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 What is i'm? Chat for charity initiative officially launched!

dwergs says ( 01 Mar 2007 ):

Over the past few years, we've seen people on Messenger put emoticons or special symbols in their nicknames to mourn victims of terrorist attacks, AIDS, acts of God or evil stingrays. Sometimes these appeals create a sizeable buzz, in other cases just dozens of "colorful" contact lists. But with Microsoft now jumping on this trend for the first time you'll be able to actually make a difference without spending any money! Like we told you in January, Microsoft has hidden an emoticon in its 8.1 version of Windows Live Messenger, and we also suggested that putting it in your Display Name would generate a donation to charity for every conversation you initiate. Several early adopting Microsoft employees who read about it at Mess.be were even ordered to remove the emoticon from their nicknames... until today's official launch of the "i'm Initiative". We previously revealed different shortcuts that show the charity emoticon and, depending on which shortcut you use, you decide which one of the nine participating organization benefits from your free donations. By selecting your favorite cause from the following list and putting the associated emoticon in your Display Name, you can personally help the organization attain its goals: *sierra - Sierra Club [link] *bgca - Boys and Girls Clubs of America [link] *9mil - ninemillion.org [link] *komen - Susan G. Komen for the Cure [link] *mssoc - National Multiple Sclerosis Society [link] *red+u - American Red Cross [link] *unicef - UNICEF [link] *naf - National AIDS Fund [link] *help - StopGlobalWarming.org [link] Refer to the Q&A in our FAQ for more details regarding the i'm Initiative including the participating organizations. Currently answered questions include "Why the i'm emoticon", "What's my effort worth", "Can anybody participate?" and "What about the other emoticon shortcuts?". One important detail that I would like to pay extra attention to is the campaign's restriction to users from the United States. While you can still put the emoticon in your nickname in order to raise awareness for the campaign among your U.S.-based buddies, it's a bit of a drawback for Messers worldwide. >> Read all about in our constantly updated FAQ. >> Don't forget to Digg this news and pass it on! Link to our FAQ for the latest on i'm. >> Head over to im.live.com or the press release for more information. >> Download the required Windows Live Messenger 8.1 (English US) here.

 What's next for StuffPlug 3?

dwergs says ( 01 Mar 2007 ):

TB recently posted a list of planned changes for the upcoming StuffPlug 3 release, as well as a link to several screenshots. So, what can you expect? - Windows Live Messenger 8.0.0812, 8.1.0168, and 8.1.0178 compatible - NEW: More than 5 custom emoticons per message - NEW: Replace default emoticons with custom emoticons - NEW: Ability to turn SP convo button on or off - NEW: Ability to turn SP contactlist button on or off - NEW: Timezone adjustable clock per contact - NEW: Custom installation directory - Windows of the same type now only open once - Fixed: several memory leaks - Fixed: AdHider overhaul - Fixed: better icons for status-icon feature - Status-icon feature now also changes icon inside window - Loads of UI updates - Loads of other miscellaneous bugfixes... Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a while until it's fit for release. For now, just stick to the current build which is (except for the Keyboard-LED flashing and talk while blocked features) entirely compatible with the latest version of Windows Live Messenger 8.1. >> Download StuffPlug 3.0.0286 (Beta). >> Go to the stuffplug website.

 Updated: Messenger Plus! Live 4.20.262

dwergs says ( 01 Mar 2007 ):

According to schedule, Patchou has last night released version 4.20 of his popular Windows Live Messenger add-on. As expected, this version of Messenger Plus! Live is optimized both visually and technically for Windows Vista although it's still 100% compatible with Windows XP. It's also bundled with the winning scripts from the scripting contest. Additional changes include, but are not limited to: - Text copied in conversation windows now includes emoticons codes instead of white spaces. - When deleting a contact in the Contact List Clean-up window hold Control to block it as well. - Chat logging is disabled by default in guest accounts. - The Contact Information window now displays the personal message. - A new icon to access the scripts' menus has been added in the contact list and the chat windows. - The way the task bar flashes when a new message is received in a tabbed chat has been improved to avoid missing unseen messages. - And much more (look here for a complete changelog). >> Download Messenger Plus! Live v4.20.262. [Reported by: GiveItDeath & SonicSam]

 Use an Emergency Microphone, duh!

dwergs says ( 28 Feb 2007 ):

The following trick will seem over-obvious to some, while others would have never considered the idea. But here's a short howto video on using your (eg. mp3 player's) earphones as a microphone for voice conversations in Windows Live Messenger and similar software. Works best with a laptop unless you have a very long wire.

 Download the LeBron James Theme Pack

dwergs says ( 27 Feb 2007 ):

Fans of NBA-player LeBron James are in for a little treat because Microsoft has recently launched a storybook-style mini-site along with a Spaces blog both dedicated to "King James". There's also a contest with 12 Zune players (pre-loaded with LeBron's favorite tracks) and 12 pairs of Nike Zoom shoes (signed by LeBron) on offer. The "MSN Instant Win" is open to U.S. residents aged 13+ only and closes on April 5th, 2007. But we wouldn't be posting all this if it wasn't for the additional Lebron theme pack for Windows Live/MSN Messenger containing a Dynamic Display Picture with 4 Moods, three regular Display Pictures, three conversation windows backgrounds, five static emoticons and two Winks. All free of course.

 Updated: Windows Live Messenger Gadget

dwergs says ( 27 Feb 2007 ):

The Windows Live Messenger Gadget for Windows Vista's Sidebar has been updated since we first mentioned it. The new Beta-build has a new backend (no Connector-hassle), a new way of retrieving data and is now a signed gadget file. A next build due soon will support nicknames. >> Download Windows Live Messenger Gadget (more of Tom's gadgets here).

 Messenger Muse to inspire bloggers

dwergs says ( 26 Feb 2007 ):

Kip Kniskern over at LiveSide had a talk with Ali Alpay, Group Product Manager for Windows Live Spaces and Writer, and Pooja Vithlani from Spaces about a new Messenger bot called Muse. The idea being that a lot of stories are being told on Messenger first, the bot serves as a bridge to the Spaces platform and allows users to blog from within the Windows Live Messenger activity window. Muse also seeks to inspire bloggers coping with a writer's block through a number of topic suggestions and a "Thought of the Day" alert. You can listen to Ali and Pooja's demo here or just add musebot@live.com and try for yourself. Ali added that "Microsoft is looking at ways to allow developers to plug into some of the automation, to work on a chatbot platform (...) Think of all the ways we have in English to say hello (hi, howdy, yo, whassup, hey, etc, etc). For a 3rd party developer to have to code all that in would be pretty tedious, but building that (and many other tasks) into a platform could make it lots easier to develop bots."

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