MSN Messenger

Well, MSN Messenger. I use it every day, and can say easily that this rates way higher than Yahoo or AOL or anything like that. The features like Plus! and all of the plugins really can enhance your experience. But, this also can be very confusing at times to edit features and change setup options, often times causing you to search and search until you become frustrated. The plus side is that it is feature rich and good for work and personal use, but it can still be very limited.

MSN Web Messenger doesn't store chat conversations with my account on the windows live server. All the previous conversations I had are lost unless I use the Desktop based messenger, and in that too, only until I activated the Archive option deliberately.

Its amazing get it ;)You can talk to friends who have moved or just friends you havent spoke to in a long time its amazing i use msn ever day the mail features good and the emotes are good and msn plus is amazing with its skins and scripts. And its all free! =)

- Cannot Sign In to Messenger with a different status other than Online- Does not keep a history of your messages (You have to save them all the time & takes up space on my comp)

The MSN Messenger 7.5 software is very good, because it doesn't just let you type instant messages it lets you hand-write them as well.

The MSN messenger software hosts features such as file transfer, which can be much quicker than having to compose an E-Mail. If your contact is having problems with their computer you can help them (with their consent) with a tool called remote assistance, which enables you to view your contacts computer screen and take control of their mouse and keyboard. The MSN Messenger software also hosts fun activities such as the whiteboard feature that lets you draw something with your mouse/graphics tablet with your friend, another fun feature are the games on offer such as tic tac toe, and checkers.

The MSN Messenger 7.5 software has tools such as message history, which lets you just right click their display name in your contact list and click on 'view message history' which lets you view past conversations you have had with your contact. Also, another tool which is sometimes useful is the block tool, which makes you appear offline to the person you have blocked, but the problem with this is that if you are in a joint conversation it says to them offline next to your name while you are writing messages, so therefore they will know that you have blocked them.

MSN Messenger lets you have a voice and video conversation with your contact. The only problem with this is that the voice isn't that clear (but it is free). Also, occasionally your contacts webcam stops (freezes), but the MSN messenger software doesn't crash.

The new winks in MSN Messenger 7.5 are good as they are much bigger than emotions because winks come in the middle of your computer screen. The only problem with winks is that there are not that many included with the MSN Messenger software.

The new 'nudge' feature in MSN Messenger 7.5 is useful as it grabs your contacts attention by making their computer make a ding noise and shake the MSN chat window.

The MSN Messenger software sometimes crashes if you have too many people in a MSN chat conversation. The software often crashes and doesn't close, so when you go to shut down your computer you have to turn it off manually (holding down the power button or unplugging it).

There is Windows messenger 4.7 with The Microsoft Windows XP operating system, but in my experience I found it was best to download the MSN Messenger software because there are more features. Both Windows Messenger and MSN Messenger are Microsoft products.

The MSN Messenger software is very good. In order to use the MSN Messenger software a .net passport or a hotmail account is required, you can get a .net passport for free, and you can get a free Hotmail account. The MSN Messenger software is also free and can be downloaded on the MSN website.

I recently downloaded this msn messenger and it would not let me log in and when I tried to go back and find the older editions it would not show them. Kept going to the new one. I think when I contacted msn they did not help at all..

The most pathetic version of msn messenger. I recently installed win xp, which upgraded my msn messenger to v4.5, now i can't talk to anyone with older version of messenger. I couldnt find the older version of messenger on microsoft web site.!

Microsoft's Instant messaging service is the best I've ever used, despite a few problems. One of the major advantages of this program is that it is possible to see when your buddy is typing a message back to you. This is very useful if you want to leave your computer, but you dont know if your friend is about to send you an important message.

Its designed by Microsoft, so its compatible with all versions, including the NT line, with the same install file (ie. no special NT version required).

They also seem to have built it with privacy in mind, and you have to allow people to see whether your online or not, which is another feature that puts me off competitors like AOL-IM.

Also, once you have allowed someone to see your status you can BLOCK them, so they can no longer see whether you are online or not. Program also has nice sounds for when your buddy comes online and when you have received a message.

However, there are some bad points to the software. Firstly, the file transfers and voice chat services often dont work one minute and then work the next. However, if you want to just chat easily then this program is definitely for you.

Also, the program automatically downloads updates, but recent ones seem to contain lots of unnecessary features such as "paging" and "dial a phone number", which most users wont use anyway, and could have just been built into Net-Meeting (a more advanced communication tool with video and sound chat).

Overall, definitely the unrivaled best chat client out there. Its freeware too.