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 Credit where credit's due
Credit where credit's due

dwergs says ( 02 Apr 2005 ):

 

Of course, yesterday's story about the ancient rock formation was an April Fools joke! Credit for the MSN Rock image goes to timmetje, who first published it here. Thanks for your permission to use it, man!

I would've pulled another April Fools, at least as good as last year's headvertising prank, if it wasn't for my "lost" keys that got me locked out of the house yesterday. Har-har msn emoticon.



 Ancient rock configuration has communicative powers
Ancient rock configuration has communicative powers

dwergs says ( 01 Apr 2005 ):

 

msn messenger buddy rocks discovered!After my call for MSN Messenger-related sightings "in the wild", this morning, Messer timmetje sent me an image of a mysterious pile of rocks spotted last week by visitors of Big Bend, one of the largest and least visited of America’s national parks.

Canyon expert, Sebastian Scuzi, who guides tourists around Big Bend National Park, explained that long before the invention of computers and the Internet, ancient cultures talked to this rock when they felt the need to have endless conversations...

>> Visit the official Big Bend National Park site.

>> View larger image of the enigmatic rock configuration.



 The 2nd PSP Winner in the Plus! Contest is...
The 2nd PSP Winner in the Plus! Contest is...

dwergs says ( 01 Apr 2005 ):

 

messenger plus! contestI love to bring this kind of good news exclusively: Patchou has just e-mailed me the name of the second winner in the big Messenger Plus! giveaway.

This week's Sony PlayStation Portable will be shipped to USA, California. To Billy F Neal to be more precise. Congratz, Billy, you did a good job promoting the new Messenger Plus! 3.50!

Still four Sony PlayStation Portables and one Alienware Laptop to give away, so start participating today!



 MSN Messenger inspires Lebanese demonstrator
MSN Messenger inspires Lebanese demonstrator

dwergs says ( 01 Apr 2005 ):

 

sign out syria, MSN Messenger parodyAs you've probably seen in the news recently, hundreds of thousands have been protesting in central Beirut, demanding a full Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.

One demonstrator, maybe a Messer just like you, took inspiration from MSN Messenger to design his anti-Syrian banner which depicts two MSN Buddies with the heads of the Lebanese and Syrian presidents. Right above them there's the familiar "Sign out"-button, suggesting their total pullout.

Like the piece of grafitti posted last year, street sightings prove that MSN Messenger has become incredibly mainstream and affects our life in more ways than imaginable. I'm always on the lookout for images like these, so keep your eyes open when you're out there and send your pictures to submitmess.be!

>> View the MSN Messenger-inspired protest banner picture.



 Betas Build the Buzz
Betas Build the Buzz

dwergs says ( 31 Mar 2005 ):

 

Google is doing it. Microsoft did it with MSN Messenger 6 and again with v7.0. Has the software world gone BETA mad? Where have the days of unveiling products as final releases gone?

Analysts said the flurry of BETA releases represents a marketing strategy that many software companies are using to hype their products. And when there are bugs in the software they can always use the default excuse that "it's just beta."

When it comes to mature products or brands with a well established user base, its development of new functionality, and subsequent new versions of the software, are usually driven by user feedback, support requests, or user group meetings and conferences, according to Kevin McLaughlin, managing partner at Public i, a public relations strategy and execution firm. "Releasing beta can help make a better product, give existing users a warm and fuzzy 'insider' status, and create buzz that simply can't be bought," he said.

"What's different today is that companies are making almost as much splash around their beta releases as they make around the final release. Beta has simply become more than a testing process. It's also a marketing vehicle."

[Source: TechNewsWorld]



 Disabled Winks? That is so 2004!
Disabled Winks? That is so 2004!

dwergs says ( 31 Mar 2005 ):

 

winks disabledWe're approaching the end of phase 2 of the worldwide MSN Messenger 7 security testing. In this second and final phase Winks and Dynamic Display Pictures are completely disabled.

It's not the first time the Winks feature is turned off. Last year, Winks were disabled for a while after a dangerous exploit in a private MSN Messenger 7 BETA was found.



 .NET Messenger Service Temporarily Down
.NET Messenger Service Temporarily Down

dwergs says ( 30 Mar 2005 ):

 

The .NET Messenger Service was temporarily unavailable worldwide, probably because of the application of the before mentioned security measures.

Thanks to all Messers who reported this!



 Nate On IM rules Korea, MSN Messenger disowned
Nate On IM rules Korea, MSN Messenger disowned

dwergs says ( 30 Mar 2005 ):

 

For the first time in Korea, a local Instant Messaging program has taken the top spot from Microsoft's MSN Messenger.

Internet market research firm Korean Click said yesterday that the number of people using NateOn, which was developed by SK Communications, has surpassed that of MSN Messenger, which first entered Korea in 2000. Korean Click said 7,195,878 people were using Nate On and 7,040,011 were using MSN Messenger as of this week.

"This is significant because a local firm has taken down MSN Messenger, which has an unfair advantage of being automatically included in the Windows operating system monopoly," an SK Communications official said.

MSN Korea, however, responded that MSN Messenger is a separate service that has to be downloaded from the Internet, unlike Windows Messenger. SK Communications said that Windows Messenger and MSN Messenger are actually the same since the two share the same user database.

>> FAQ: What is the difference between MSN Messenger and Windows Messenger?

UPDATE: While SK Communications is ligning up Windows Messenger to MSN Messenger, our own Timothy noticed that NateOn isn't so different from MSN Messenger either. Striking resemblances between the Korean IM client and MSN Messenger 7.0 BETA are exposed in the following screenshots:

- NateOn's Contact List and Toast.
- NateOn's Options menu.

[Source: INSIDE JoongAng Daily]



 Global security testing going on, hotlinks blocked
Global security testing going on, hotlinks blocked

dwergs says ( 30 Mar 2005 ):

 

Since yesterday, the MSN Messenger team is conducting global security testing in an effort to block malicious code from being transferred via MSN Messenger forever. Over 48 hours and in two phases, all hotlinks, Winks and Dynamic Display Pictures will be blocked from being sent or received, affecting all users of MSN Messenger 7 BETAs.

security testing msn messenger

We're currently going through phase 1 in which all clickable links (hotlinks) are disabled, but Winks and Dynamic Display Pictures enabled. At the end of the first phase (March 30th, 1 PM (PST)), phase 2 will commence and disable all Winks and Dynamic Display Pictures. Security testing is expected to be completed 24 hours later at March 31st, 1 PM (PST).

UPDATE: Although not recommended, the temporarily blocked features can be locally enabled again by reshacking your build number to 7.1.000.

[Reported by: bigblagger, Alex P, Chaos-X, Marko, Boge, DJ Bri T, )(Rockerboy, Tandy, Nashi, DJ Bri T and R-Style]



 Updated: Mess Patch for MSN Messenger 7.0.0732
Updated: Mess Patch for MSN Messenger 7.0.0732

dwergs says ( 28 Mar 2005 ):

 

It's got all the must-have tweaks and things for MSN Messenger, and then some. What is it?

An updated Mess Patch for the leaked MSN Messenger 7.0.0732 BETA, of course! Get it while it's hot.

>> Download Mess Patch for MSN Messenger 7.0.0732 or get it via auto-update.

[Props to: Rolando, theunknown, Koen and TheBlasphemer]



 First Messenger Plus! Contest Winner Announced
First Messenger Plus! Contest Winner Announced

dwergs says ( 27 Mar 2005 ):

 

messenger plus! contestMess.be is proud to be Patchou's official mouth-piece in the Messenger Plus! 3.50 Launch Party Giveaway contest! Every week from March 16th to April 27th, around Thursday, we will be the first site to reveal the name of the winners of the must-have Sony PlayStation Portables and finally, the sexy Alienware laptop PC.

With this said, it's time for the first winner... *drum rolls*

Congratulations Yousef El-Dardiry from Milsbeek, The Netherlands! You'll soon be the proud owner of an ass-kicking Sony PSP.

>> Download the new Messenger Plus! 3.50.

>> Participate in the Messenger Plus! Launch Party Giveaway contest.



 dwergs breaks two legs and tailbone...
dwergs breaks two legs and tailbone...

dwergs says ( 27 Mar 2005 ):

 

...That could have been a headline, but I'm glad it's not. Hi everyone! I'm back from a smashing snowboarding trip and I would like to thank Zero1 and Timothy for taking care of Mess.be while I was high above the French clouds.

Interesting stuff has happened during the past week and my email Inbox reached an unrivalled size. I'll try to catch up as soon as possible because we're looking forward to a busy week of updates! :)



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