Main/News >> News Archives > The week of December 18 (2005) (you are here)

 Second Windows Live Messenger invites giveaway!

dwergs says ( 24 Dec 2005 ):

In case you hadn't noticed, a second WLM invites contest has started. roadman complained that last round wasn't fair because he was in bed at the time the competition got posted. Well, you have all Christmas Day to work on this one :) TIP: Do not use fire.

 Mess.be hits 100,000 forum posts!

dwergs says ( 23 Dec 2005 ):

We kinda hoped this wouldn't happen until Christmas day, but you guys are just unstoppable! A couple of minutes ago, the 100,000th post was published on the Mess.be forum. No idea exactly who posted it, but I'd like to congratulate all active and contributing forum members for this impressive achievement! >> Read the 100,000th post thread.

 Updated: Mess Patch for MSN Messenger 7.5.0322

dwergs says ( 22 Dec 2005 ):

Can you believe Mess Patch had two a half million downloads already, since its first release (7.0.0205) about a year ago? I honestly can... because it's the cream of the crop in MSN Messenger tweaking. Did you know lots of people even refuse to update their client as long as there's no Mess Patch available for the newer version? That's why after yesterday's news on the autoupdate to MSN Messenger 7.5.0322, Rolando grabbed a cup of joe and manufactured the new Mess Patch 7.5.0322. Still Generation 3. Still 74 tweaks. Still genius! >> Download Mess Patch Generation 3 for 7.5.0322. >> Download MSN Messenger 7.5.0322.

 First Four WLM Invites: The Winners!

dwergs says ( 22 Dec 2005 ):

Hardly a second after I silently posted about the easter egg hunt on our Live Messenger BETA Invites page, I received the first correct answer. One hour later, over 300 Messers found at least one of the four keywords. Surprisingly, I also received some incorrect answers. Brõck for some reason sent me "Missing" and Ollie thought a Christmas Buddy Display Picture was the easter egg. Irving even thought the keywords were TarTooob, dillapp and Parsifal Yao. Sorry Irving, but those are the names of the Messers who kindly donated their invites for this easter egg hunt :) Anyway, it feels bad having to disappoint so many of you but there will be many more giveaways so stay focused on the Live Messenger BETA Invites. The following Messers can expect an invitation to use the Windows Live Messenger 8.0 BETA in their inboxes: Chris O., Fenty, Ant Fl. & Andy87. Good job guys! Oh, and this round's not over though ;) Check the invites page in a couple of minutes for the closing price... UPDATE: It took a little longer than expected, but someone finally put the four easter eggs keywords in the right order and found out what song they were from. Not 50 Cent's "Fuck You", nor "Living Doll" by Cliff Richard (or any of the 16 other tracks you suggested), but the amazing Jamie Lidell's "What's The Use (click for a sample). Congratz to yzgulec for winning the fifth invite, donated by Dan Demaine! Stay tuned, more invites coming! :D

 Autoupdate for 'some': MSN Messenger 7.5.0322

dwergs says ( 21 Dec 2005 ):

In a recent chat session with the people working on MSN Messenger and the future Windows Live Messenger, test engineer John Weis revealed that on Monday an autoupdate to version 7.5.0322 was turned on for two percent of all MSN Messenger (mostly build 311) users. Considering the software's 185 million userbase, that means over 3,5 million users (including Messers Born_Slippy and Mooseattack) have received the autoupdate notification. I guess we'll have to release an updated Mess Patch ASAP! Question: "About the good "ole" msnm: will 7.5.0322 be final?" John Weis: "So far it is the best version of MSN Messenger v7.5 out there. I asked a bunch of people with sign in problems to give it a try and we just turned on an autoupdate today for about 2% of total MSN Messenger users. It may solve the sign in issues we have been seeing. It may not, and another QFE may be necessary. We are serious about fixing signin and connectivity issues." >> Download MSN Messenger 7.5.322 from Mess.be. Talking about non-8.0 versions: MSN Messenger 7.0 (yup, that's seven point zero) has received the golden Best Product of 2005 award from PC Magazine in Belgium. Most of its 13,000 voting readers considered the product as the best "productivity software" released in 2005, surpassing Microsoft's own Windows XP Pro x64 OS (silver) and competing communication product Skype (bronze). All winning products will appear in the next issue of PC Magazine, but are also listed online. MSN Messenger counts nearly 2 million active users out of a ten million population in Belgium.

 First Windows Live Messenger invites giveaway today!

dwergs says ( 21 Dec 2005 ):

Listen up, everyone! Today we're going to hand out a handful of exclusive invitations to the Windows Live Messenger BETA. To give everyone a fair chance there will be several possibilities to obtain one (and no, just asking for them won't be one of them). For now, I suggest you keep an eye on this WLM 8.0 page... >> If you'd like to donate your WLM 8.0 invites to the poor & needy, send those links here. Thanks!

 .NET Messenger Service hiccup

dwergs says ( 20 Dec 2005 ):

The .NET Messenger Service was unavailable for a just short moment today, which resulted in automatic disconnects all over the world. All systems seem to be go at the time of writing. Totally unrelated but possibly in your benefit, we found an alternative way to score a £5 gift voucher for Firebox. Last week, we already told you about this secret link, but you can also get a free gift voucher by signing up at the bottom of the MSN Perfect Christmas Countdown Calendar page. For other cool Christmas gifts (or ideas what to spend your cash on), take a look at the Messer's Wishlist.

 Updated: Messenger Plus! 3.62.146

dwergs says ( 20 Dec 2005 ):

As expected, an update to Messenger Plus! has been released, bringing nothing more than a couple of small fixes and forward compatbility with Messenger Plus! Live, foreseen for 2006. Version 3.62 is "required if you want to continue Messenger Plus! next year once Windows Live Messenger will be released". Please note that it is not compatible with Windows Live Messenger. The changelog states the following: - Auto-update now checks if a version of Messenger Plus! Live is available when running Windows Live Messenger. - If both this version of Messenger Plus! and Messenger Plus! Live are installed on the same system, this version automatically disables itself in Windows Live Messenger but keeps on working properly in Windows Messenger or a previous version of MSN Messenger. - Due to various reasons, people using the Alternate Hooking Method will be prompted to reboot once the installation is complete and the Default Hooking Method will automatically be set back. Once the computer has been rebooted (that's very important), the Alternate Hooking Method can be set again in the preferences. - Log files are not auto-archived to the wrong directory anymore (happened in some very specific occasions). >> Download Messenger Plus! 3.62. [Reported by: Camsta, Stef & Zahid]

 Windows Live Messenger 8.0 BETA Chat

dwergs says ( 20 Dec 2005 ):

A one-and-a-half-hour chat with the Windows Live Messenger team was wrapped up just a couple of minutes ago. Attending were over a hundred invitees, mostly official Windows Live Messenger BETA-testers who were firing questions at the experts like an AK-47. We're currently analysing the chat transcript and will extract some interesting quotes for you first thing in the morning (which it practically is already, for me anyway). Check back for an update. UPDATE: I've carefully selected the most interesting Q&A's and bundled them in this WLM 8.0 BETA chat resume. My favorite one? "Question: Why is the Messenger Icon now so fat? Answer: too much pizza" Also, at the end of the chat session Mike McCoy quickly added that BETA-testers are breaking records with filing bugs. As someone in the chat wittily noted: is that because current testers are so good... or because there are more bugs than ever? >> Summary of the Windows Live Messenger 8.0 BETA Chat here. [Thanks to: jpimp]

 Radio DJ's locked up in MSN Messenger for good cause

dwergs says ( 19 Dec 2005 ):

Starting today and for a period of six days, DJ's Giel, Gerard and Wout from Dutch radio station 3FM will remain locked up in Het Glazen Huis ("the house of glass") in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Their mission: to collect as much money donations as possible for the Red een kind in Congo ("Save a child in Congo") project. The fund-raiser aims at tackling two of Congo's most serious problems: health care and family reunion. In collaboration with MSN, an MSN Messenger activity has been set up which allows you to chat with your buddies while listening and watching the live 3FM stream (in Dutch) called Serious Request. The activity is truly a unique experience and even a worldwide exclusive. A button underneath encourages you to donate money and listen to requested songs in return. >> Launch 3FM Serious Request directly from our MSN Messenger Games & Activity Launcher.

 Small update to Messenger Plus! 3 expected

dwergs says ( 19 Dec 2005 ):

Last week we exclusively announced Messenger Plus! Live, the brand new (4.00) version of world's most popular Messenger addon. In preparation of its release around midpoint 2006, a small update of Messenger Plus! 3 will be released this week. Patchou tells us that "this update is required for anybody who will want to continue to use the old Messenger Plus! and the new one, side by side, on the same system (Messenger Plus! Live will only be compatible with Windows Live Messenger, you will still need Messenger Plus! 3 if you use Windows Messenger for example)." [Reported by: TEENAGER]

 Xbox 360 to invite gamers via mobile messages

dwergs says ( 19 Dec 2005 ):

Microsoft is working on a yet unnamed system which would allow Xbox Live users to send IMs via the Xbox 360 console to a friend's mobile phone. "It just pops up saying 'Dinky Dave wants to play Project Gotham Racing' with you," said Microsoft UK mobility business manager Jason Langridge in an interview with the BBC News website. He said he could not say when the system would go live on the Xbox 360 console, but added: "It is six months or so. It is very, very near." [Source: BBC News]

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