Katheryn (Moderator): As we get close to
beginning, I would like to begin by posting the chat rules and instructions for
our guests:
1.This chat will last for 90 minutes. During this time, our Experts will
respond to as many questions as they can. Please understand that there are some
questions we cannot respond to due to lack of information or because the
information is not yet public
2.We encourage you to submit questions for our Experts. To do so, type your
questions in the send box, check the “Ask the Experts” check box and click
SEND. Questions sent directly to the Guest Chat room will not be answered by
the Experts, but we encourage other community members to assist.
3.We ask that you stay on topic for the duration of the chat. This helps the
Guests and Experts follow the conversation more easily. We invite you to ask
off topic questions after this chat is over, but not during.
4.Please abide by the Chat Code of Conduct.
Katheryn (Moderator): We are pleased to
welcome our Windows Live Messenger Beta Experts. I will have them introduce
themselves now…
Niladri (Expert):
Q: [2] Can we have a bookmark sync feature (i.e like youno)
so uor bookmarks are portable between work and home PCs?
A: That is a great suggestion and something we will certainly look at for
future versions.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [1] Silly question: Will WLM be an (un)officiall
abbreviation for Windows Live Messenger or Windows Live Mail???
A: Windows Live Messenger is the official name
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [5] There has been several problems with remote assistance
when both users are behind a router, is there going to be any improvements in
this area?
A: Hi, this is Owen, I
am in the International group, and can assist with International related
questions. Thanks.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [14] will teh colour schemes be improved?
A: Yes.. it will be improve before launch
Adam [Beta Team] (Moderator): Welcome to the chat!
Nice to meet you and learn about what you think of Messenger!
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [18] Currently signing into WLM is quite slow. Will this be
rectified in the future?
A: Yes, we are working on it
InesK (Expert):
Q: [6] some more tools added to the handwritting feature
would be great! 
A: Great idea! Any suggestions?! 
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [19] Will the colour of the pages be fixed?
A: Yes. It shpould be fix by the final release
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [19] Will the colour of the pages be fixed?
A: Yes, w have recieved a lot of feedback and we are lookign at changes
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [4] Do yo uthink when we use webcams that the
"connection established" message can be moved somewhere else so that
we can see the "xxxx is typing a message" (at the moment we can't
when webcam is on!!)
A: Thank you for the feedback. We will add this as a request
InesK (Expert):
Q: [29] Any chance a sharing folder download status can be
included somewhere in the messaging window as well (even just a percentage)
rather than having to look directly at the shared folder itself.
A: It is a good idea but we are trying to keep the IM window as
unclottered as possible
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [21] Does the team have any plans for a special WLM
emoticon for when WLM finally comes out of beta?
A: Yes. It still under investigation and should come up with more by the
final relase
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [17] Are we going to see any more major UI changes?
A: Not currently but were still open for more suggestion before the launch
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [8] Will users need Windows Live Messenger to take
advantage of upcoming Yahoo! interoperability, or is it a "switch"
that will be server-sider? (maybe a combo of both?)
A: Only Live Messenger
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [9] Why do my @microsoft.com contacts show offline in WLM
even when they are online (7.5 shows them online). This seems to affect all
non-hotmail and MSN passports. Any resolution?
A: Do you have a Hotmail ID or a EASI passport?
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [11] Are there going to be any imporvements with webcam and
video messaging before release of WLM
A: Yes, we are
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [13] 1. I would like to see a new feature in WLM that
disables sounds when media is being played in WMP.
A: Thank u for the suggestion.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [34] when are you planning on launching WLM public?
A: No approximate time at this time.
InesK (Expert):
Q: [61] Is it true that the sharing folders is using the same
technology as the DFS-R from Windows 2003 R2/Vista?
A: Yes
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [24] can you tell us more about what you're going to change
again in the color scheme of Messenger and will the next version be final?
A: In the next version
InesK (Expert):
Q: [64] what did you guys do with leah? was she to scared to
come into te hat after her interview with liveside? 
A: Snowboarding 
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [3] I found a hole in the Parental Control programs. They
do not monitor all or some or none IM clients. I would like to see WLM to have
parental controls. The options would look for bad words to block, say you can
disable folder share to prevent p*rn sharing
A: There are plans for improved perental controls going forward but it
will be restricted to preventing children from getting unapproved buddies onto
their buddy list. Later on we will start to allow parents to turn off features.
InesK (Expert):
Q: [60] will WLM have an improved anit virus system??
A: What do you mean by improved?
Niladri (Expert):
Q: [46] So, with the introduction of Sharing Folders, you seem
to have perfected crappy wrapped up FTP. Will we, the users of Windows Live
Messenger, be able to see more crappy wrapped up existing software in the
future? I know I can't wait.
A: Thank you for using Windows Live Messenger. It turns out that the
Sharing Folders feature is actually much more than just FTP. We use a pretty
advanced replication engine which allows you to "smart" transfer
files. In other words, we compress the data quite a bit before sending and in
the case that you have already replicated a file and change it slightly, we
only replicate over the rest of the change.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [40] When will the block contacts option be fixed? Thay
always appears as if they weren't blocked.
A: We are workign ona fix and it will be release dint he next version
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [55] Suggestion One: I think adding windows live messenger
parental controls would be a great way to monitor are childrens active online
experience within msn messenger and help protect them from predators and other
bad online experiences.
A: That is actually a perfect suggestion and we are considering this on
our next feature release
InesK (Expert):
Q: [22] how far are we away from the final release? (interms
of features and timeline)
A: Good question. I can't reveal that at this time.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [56] I’ve suggested spell check for WLM8 . is this feature
going to be implemented?
A: NOt at this time but currently being consider for the next version
release
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [7] and file transer, ability to turn off video, audio
VIOP and such, block purchases of premium content.
A: Yup, this is a ways off though.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [48] I am unable to access my Live Contact info to edit it,
apparantly a Spaces issue, one that others have. Any info on when that will be
fixed?
A: What is the error you get?
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [42] will there be a feature to SAVE emoticons, etc?
A: Yes. Maybe in our next feature release
InesK (Expert):
Q: [35] Are you planning to include more features than just
the little Sharing Folders and the Live Call?
A: Time permitting, we will.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [26] Toasts need to be larger again, one can barely read
some people's display names.
A: Thanks for your feedback Jonathan. We pwill consider this on our next
version release
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [54] Why do my @microsoft.com contacts show offline in WLM
even when they are online (7.5 shows them online). This seems to affect all
non-hotmail and MSN passports. Any resolution?
A: EASI passport will see @microsoft.com users offline. Ar eyou sign a
@hotmail.com or @msn.com user?
InesK (Expert):
Q: [82] Can we have an option to manage individual files in
Shared folder feature? i want to delete or pause only one file from my contacts
(before to finish the sync)
A: We have heard that request many times. Stay tuned for future releases
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
A: I've seen UI plans for multi-video ideas but the bandwidth required is
a tough problem to solve. The MS RTC (Real Time Communications) team is working
on that but I don't know the ETA.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [73] Deepa, no my passport is @chris123nt.com not hotmail
or mksn.
A: Thsi is by design .
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [44] File transfer resume, please, please, PLEASE. You're
already doing it in certain scenarios, why not expand it so users are less
frustrated?
A: Thanks for the feedback and we will definitely consider this feature on
our next release
Niladri (Expert):
Q: [100] Will you ever make sharing folders wo that you don't
have a copy of the file in the sharing folder? It would be easier to have just
a link to the file or something like that.
A: This is quite a common question....one of the reasons we chose the
current design is so that users would not lose their data when they did not
intend to. In other words, if you put a file/folder in your sharing folder with
a buddy and your buddy deletes the file on his end, it will be deleted from
your end as well. We are working on a better solution though. Thanks!
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [73] Deepa, no my passport is @chris123nt.com not hotmail
or mksn.
A: Since your passport is an EASI passprot you will @microsoft.com users
as offline since the domain has federated.
InesK (Expert):
Q: [47] What integration do you have planned for Expo and Live
Messenger?
A: contact card, tabs and more!
Andrew [MS] (Expert):
Q: [20] any idea why my messenger just stops responding
periodically?
A: We've made a number of performance improvements recently, some of which
may address this for you. However, I can't be sure. If you kill the process or
otherwise crash/hang WLM please please please submit the crash using the
dialog. We use that data to track down and fix these bugs.
InesK (Expert):
A: http://spaces.msn.com/messengersays/blog/cns!5B410F7FD930829E!9599.entry
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [12] when will we see some further integration with WLMail
and Spaces such as writing an email or blog within WLM's interface
A: I think eventually we will see IMs and emails begin to merge with
either platform being able to access the other. When I don't know.
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [141] Are there any plans in Microsoft to release versions
in other languages, for instance Russian, for Windows Live Messenger or Windows
Live mail?
A: Yes, there are currently plans to add additional langauges for Windows
Live products. Russian should be available for beta in the next several days.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [143] IS WLM 8 the next version of MSN Messenger 7.5? :O
A: Yes. This is currently the plan
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [151] Why do we still not have tabs in Live Messenger? It's
so often requested but never added?
A: It is definitely one of the features that is being considered for
future releases
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [144] I'd like to have the following feature implemented in
Messenger - being able to Block Groups (instead of just blocking/unblocking
each individual contacts). Would this be possible?
A: Yes it it possible and we will consider this on our next version
release
InesK (Expert):
Q: [117] So, when is MS going to hire Patchou to work on
Messenger...?
A: Has he submitted his resume
Andrew [MS] (Expert):
Q: [25] will running more than one WLM instance ever be
officially possible? is it held back for technical reasons or by choice? many
people like to be logged in with more than one account at once...
A: Probably not, need a good reason to do it. There have been some ideas
floated (nothing officially planned though) for 'personas' to allow you to
present yourself differently to different people, assuming that's why you want
to do this.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [147] Are you fixing the color problems?? Right now
everything seems almost bleached out.
A: Yes. We are planning on fixing this before the final launch
Adam [Beta Team] (Moderator):
Q: [134] Will there be a mobile version of wlm available in the
future?
A: Yes, we are working on this one.
Niladri (Expert):
Q: [109] why is only Windows Live antivirus supported in shared
folders?
A: We partner with the Windows Live Safety Center team in assisting them
release their great new A/V product...the deep integration between Messenger
and WLSC allows us to provide the most secure experience as possible. This does
not, however, mean that a 3rd party scanner is not supported. All 3rd party
scanners still work in the background on your file system even if you do not
have WLSC installed so in theory, we actually support any scanner you might
use.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [146] What do you mean deepa by federated? (jw...)
A: Live Communciation Service has been deployed in a corporate environment
and federated domains can see only @hotmail @msn domain users online. The
federated domains can provide the online presence of users only in certain
domains. Since you are ina differnt domain this is the reason why
@microsoft.com users are not seen onlien to u
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [148] Will we be able to create our Own Status for example..
"In the shower" or at work"?
A: Not at this time... thank you for the feedback..
InesK (Expert):
Q: [104] Will there ever be storage for shared folders for
offline access?
A: Good question. Stay tuned...
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [157] Is there going to be a new version of webmessenger
which will make use of these new technologies and the updated Windows Live
Messenger features?
A: I'm not sure what technologies you are referring to but the team will
be supporting new stuff as fast as we can.
Niladri (Expert):
Q: [136] Niladri: I understand. For example, my GZip program
can calculate complex equasions while compressing files. Do you mean something
like that?
A: Yah, something like that except that we send the bits over a wire too.
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [15] why wlm dont opens hotmail/live mail in the default
browser??
A: we don't use the default browser because not all browsers support the
automatic authentication method we use. we had to decide which was more
important: opening hotmail and having you already signed in, or launch your
default browser. we chose being signed in. i know... it kind of sucks, but we
feel it is better you be signed in.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [139] what would you like to know from us?
A: Any suggestion to improve WLM would be great
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [156] i would love to have animated gifs for display
picrures. Will that ever be available?
A: Have you tired Meegoes?
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [90] When will the block contacts option be fixed? They
always appears as if they weren't blocked after we sign in again. It's
confusing and annoys people. I think this is the main bug in the latest version
of Windows Live Messenger.
A: That is fixed on our internal latest build. I just tried it.
Niladri (Expert):
Q: [174] Will us lolya beta testers get a free MS hat? or how
about a pen?
A: You all certainly deserve some MSN/Windows Live stuff thanks to all
your great work! I'll see what we can do :-)
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [173] Currently if we want to use remote assistance we need
windows messenger installed..is this going to change in the near future?
A: NOt at this time since Remote Assistance is part of windows and Windows
messenger is part of Window OS
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [161] Currently if we want to use remote assistance we need
windows messenger installed..is this going to change in the near future?
A: no, not really. sorry.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [159] Suggestion Eight: Automatic spell check in
conversation windows.
A: Thank you for the suggestion
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [175] will voice (audio) quality be improved to be similar
do skype?
A: Yes, voice/audio is being continuously improved for future releases
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [32] Will the ability to send to MSN Direct watches be
fixed?
A: one of our devs is already working on fixing this. we should have this
fixed in the next release.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
A: Nope sorry but thanks for the suggestion or inquiry
Leah (Expert):
Q: [188] The (*Messenger) icon in the task bar: I would like to
be able to perform a right click sign out and exit .
A: This is a great idea - especially now that we have the file menu hidden
by default. We'll look into that.
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [31] will the icon set (particularly for offline) be
updated to something more snassy?
A: yes, we should have something a little more shiny by the final release
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [39] Windows Live Messenger -- where does this leave Mac
users?
A: MAC Messneger 5.0 is the latest version
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [128] Will we be able to sync our contact list with Outlook?
A: I don't think this will become an integrated feature but we are
approaching that by merging our contacts list into the Windows Address Book
(which would be different than your local contacts folder on outlook.)
But what you can do is export your contacts to excell and then to a .csv text
file and then edit that to match the format of our save/load contacts feature
to quickly get these guys into your buddy list.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [36] Are you planning to add more default Winks, Dynamic
Backgrounds and/or Emoticons?
A: Not soon
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [203] Will MSN Today (or maybe Live Today) return in
upcomming builds?
A: this is being considered for upcomming builds.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [195] the ability to get messages after I sign on is great,
thanks for adding that in!
A:
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [203] Will MSN Today (or maybe Live Today) return in
upcomming builds?
A: yes, it probably will
Niladri (Expert):
Q: [198] Do you plan to merge the office communicator and msn
messenger togheter?
A: Not that I know of. We actually attract two different audiences. Whereas
Office Communicator is more of a business app, Messenger pleases home users.
Aarthi - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [211] Is there going to be a WindowS Live Messenger for mac?
A: Hi,
Leah (Expert):
Q: [202] it would be cool if you add a hovering effect to the
contact list, not like the old one that showed the contact information, just a
normal hovering effect. is this possible?
A: What kind of hover effect are you thinking?
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [217] Any idea when the icon name will be changed to Windows
Live Messenger? It's currently Messenger Beta.
A: When the product
officially releases
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [176] Will there be an ad free version of WLM?
A: Nope as this is a free service.
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [208] Will there be a compatible version of WLM designed for
the MSN TV 2 Player?
A: unfortunately, that is up to the MSN TV team. they handle that
themselves. i can't really answer for them.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [43] Two builds ago when you hovered the cursor over a
contact name their information would be visible. What happened to that? Can we
get it back?
A: We recieved a lot of feedback on this.
Aarthi - Messenger (Expert):
A: There is a MAC messenger offered by Microsoft.
Adam [Beta Team] (Moderator):
Q: [219] I'd like to see closer integration between Windows
Live Messenger & Windows Live Mail. There was some IM functionality between
Hotmail & Messenger before, and some development with Web Messenger... I'd
like to access my Messenger IM/chat logs in Mail Beta
A: Good suggestion!
Leah (Expert):
Q: [204] Why don't you allow us to send short .WAV files with
the Voice Clips feature? Would be great for adding sound effects to your
conversations.
A: This is a good idea. We've only just shipped the first version of Voice
Clip - this might be something to consider for a 2nd version
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [222] I honestly feel that there should be more free winks,
nudges, emoticons. what do u think?
A: nudges are free, even though some people thing they should cost.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [63] can we hae a new style or status icons?
A: We may have new ones..
InesK (Expert):
Q: [223] I would stilll like to see more integration with
spaces, allowing users to post blgs straight from WLM would be great
A: That's a great idea! The only interaction right now is if you add
yourself as a contact, clicking on the space icon in that car will take you to
the Spaces "new blog entry". But I agree more interaction would be
nice.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [29] Any chance a sharing folder download status can be
included somewhere in the messaging window as well (even just a percentage)
rather than having to look directly at the shared folder itself.
A: Thanks for the feedback and we weill defintely look into this.
Leah (Expert):
Q: [227] Will the black skin colour be back, as the grey colour
does not seem to work anymore...and I've tried using it on both a CRT and LCD
monitor and it just turns white; so I am stuck using the dark blue skin
colour?!
A: Great question. There has been a lot of feedback on the current
coloring, and we're in the midst of finding a better solution.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [186] Will we have any integration between Windows Live
Messenger and Windows Live Favorites? I would be a great feature to reach our
favorites pages by means of Windows Live Messenger.
A: You can use any
custom color you like but it won't look black but a lightened gray. There has
been a lot of talk about how to best change this to allow richer color
rendering. No decisions yet that I know of.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [41] what happened with the "new visual" used in
preview versions of WLM??
A: We got your feedback and it went away!
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [222] I honestly feel that there should be more free winks,
nudges, emoticons. what do u think?
A: nudges are free. you can add custom emoticons already without paying
for anything. we might be able to allow people to make their own winks, but
there are security concerns with letting people run flash applications on other
people's computers. i'm not ruling it out, but we need to put more thought into
it and how to make it secure
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [232] Nudges should ALWAYS be free! Please KEEP it that way!
A: yes, yes... it will be. don't worry
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [123] Deepa: "Spaces not available, try again
later" I've been in contact with support, they said it's a known issue
A: Did this user have a space? What is your ID and I can contact you
directly
Leah (Expert):
Q: [232] Nudges should ALWAYS be free! Please KEEP it that way!
A: We have no plans to charge for Nudges.
Aarthi - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [221] Are Custom Alerts going to happen?
A: This is great suggestion and we will consider it for future releases.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [226] Romil: You say it's a free service, why not make a
premium subscriber package?
A: Thanks for the suggestion and we will look into it.
Niladri (Expert):
Q: [230] Any plans for accessing a shared folder from another
PC? Kind of like the mobile team is doing.
A: That's a great feature idea. I'm not aware of what the mobile team is
currently doing but I will definitely look it up.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [210] deepa dont u mean 5.1 for macs?
A: Yes
Leah (Expert):
Q: [245] Why did you revert to the old Status icons? I liked
the new glass-style icons, but they could have used better differentiation. Like
Green/Blue instead of Dark Green/Light Green. Any possibility on the glass
icons returning?
A: We heard a lot of response to the first beta that people missed knowing
the difference between away and busy. We added the status back in to solve this
problem in the short term, but we're working on updating them
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [220] Do you support the unoffical Jonathan Kay fan club?
A: I'm a fan too.
InesK (Expert):
Q: [231] Howbout being able to make your own tabs, like a
preview of a web pag eor something... OR AN RSS READER TAB!
A: You know that's a good idea. An RSS reader would definitely come in
handy. And we are working on making Messenger more extensible so that you can
add your own components (i.e: like the Activities APIs for example)
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [108] Will MSN messenger versions be able to be used after
Live Messenger is complete?
A: Yes but there will be some features (like file share for example) that
won't work. I do expect the older versions to gradually be pulled back to
reduce our support costs though.
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [236] When is out the OFICIAL Messenger 8 ??
A: when it is done. sorry.
Niladri (Expert):
Q: [248] Would you disinherit your kids if you catch them using
AIM?
A: Um, probably :-) Actually, many of us use other clients as well...it's
always useful to know your competition.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [257] Will the black skin colour be back, as the grey colour
does not seem to work anymore...and I've tried using it on both a CRT and LCD
monitor and it just turns white; so I am stuck using the dark blue skin
colour?!
A: Please stop repeating yourself.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [122] Will Live Call's from PC to PC be free?
A: This feature is already a free feature if you are refering to PC-PC and
not PC-Phone
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [215] Whats the latest info on the status icons redesign? Have
you worked out a final new set of images yet?
A: We're working on new tsatus icons.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [256] will there be a new souund scheme one WLM?
A: Maybe someday but I know of no plans to change this right now.
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [250] could we get the search bar and contacts search bar be
integrated into one and choose wat to look for?
A: This is a good suggestion. It's someting we've talked about.... and are
considering.
Aarthi - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [150] When is the next beta release due out?
A: The next release is the non-beta version of messenger
Niladri (Expert):
Q: [259] Re: sharing folders. Is there a way to change the SF
directory location? I'm running low on space in my profiles drive, for example.
A: Currently, re-routing the shared folder location is not supported.
Adam [Beta Team] (Moderator):
Q: [260] can we expect another beta build in april?
A: Sorry we can not give out dates but just keep watching for our mails in
your inbox:-)
Leah (Expert):
Q: [268] Do you guys check mess. be often?
A: I read it all the time
InesK (Expert):
Q: [241] Can there be more wlm dev talk in the newsgroups? I
like seeing this...
A: Sure. What would you like to see discussed more? The APIs? Inner
working of features?
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [247] Will Web Messenger be upgraded to support new
features?
A: Ya Ya Youbetcha! But first we have to get quality up. We have lotsa
plans!
Leah (Expert):
A: I have to go, bye everyone!
InesK (Expert):
Q: [239] Circles?
A: Squares
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [242] Will the UI be transitioned to Glass eventually?
A: probably, but probably not before vista is shipped. the guys that make
windows wouldn't be happy if we looked better then them.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [252] What is your favorite MSN Messenger chatbot?
A: Good news here - we have a new API comming out RSN to make creating
chat-bots easy and so anyone can make their own. Its very cool!
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [88] When will Yahoo be incorporated into Messenger?
A: in the next few releases
InesK (Expert):
Q: [238] Will WLM ever see support for Skins and/or Extensions?
A: Skins is definitely a feature request that keeps coming back In terms of
extensions, we are working hard on making messenger more extensible (check out
the Activities APIs). And stay tuned for more...
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [89] Are you going to improve the look and fell of WLM? it
looks poor in color
A: Yes, we have recieved a lot of feedback
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [251] Could you put an option to sign out next to the mail,
sharing, spaces, color on the main window?
A: I always use Alt-F - u to sign out quickly. I don't know of plans to
add more entrypoints for this.
Aarthi - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [200] Do you plan to add a What you're watching feature and
others like it to WLM?
A: There were been a bunch of ideas around different psm messages. we are
looking into to some of them.
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [246] Would like a RSS feed in windows messenger .. is this
possible?
A: This is another great idea. We've looked into this, but haven't
implemented anything yet. BTW, www.msn.com supports RSS feeds.
InesK (Expert):
Q: [286] Ines... inner working of features, just saying Hi or
anything is good.
A: Ah yeah. More team participation, definitely!
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [240] will chat encryption be supported in WLM, as it is
already in the mac client?
A: Its one of the features on our long list but I don't know when that
will happen.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [267] will there be a PC to PC call feature simliar to skype
where you can go through a global directory and choose who to call?
A: Great suggesstion...
InesK (Expert):
Q: [292] If my cat finds a bug and eats it, is that okay?
A: If a bug occurs but no one's there to see it, is it a Bug?
Niladri (Expert):
Q: [295] When will I be hired?
A: When will I receive your resume?
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [282] When will the rounded corners be brought back to
messenger? Everything seems really 'sharp' again, like Windows 98 does 
A: I'm lookin at rounded corners on our current latest internal build.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [284] Thanks for this chat session
A:
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [274] Will we be able to set the transparency level of WLM?
A: yes, that's a good idea. we'll keep that in mind for a future release.
Aarthi - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [201] will the PDBs ever be available for msnmsgr on the MS
symbol server, like the bulk of windows and other MS products? that can't be a
hard thing to do!
A: no currenlty there are no plans to make pdbs available.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [113] will ther be aversion of web WLM?
A: Not at this time bur thanks for the feedback.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [283] Im hungry can you guys but us some pizza
pleaseeeeeeeeee, hmm i tryed
A: 
Adam [Beta Team] (Moderator):
Q: [279] Will APIs eventually be more powerful and contain more
features?
A: That's an area we're working to improve. Expect more information in the
future.
InesK (Expert):
Q: [281] RE 239,:I prefer Circles
A: I still ike squares
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [266] What happened with the color scheme in this build? Are
too light... can we see a skinable WLMess?
A: Right, we did recieve a lot of feedback and are lookign at changing
this soon.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [278] Bye Lean, Stay Sweet
A:
InesK (Expert):
Q: [275] inesk: both APIs and inner workings would be great!
and some PDBs!
A: Why do you want PDBs?
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [269] will you update some older 16-bit icons that had been
left by older versions of msn messenger?
A: Yes.
Niladri (Expert):
Q: [294] FolderShare.com used to allow users access to shared
files from their website ( "My FolderShare" page Web downloads) -
Would it be it be possible to do the same between Windows Live Messenger &
MSN Spaces ?
A: That's a great idea! Did you know that we now own FolderShare?
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [69] Does Windows Live Messenger imply that there will be
no Mac version?
A: Absolutly not.
InesK (Expert):
Q: [299] How to avoid duplicated files in the shared folders?
A: Currently, no way to avoid it unortunately
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [216] Are there any plans for a paid version (either stand
alone or included in MSN Premium) that will not include the Ads/Video Carousel?
A: There has been talk but I think this is a long ways off.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [253] Will we have any integration between Windows Live
Messenger and Windows Live Favorites? It would be a great feature to easily
reach our favorites web sites by means of Windows Live Messenger.
A: Yes, I agree too...We are evaluating it..
Niladri (Expert):
Q: [305] Is the messenger team taking applications? If so I
would like a job please
A: We are hiring! Feel free to send your resume to mccthire@microsoft.com
and we would love to see if we can find a fit.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [244] The ctt file that is generated when saving a contact
list, are there any plans to include more details that are saved for each
contact, things like nicknames? Would be a pain to move to a new account and
have to put all that info in again....
A: Totally agree. Thank you for the suggestion.
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [234] will MSN get the option to apper offline to just a
group in your list and be online to others?
A: It's a really good idea and we're considering it for a future release
Adam [Beta Team] (Moderator):
Q: [262] will more then 1 on 1 video chat ever be supported?
A: The changes to voice and video were mainly to improve the connection
quality, but it opens the door to doing other interesting features in the
future.
Niladri (Expert):
Q: [316] any plans to decrease wlm's memory usage when its idle
(program just minimized to notification area)
A: This is something we are actively working on....memory usage has gotten
light years better since our Nov BETA and we hope to continue that trend
downwards.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [45] Is there any plans that we're going to see more free
dynamic content?
A: We do update them frequently
InesK (Expert):
Q: [315] inesk: to facilitate writing addons, and to be more
proactive and helpful when reporting bugs! same reasons theyre available for
other MS products if its a simple thing to do, why not do it?
A: Yes, I totally agree on the helping out with debugging and bug
reporting. What other MS products release their PDBs?
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [190] Sandy: I was reffering to new technologies such as
AJAX, and offline messaging.
A: Yes. The AJAX will come in with our partner websites as they see fit. OIMs
are in the works.
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [199] Has development on Windows Messenger stopped?
A: no, there is not currently any development on windows messenger right
now
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [261] And don't fotget to give a real color scheme in the
next build.
A: Yes definitely.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [68] Leah said on the MessengerSays blog that Tabbed
Chatting is on the list of features to add, when do you guys think we're going
to see it?
A: In the next release
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [330] is there a way to clean Hot sauce off a keyboard?
A: nope... hot sauce is a killer
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [297] RE 150: So the next release is going to be the public
release?
A: Yes I believe so.
Aarthi - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [243] Can we have an option to use the search bar but
PREVIEW the results before sharing them
A: This is a nice suggestion and we will definitely add it to our
suggestion list.
InesK (Expert): Hey everyone, Niladri
and I are heading out. Hope you had fun and thanks for all your questions!
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [291] So the next release will be the public one ?
A: That's the plan.
Adam [Beta Team] (Moderator):
Q: [263] will there ever be a system to submit custom made
winks/dynamic dps?
A: We are looking at other means of personal expression internally, and
our partners are also working on ways to enable customized winks and ddps.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [327] Does anyone have Bill Gates on their contact list?
A:
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [329] I wouldn't mind seeing a Voicemail feature for WLM. Any
plans for that?
A: Therer are many features such as this that are being considered for
future releases
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [23] Will there ever be a feature for premuim users of live
products to get rid of ads in wlm like they do in live mail?
A: Not at this time.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [76] I like the fact that I can see the status of blocked
users, but there is a need to identify what user is blocked
A: The bug to see blocked users has been fixed and will eb available in
the next release
Adam [Beta Team] (Moderator):
Q: [331] suggestion: capture screenshot of your computer and
send out to user
A: Are you aware of the integration of Remote Assistance and Windows Live
Messenger? Instead of just capturing a screenshot, you can actually control the
remote computer.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [227] Will the black skin colour be back, as the grey colour
does not seem to work anymore...and I've tried using it on both a CRT and LCD
monitor and it just turns white; so I am stuck using the dark blue skin
colour?!
A: I thought I did.
InesK (Expert): if you have anymore
questions/issues with Sharing Folders, feel free to drop us a line at:
dogshare@microsoft.com. See everyone on the newsgroups
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [336] I was told in a previous WLM chat that the PocketPC
development of MSN Messenger is separate from WLM. Is this still true?
A: That is correct
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [77] Will we ever be seeing a major reduction in the amount
of RAM used by Windows Live Messenger?
A: We are working deligently to fix this issue before the final relase
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [334] Is there anything offlimits with talking about the
beta on blogs?
A: if you mean, are you allowed to blog, talk, or otherwise communicate to
others about the beta, then yes you can do that
Aarthi - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [271] Does the WLM team get to work with the Yahoo team to
try and build that combined IM network?, as said here: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/oct05/10-12MSNYahooMessengerPR.mspx
A: yes. we are actively working towards that.
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [336] I was told in a previous WLM chat that the PocketPC
development of MSN Messenger is separate from WLM. Is this still true?
A: Yes, development for the PocketPC Messenger is done by a different
team... but we work with them pretty closely.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [310] Can I post a blog to my spaces from Messenger using a
popup form so I don't have to navigate to the spaces web site?
A: You can click on the "go to your space" button on the main
window and blog away. (That's what I'm looking at on the latest internal
build.)
Adam [Beta Team] (Moderator):
Q: [325] need to be able to backup BlueMountain content...and
encourage more providers
A: I completely agree...this is an execellent suggestion. We will consider
this for future releases.
Aarthi - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [347] Is there an ETA for the WLM/Yahoo integration?
A: we are working as we speak.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [187] meegos is paid (isnt it?) will you create a free
service?
A: How much $ do you think we are making on these? If you were in our
position would you make it free? Sorry. 
Adam [Beta Team] (Moderator):
Q: [324] when will WLM invites stop being sended out?
A: How many invites have you received?
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [301] Is MSN Plus working with Beta version of Messenger ?
A: Need to check with the MSN Plus folks
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [152] Will be added a "Group blocking" feature in
next builds/versions? Sorry, I don't like the offline chatting feature
A: Sorry not at thnis time. You can only block individual contact at this
time.
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [353] what do you guys think about BOTS
A: i think they are cool. why don't you write one?
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [288] will you update some older 16-bit icons that had been
left by older versions of msn messenger?
A: Yes
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [289] will the beta stop when 8 is released, or will the
beta continue for the next release after 8 too?
A: Once final is relesed beta will stop
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [293] Have you managed to fix most of the high RAM usage
issues?
A: Yes, we have been continusly working on improving the performance.
Aarthi - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [285] Aarthi - Messenger has just said the next release is
non-beta does that mean were nearing a final release?
A: as of the current plan the next release is a final release and that is
what we are working towards
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [357] With the lastest build I can block a user and the
block icon shows but later it disappears and now I can no longer see who I
temporaily blocked(at a glance), can this be fixed back to the way it was.
A: yes, i believe this will be fixed by the final release.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [289] will the beta stop when 8 is released, or will the
beta continue for the next release after 8 too?
A: I very much expect a beta to go for every major release. Your feedback
is super valueable!
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [337] Will Microsoft contract other companies besides
BlueMountain
A: We do work with other content providers world wide. I believe that
Meegoo winks are available in the US too. So.... the anwser is yes.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [300] Has anybody meet ESP Billy in person?
A: 3 times for me.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [307] How about a monthly chat like this? That'll be nice...
A: Yes, this is good for us too. Lot of good suggestions
Adam [Beta Team] (Moderator):
Q: [344] Yes... but remote assistance is pretty slow.. and
sometime one screenshot suffice
Q: [331] suggestion: capture screenshot of your computer and send out to user
A: Are you aware of the integration of Remote Assistance and Windows Live Messenger? Instead of just capturing a screenshot, you can actually control the remote computer.
A: Perhaps in that case, you can use file transfer...although I realize
that involves quite a few steps. Also, Remote Assistance is working on
improvements for the Vista release.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [322] 7PM EST is best for me.....please have future chats at
this time
A: sure but there are others to consider as well.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [341] since block users are identified by the
"blocked" icon, what about showing the actual status of that contact
instead of "(blocked)" behind its name/email...
A: This is a bug that will be fixed in the next release
Adam [Beta Team] (Moderator):
Q: [350] Regarding MSN Messenger on PocketPC: has development
for it stopped, or are there plans for Windows Live integration? Specifically,
PocketPC 2003...
A: Yes - Messenger on Windows Mobile devices is still in active development.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [326] Any plans to make the window frame the size of the
menu-less WLM window?
A: Done in our latest build. 
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [355] music plugin for different music programs like winamp,
etc?
A: there are plugins for winamp - they just aren't written by us.
Marty (Expert):
Q: [360] In the latest build I find it hard to differentiate
between contacts that are offline and those that arent - please make it more
clear before the final
A: thanks for your feedback. the final status icons are still being
polished by our crack staff of graphic designers. expect the final version to
be easier to distinguish status with.
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [365] any secrets on getting a Q6 advantage? ha ha!! Is that
even the same dev team???
A: nope, that's a whole different group of people
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [335] Maybe the option to hide the search button, so the
text input box stays as small as possible?
A: Cool idea! I like it - now if we can just talk the search guys into it!
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [361] can you guys bring your dogs to work like the guys @
google?
A: Google guys get to take their dogs to work? I thought that was just
Amazon. Seriously, Microsoft is a pretty cool place to work.
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [366] http://www.quebecmicro.com/Bass/1.jpg This issue was
never fixed
A: i don't understand. what exactly is the bug here?
Aarthi - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [354] Will users be able to stay with MSN Messenger 7.5 or
will they need to upgrade to WLM8 when released?
A: Currently there is no plan to force upgrade the MSN Messenger 7.5
users.
Adam [Beta Team] (Moderator):
Q: [363] will us beta testers get the final version of WLM 8 a
few weeks before its made public so we can do some last minute bug finding!!??
A: We normally give out a build close to the final release for testing,
but not final release.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [339] I would love to see a feature to back-up and restore
chat history. Are there any plans for this?
A: Chat history is stored in an XML file on your drive - its easy to
backup and restore if you know where it is.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [309] Suggestion: Let the menu bar disabled even if the
window is maximized.
A: Thanks for the suggestion.
Marty (Expert):
Q: [323] how many users is in the "Messenger"
network, and what percentage is MSN?WLM messenger users out of the total?
A: there are in excess of 200 million messenger users today. we are
ramping up the number of beta users every day, but are still a fairly low
numbers relative to the entire user base.
Sophy - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [135] Why did you revert to the old Status icons? I liked
the new glass-style icons, but they could have used better differentiation. Like
Green/Blue instead of Dark Green/Light Green. Any possibility on the glass
icons returning?
A: Reverting to the old icons was a temporary solution for the beta. We'll
have new icons for the final release. Thanks for your feedback!
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [358] Are there any plans to reduce contacts' pictures using
"Show details" so that It doesn't use too much space in the main
Windows Live Messenger window?
A: We now have a view that has the buddy pictures the size of this
emoticon: I'm looking at it on
our latest internal build.
Aarthi - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [369] Aarthi: strethced emoticons?
A: are you seeing stretched emoticon problem?
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [340] will it continue to be a requirement to scan an exe
for virus's before transfering it?
A: currently it is a requirement when you receive it. Moving forward, we
are working on making it so that it is a requirement when you send and receive
it.
Sophy - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [179] Cached contact list has been really bad for me. Nicknames
keep on showing wrong. Is this going to be fixed soon?
A: Yes, this will be fixed in our final release.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [178] Can we please have a skin that doesnt look like
flipping MSN Messenger 7.5?
A: yes, we can
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [377] any plans to use avalon to messengers advantage come
vista?
A: Probably not. We use a pre-avalon solution called DUI right now and it
meets our needs and works on more OSs.
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [349] Being that we are your guys beta testers may we add
soem of you to are messengers for future contact and big issues ? thanks
A: i'd like that very much. unfortunately, there are a LOT of people in
this chat and I can't add thousands of people to my contact list. sorry.
Adam [Beta Team] (Moderator):
Q: [368] Are there going to be more Developer features?
A: We are excited about expanding our API story in the future and hope to
share a developer preview soon. Meanwhile have you seen the Messenger Activity
SDK on MSDN?
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [382] Out of curiousity... what do u each of u devs
specialize in for wlm?
A: I do UX stuff. Lots of little random things.
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [371] do you guys make you own coffee or can i be hire to do
such thing and do i need a resume for that
A: no... we have to make our own. but its also the only time we're allowed
to get up from our desks, so we relish it.
Deepa-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [197] Will Auto-Update performance be improved in the
future?
A: yes, the Auto-Update's performance will be better in the future
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [385] will the RLE image format you use internally ever be
opened up?
A: Doubt it. Its done by some internal tools our team made but it might
become company wide someday.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [371] do you guys make you own coffee or can i be hire to do
such thing and do i need a resume for that
A: There are many variety of coffee makers we have around. Thanks for the
inquiry though.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [380] Are we going to get first dibs on 8.5 beta
invitations?
A: I think that is likely but we have >1M beta testers now so I would
say you probably won't be first in.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [390] Q: [340] will it continue to be a requirement to scan
an exe for virus's before transfering it?.......But I hope that this "requirement"
is something you can turn of in the options since their might always be the
problem of false detections and what not
A: The last thing we want is a virus propagating exes to every buddy on
your list. This will have to remain a requirement for your own protection. Sorry.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [376] are there any plans to develop usefull standalone
tools/applications (or addons) for Messenger. eg: like a backup tool for all
your custom emoticons, winks, display pictures, etc... so you can integrate
them easly again when you do a full format or somethi
A: Sorry but not at this time.
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [396] Btw, how did that whole flooding problem work out? is
it all dried up again
A: yes. we're all better now... though a little moldy. but we're in
seattle, so we're used to that
Katie (Moderator):
Q: [371] do you guys make you own coffee or can i be hire to do
such thing and do i need a resume for that
A: I'm not a fan of coffee.
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [390] Q: [340] will it continue to be a requirement to scan
an exe for virus's before transfering it?.......But I hope that this
"requirement" is something you can turn of in the options since their
might always be the problem of false detections and what not
A: No, do you really want to take the chance and transfer file that failed
virus scanning? Also, you do have the option to use any other virus scanner of
your choice instead.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [401] RE 380: I'm talking about Managed beta testers, not
beta users.
A: Yes. I would expect so.
Andrew [MS] (Expert):
Q: [67] Logging or Message Archiving/History in WLM is still
quite terrible. Will there be any improvements before RTM?
A: I'm not aware of any changes to the current message archiving scheme at
this time, however I did submit your requests from the last chat into our
feature request/idea database.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [343] how offten do you use this emoticon: 
A: Not too often unless you live in a rainy area.
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [400] 4, 8, 15, 16, 23... and?
A: 42
Marty (Expert):
Q: [399] Are there plans for Messenger, AIM or Yahoo to have
inoperability?
A: messenger and yahoo publicly announced their intent to interop in the
near future. stay tuned!
Chatter-Messenger (Expert):
Q: [255] what's your favorite Messenger add-on?
A: BOTs
Katie (Moderator):
Q: [400] 4, 8, 15, 16, 23... and?
A: life, the universe, and everything
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [93] Can we please stop people who are appearing offline
from nudging us!!
A: You will not be able to send IMs when you are appearing offline. That
includes nudges.
Owen - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [413] are you guys getting overtime for this chat?
A: no, but we're getting pizza
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [404] suggestion: uploading display pictures to the web; so
that after u update a display picture, antoerh pseron can see it even if u are
offline
A: good suggestion... i'll keep it in mind
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [391] will the next build fix the emoticon bug? where it
paints over IM windows and Contact List
A: All of them
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [414] you guys dont watch "lost" then, huh?
A: yes... some of us do
Marty (Expert):
Q: [408] how big is the wlm team?
A: about 60 full timers, including a few manager overhead types ;-)
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [412] when is the next build going to release?
A: We build every day but the final should be late April - we hope.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [389] how many graphic designers work on messenger?
A: All of them..
Katie (Moderator):
Q: [403] Are you going to be adding VOIP functions to the
mobile version?
A: That is under consideration.
Andrew [MS] (Expert):
Q: [185] The windows icon in the task bar: I would like to be
able to perform a right click sign out and exit .
A: Right click exit does sign you out, not sure I understand the
question/request.
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [131] any plan to implement " shared / private
calendar" feature in the tabs?
A: Cool idea. This may come out as a P4 app but I doubt as a tab - but a
really cool idea!
Katie (Moderator):
Q: [409] Are we going to be considered on first place for
future betas?
A: yes
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [420] When a recipient receives an ink message, does he
receive ink, a vector- style graphic, a wmf image, a raster picture, or what?
A: we try and use ISF if both sides support it. otherwise we use gif
Sandy [MS] (Expert):
Q: [205] oh! any chacne to imporve the 'waht i'm listening to
feature' so that it supports players like fooobar200??
A: I think that's a possibility. WMP
and iTunes are so big that it might be awhile though. People could hack up adapters
to make other players look like WMP or iTunes though.
Romil
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [296] is anyone considering messenger 9 yet?
A: Thanks for the feedback and we are considering it
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [426] In DirectUI, there is a custom class called
EmoticonText. However the Parser class will not create this from a fresh
instance of the parser, and if you create the class object manually from the
IClassInfo, the content property's emoticon shortcuts are not
replaced by the emoticon. Why is this?
A: who are you? what are you doing in our code? what are
you trying to do? want to do it officially? send us your resume. tell the
hiring manager to cc "Geeven"
Marty
(Expert):
Q: [434] Is there going to be a Windows Mobile version of WLM?
A: you'll have to ask the mobile team, sorry.
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [392] Why doesnt WLM work on versions older than win xp? a
friend was annoyed that he couldnt use wlm?
A: We had a ton of code to support Win9x and there were
new features we wanted that simply couldn't be done on win9x. It was a lot of
work to support and test and the number of users that still use 9x is now small
enought that its not worth it. Its 9x or a lot of features. We went for the features.
Sorry.
Andrew
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [405] How much do you get done in a day?
A: Not nearly enough 
Chatter-Messenger
(Expert):
Q: [416] question in vista 5308 what version of messenger can a
person use
A: use the latest released version on 5308, log on as local
admin when install the client. Look for the release notes for more details on
how Messenger works in Vista.
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [430] Are we allowed to post the transcript of this chat? Or
is it strictly private?
A: Please don't.
Marty
(Expert):
Q: [439] A lot of websites are managing invites, sending them to
people that need them. What do you guys think of that?
A: the more the merrier - but I'm a bit disappointed
people are selling them...
Andrew
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [419] i hope you guys get coffee 
-
I am drinking some Indonesian coffee....yum!
A: I roast my own and have a Solid Master 5000 in my
office that other members of the team use. Good stuff!
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [418] RE[413] Sweet.. i get pizza instead of overtime too
A:
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [435] Sorry for my ignorance. ISF = what?
A: Ink Serialization Format - part of the Tablet SDK
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [422] Why cant we have more builds more often? even if
they're buggy?
A: brave
Romil
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [303] i would like a feature that allows you to have a
nickname colored, and with costum emoticons. is that possible?
A: You can actually place an emoticon next to a contact
nickname but just color.
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [426] In DirectUI, there is a custom class called
EmoticonText. However the Parser class will not create this from a fresh
instance of the parser, and if you create the class object manually from the
IClassInfo, the content property's emoticon shortcuts are not
replaced by the emoticon. Why is this?
A: stop asking the same question repeatedly
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [440] can i sell invites if i find a buyer
A: We'd prefer you don't.
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [444] Will the future version of WLM be built on WinFX and
XAML?
A: probably - assuming we can eventually ship WinFX and
XAML
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [149] I am seeing alot of "in the next release" for
answeers - are the features we see today in the current beta what we'll be
getting in the final release or will there be more features added in future
beta releases?
A: What you see is what you get + whatever else we could
get in + changes based on your feedback. 
Owen
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [425] anyone of you guys watch JAG?
A: {kelly} I was really hooked on Project Runway. Choe
was so much better than Daniel. I think she deserved to win.
Romil
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [333] When you say next release does that mean post 8 or next
build.??
A: Next build
Chatter-Messenger
(Expert):
Q: [306] I would like to be able to create a shortcut to a
contact on the desktop or in the Quick launch bar. Any thoughts?
A: yes, you can do addcontact, chat, voice, video and
phone using exposed messenger APIs from deskrop, web page, command line
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [432] unscramble this word: KISDTYCRA
A: Cry at Kids
Marty
(Expert):
Q: [373] I dont know if you can answer this, but what will
happend to the current MSN Premium / Sympatico partnership after this whole
"Live" thing is launcehed?
A: MSN Premium is still a support application and we will
continue to support custom domains like sympatico.ca for the foreseeable future
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [448] can anyone quickly write a "go to the toilet"
activity for messenger... I need to go... badly....
A: ewwwwww\
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [417] hey share that pizza i asked for some a while ago
hahaha
A:
Andrew
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [429] will there be an option to exit from messenger, by
simply clicking the window's close red x?
A: That's not a request I've heard that much, since we
have the 'close to tray' model that has been quite popular. We tried to make
the 'exit' from the tray/menu work better though, anyone notice?
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [442] Geeven: Just trying to write an addon to your wonderful
application.
A: We're working on more supported ways to do this. Can
you give us more information about the scenario you're trying to achieve?
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [351] when will more than 1 on 1 video chat come in?
A: Not for awhile. Its a hard problem considering the
bandwidth and UI requirements.
Romil
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [356] Is there an an e-mail address or channel to get
feedback to team who develops Messenger for Windows Mobile? It's seriously
lacking in features when compared to the desktop version of Windows Live
Messenger.
A: Have you tried to reach them through http://support.msn.com?
Aarthi
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [447] Will the time limit be raised when replying back to an
offline contact? Currently its a minute or so I noticed and after that you
can't message them.
A: i do not believe that this is by design. What you are
describing probably sounds like a bug. Can i get more details? are you saying
the offline IM feature works only for a minute or are you saying that offline
IM isnt working for you?
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [453] what kind of pizza are u guys having? pizza hut?
A: Pagliacci
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [451] geevan: TheSteve didnt ask the coding question more
than once.. both were #426.. bug on your end i think
A: Geeven says 'ok ok'
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [460] Can I save this chat transcript for future reference?
A: Yes, for yourself, but please don't post in public.
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [456] Are custom statuses being considered for later?
A: You mean something beyond your personal status
message?
Romil
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [393] Q: 310 not answered. the question is restated clearer:
could we have a winform in Messenger to type and post our blog without
navigating to the spaces website via "go to your space",
A: Great suggestion
Katheryn
(Moderator): Katheryn (Moderator): We're
about 70 minutes into the chat, with 20 to go...again, thanks experts for
hanging in there and answering so many questions
Aarthi
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [462] when will the ability to chat with yahoo messenger
users (announced some months ago for this summer) be added in messenger?
A: We are working on this now.
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [458] I havent seen an answer to this yet.. So Ill ask one
more time. Will there be a feature to be offline to some and online to others?
A: We are exploring options for this and considering it
for a future release
Aarthi
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [467] are you all in the same room right now huffing and
puffing and talking aloud as u answer these questions?
A: yes. with pizza
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [466] Where // What did you guys go for school?
A: RPI, in upstate NY, computer science & computer
engr major
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [474] I *hate* the personal status message and I have some
friends that put REALLY stupid stuff in there. Can you upgrade my friends for
me!
A: 
So
are you saying you want an option to not see your buddie's PSM?
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [461] I love the search contact list feature, it's simply
brilliant for large lists. But sometimes it takes a lot of time for the
contacts which have a nickname the same as what you entered to appear.. Is this
going to be fixed? Or simply my computer being slow?
A: yes, we're trying to imporove the performance of
messenger in a lot of areas, including the contact list. the next version
should be much better
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [470] also, for whenever the ability to chat with yahoo
messenger is implemented, will it be just chat, or also stuff like emoticons,
voice clips, audio/video chat, etc?
A: We're starting out with text, and we'll consider adding
support for other features later.
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [478] Do you guys approve msgplus?
A: no. in fact, since the program modifies our binary, i
believe installing msgrplus is a violation of the messenger terms of use.
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [471] when will the file transfer speeds be fixed? -_-
A: There has been a ton done on this. We try to use P2P
as much as we can and the new sharing features minimally uses diffs to transfer
file updates. We will continue to make this as fast as we can. 
Aarthi
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [475] Aarthi - Messenger, if I'm using msn messenger 7.5 and
my friend messages me (he's on wlm8) if I don't respond within a minute I can't
message him back, if he messages me again I have another minute to get back,
and it works.
A: This definitely is a bug. We'll definitely work on a
fix.
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [477] unscramble this word: KISDTYCRA A: Cry at Kids> no the
answer is Yardstick
A:
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [483] what SWAG do we get at the end of the beta? MSN
butterflies?
A: No more butterflies...they're a thing of the past.
We're windows live now :-) ...we're working on the SWAGs.
Aarthi
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [475] Aarthi - Messenger, if I'm using msn messenger 7.5 and
my friend messages me (he's on wlm8) if I don't respond within a minute I can't
message him back, if he messages me again I have another minute to get back,
and it works.
A: If i need more information about this issue
Andrew
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [484] My "Turn on what I'm listening to" is check
but doesn't show what I'm listening to anymore. Any ideas on how to fix it? I
think it stopped with an earlier version, and uninstalling/installing doesn't
fix the problem.
A: Make sure inside WMP that in Options, Plug-ins tab,
Background category the "Windows Live Messenger Music Plug-in" is
checked. I believe WMP turns off all plug-ins when they crash in case the
plug-in caused it, so after crashes you may have to reenable the plugin.
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [489] Why'd yall kill the butterfly ?
A: Geeven says it smelled bad
Romil
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [457] Romil - Messenger> sorry, but i already knew that,
what i ment was emoticons created by you, or some you download.... ect.
A: Ok.. sorry.. misunderstood you. This is actually a
good feedback and we will; definitelt consider it.
Owen
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [471] when will the file transfer speeds be fixed? -_-
A: This is probably related to your network settings, or
the settings of the person your transfering files to. What size and type of
files do you tranfer? (Just wondering if compression would help.)
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [312] Yahoo Messenger used to allow (not sure currently) me
to change the background on the buddy list area. Is this a possible addition to
WLM?
A: Very possible. Don't know when though.
Aarthi
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [475] Aarthi - Messenger, if I'm using msn messenger 7.5 and
my friend messages me (he's on wlm8) if I don't respond within a minute I can't
message him back, if he messages me again I have another minute to get back,
and it works.
A: Can you please describe this problem to
reachmessengersupport@hotmail.com. We can correspond more regarding this issue
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [490] Suggestion: Make it so we can have a voice clip library
of wav files to play to others - Its really anoying to have to play
drphil-get_a_life.wav through my speakers and record it via the mic every time
A: Good suggestion - this may fit nicely into some other
work we're doing.
Chatter-Messenger
(Expert):
Q: [499] When will wlm take overt the world? (6)
A: soon..
Aarthi
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [493] Thanks Aarthi - Messenger I just posted it in the
"bug" newsgroup, earlier I had it in the Suggestion area, my bad.
A: awesome. thanks.
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [321] I asked this earlier, but it might not have been seen.
Does the messenger team know about messenger no longer being integrated in the
new MSN 9.2 build? If so how do you feel about it?
A: Yes. There are some other plans for this comming down
the pike. 
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [497] Katie the butterflies are still a group of testers for
you. You should check the newsgroups more often...heck I'm even on the
butterfly tour in May this year.
A: Sorry - no offense :-)
Romil
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [454] Will there be more statuses in upcomming builds of WLM?
I think we need more
A: Thanks for the feedback and we definitely need more.
Marty
(Expert): Katie is really blushing! 
Andrew
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [498] I commonly hear from friends/associates that the latest
version of Messenger gets more bloated (in terms of size, unnecessary
features), is this something which your team discusses? this is why
"smaller" clients like GTalk or ICQ Lite is more appealing?
A: I agree Is the issue
runtime speed, memory usage, disk space usage, download size? I realize all of
these are important, but when someone complains about software being
"Bloated" I'm always curious what their priorities are. What's
bugging them, and why?
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [500] katie, do you wish to participate in a one night stand?
A: I like cats...not dogs
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [488] what is your official opinion of MSG Plus!?
A: we're not really fans of it. it modifies our binary,
so it causes a bunch of bugs. plus, when people submit crashes - which we do
look at - when msgr plus is installed the crashes are usually worthless.
however, patchou comes up with some interesting features and we always
encourage user feedback.
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [502] I'd *love* to review my voiceclip before sending it!
Pleeeeaaassssseeee?
A: We explored this and will consider it for the future.
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [459] I have seen some requests for multi-party video - how
about at least one person showing video with two or more being able to see it?
A: That is a cool idea! We should work on that.
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [492] note to Geeven: Messenger Plus! does not modify the
files of Messenger and never did
A: it may not now, but it certainly used to. it can cause
us a great deal of problems
Aarthi
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [507] I think "out to lunch" is much related to wa
work enviroment... any plans to change this? to leike PIZZA? or Eating? (lol
not pizza. but u now what i mean)
A: I use my PSM for the exact same purpose.
Andrew
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [508]
Q: [498] I commonly hear from friends/associates that the latest version of Messenger gets more bloated (in terms of size, unnecessary features), is this something which your team discusses? this is why "smaller" clients like GTalk or ICQ Lite is more appealing?
A: I agree Is the issue runtime speed, memory usage, disk space usage, download size? I realize all of these are important, but when someone complains about software being "Bloated" I'm always curious what their priorities are. What's bugging th
Usually it's the memory usage.
A: We've made some progress on this since previous beta
build releases, and will keep working on it. It is one of the areas I care
deeply about
Romil
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [137] when will MSN Premium be upgraded that will work with
messenger better xp and Vista
A: When it's done.
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [507] I think "out to lunch" is much related to wa
work enviroment... any plans to change this? to leike PIZZA? or Eating? (lol
not pizza. but u now what i mean)
A: I always like to let the user make the call
but how will all your buddies know what this really means? It would be cool to
have some random set of strings for this but its kinda like making a game. Your
PSM lets you make things crystal clear!
Romil
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [111] When is WLM expected to go live?
A: When it is done.
Andrew
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [516] Suggestion: Perhaps one way to make it less bloated (when
the time comes) is to have an advanced install with options to install certain
features (eg: winks/packs etc)
A: Certainly the kind of thing we're thinking about,
although having a bunch of different configurations that all have to work turns
into a huge testing nightmare. We definitely want to be lean and mean, though.
Owen
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [518] I haven't seen this answered: Is the current white/blue
theme final? I really like it.
A: We're still making minor tweaks.... especially around
colorization.
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [505] can bill gates give me a donation (6)? hahaha
A:
Aarthi
- Messenger (Expert):
A: I find that PSMs are more than sufficient for me. Dont
you like using PSMs for custom statuses
Owen
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [524] will users be able to limit bandwidth on file
transfers?
A: File Sharing does a better job of limiting bandwith.
Limiting FT bandwith is a good idea...
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [516] Suggestion: Perhaps one way to make it less bloated
(when the time comes) is to have an advanced install with options to install
certain features (eg: winks/packs etc)
A: Good suggestion...we are also working on reducing our
working set and improving perf.
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [519] will you add tabbed conversations?
A: we know this is a common request. we haven't come up
with a model we really like, but when we do, we'll probably do it.
Andrew
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [528] Andrew: regarding Messenger (bloat), many people do
look for core functionality (i.e. IM, voicechat)... could there perhaps be a
Lite version of Messenger which addresses this? Many people I know don't really
care for winks, custom emoticons etc.
A: I'd certainly like to see that users only have to
'pay' for what they use. That's not as true today as it will be in the future!
Whether this is done with installation options or not is to be determined.
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [127] Suggestion Six: Auto-Away me4ssages, To be able to set
a message to send to a user that messages you while you are away Example, Mike
is sending Steven a message , Hi Steve how are you, Then Mike will get a
response saying Sorry i am away shopping.
A: We have a whole cool feature comming to answer this
need.
Andrew
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [534] what language is used for programming WLM ?
A: Mostly C/C++.
Katheryn
(Moderator): We've got 7 minutes
left..please submit your final questions to the experts
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [511] any plans to implement a new dev chat system that weeds
out the questions already answered that ppl are to illiterate to read?
A: No but that would be cool!
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [530] well if you guys dislike msgplus... will you ever
prevent installations?
A: probably not, unless it becomes a REAL problem. if you
wantto shoot yourself in the foot, we're not going to keep you from doing that
either
Romil
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [526] Romil- Re: Q: [137] when will MSN Premium be upgraded
that will work with messenger better xp and Vista. Are you saying that
messenger integration will be readded to MSN Premium?
A: There is a plan but no solid date as of yet
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [544] Can you add more length to the Voice clips?
A: You must have a lot to say! How long should we make
them?
Owen
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [535] Can we have the ability to make our own Flash DP's?
A: No.... not in at least this version. There are some
security concerns we have around user created flash content since flash is
scriptiable. (You don't really want this....)
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [527] what was the purpose of verifying the binary and
disabling shared folders/etc if it was patched?
A: There are a lot of powerful features and letting rogue
clients running around can be very dangerous for us and our customers. We need
to keep control of this monster. 
Andrew
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [552] could you optimise the time to load wlm for the non
best computer ? compilation mode for speed.
A: We do as much optimization as we can, and will do
more.
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [543] Is a gadget just a handle to an Element?
A: no. an element is a wrapper for a gadget. again, if
you really want to write messenger code, why not come work for us?
Romil
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [58] The webcam function is MUCH improved in the latest
build.
A: Thanks for your feedback.
Chatter-Messenger
(Expert):
Q: [548] The personal message is not retained after the signing
out and signing in. Is this by design.
A: please contact support.live.com for that and the issue
will be looked at
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [154] will there be an option to disable people leaving us
offline messages?
A: I think that will come about after this is released. I
personally don't like my IM app becomming an email client either.
Andrew
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [555] would any of you experts like an invite to use WLM? I
have 40
A: I'm cool, thanks though.
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [554] Can we make our own status names?
A: the personal status message isn't enough for you?
man... you guys are getting greedy.
Romil
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [551] Thank you so much Romil I've
really missed my messenger being in the dashboard 
A: You are welcome
Geeven
- Messenger (Expert):
Q: [557] I'd just like to say thanks to everyone from MS who
took the time to chat tonight. Cheers!
A: you're welcome!
Katie
(Moderator):
Q: [557] I'd just like to say thanks to everyone from MS who
took the time to chat tonight. Cheers!
A: And thank you for hanging out with us!
Katheryn
(Moderator): Okay! That about wraps it up
tonight
Sandy
[MS] (Expert):
Q: [556] thank you for being more open with questions
(especially the dev related ones) this time!
A: They asked us devs to show up this time with a nice
bribe of .
We love our customers but we sometimes hate bugs more!
Katheryn
(Moderator): Thank you so much for joining
us as the experts finish up the final questions
GaryMock (Moderator):
Q: [532] Do we get anything for being a beta tester
A: You get the opportunity to new products and features, before the
majority of others, in addition to a chance to have your voice heard &
suggestions implemented by the Product teams
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [568] OK...have a great evening
A: You too.
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [561] will there ever be support for animated gifs as your
display picture?
A: no, probably not. we make too much money from the 3rd party pictures
Marty (Expert): thanks everyone for
participating!
Marty (Expert): g'nite now.
Aarthi - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [553] what are the plans for allowing users to customize
Wlm8
A: with wlm8 you can customize the colors in the main window. you can
change your view and group by options. All the pre-wlm8 customization features
are still available.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [565] Thank you for your answers tonight, they are really
appreciated. You guys have done such a better jon tonight than I have ever seen
in the past. Have fun coding, I'm looking forward to the next build .
A: Thank you. It's nice to hear this from our user.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [563] Thanks again guys!
A: You are welcome.
Romil - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [564] gd night
A: good night
Geeven - Messenger (Expert):
Q: [569] my xbox is cool. as it has an hacked dashboard. can i
have wlm for it?
A: what? you hacked on piece of MS software, and how you want our help
with how to use it? sorry man... you're on your own.
GaryMock (Moderator):
Q: [572] Can we do this more often? 
A: Definitely - We will do another Beta Chat pretty soon...
Andrew [MS] (Expert):
Q: [74] Suggestion Two: Multipul Messengers, To be able to run
more then one Messenger account at any given time for those who have more then
one Messenger account.
A: Since there's obviously so much interest in this I'll dig deeper. Thanks
for the feedback!