizing the new buddy already. >> Download the new Windows Live Messenger Wave 3 icon as well as the individual blue and silver buddies in resolutions from 16x16 to 256x256.

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