Microsoft is shuting down msn messenger for good!

[112]

Microsoft ditches Windows Live Messenger for Skype

Microsoft has announced it intends to "retire" its instant message chat tool and replace it with Skype's messaging tool.

The news comes 18 months after the software giant announced it was paying $8.5bn (£5.3bn) for the communications software developer.

Microsoft said Windows Live Messenger (WLM) would be turned off by March 2013 worldwide, with the exception of China.

It reflects the firm's determination to focus its efforts on Skype.

WLM launched in 1999 when it was known as MSN Messenger. Over time, photo delivery, video calls and games were added to the package's text-based messages.

In 2009, the firm said it had 330 million active users.

Chat 'cannibalisation'

According to internet analysis firm Comscore, WLM still had more than double the number of Skype's instant messenger facility at the start of this year and was second only in popularity to Yahoo Messenger.

But the report suggested WLM's US audience had fallen to 8.3 million unique users, representing a 48% drop year-on-year. By contrast, the number of people using Skype to instant message each other grew over the period.

"When a company has competing products that can result in cannibalisation it's often better to focus on a single one," said Brian Blau from the consultancy Gartner.

"Skype's top-up services offer the chance to monetise its users and Microsoft is also looking towards opportunities in the living room.


Skype is offering a tool to migrate users WLM contacts to its service "Messenger doesn't seem like an appropriate communications platform for TVs or the firm's Xbox console - but Skype does."

He also noted that the firm had opted to integrate Skype into its new Windows Phone 8 smartphone software, eclipsing the effort to integrate WLM into the message threads of the operating system' previous version.

To ease the changeover, Microsoft is offering a tool to migrate WLM messenger contacts over.

The risk is that the move encourages users to switch instead to rival platforms such as WhatsApp Messenger, AIM or Google Talk.

But Microsoft is at least partially protected by its tie-up with Facebook last year. Skype video calls are now offered as an extra to the social network's own instant messaging tool.

source

[[MPGH]Thunder]

You're late

[112]

no im not .

[Slendyy]

Oh nooo that's sad

[[MPGH]Doc]

no im not .

Yes. Yes, you are. By at least a day.

[Hux]

old news bro.

[Arhk]

as I see it things are only gettin better
~

[[MPGH]Wyo]

Im moving to China

[Drake]

Fuck skype , fuck microsoft .

[Lehsyrus]

Who's down to make a new chat client with me? Or you nigs can use Xfire

[[MPGH]Austin]

Who's down to make a new chat client with me? Or you nigs can use Xfire

xfire is so og


look at my shit.

https://www.xfire.com/profile/ozzyozz/

[Lehsyrus]

xfire is so og


look at my shit.

Hannibal (ozzyozz)

I've got you beat buddy! Back when I was using my old name for games

Koryn : Black Amulet (koryn)

[[MPGH]Austin]

I've got you beat buddy! Back when I was using my old name for games

Koryn : Black Amulet (koryn)

nigga I only discovered xfire in 07, i've been playing rtcw since 2002 and w:et since its beta upto 08/09. RTCW/W:ET is easily the best game(s) ever created. Too bad it wasn't as popular as CS.

[Lehsyrus]

nigga I only discovered xfire in 07, i've been playing rtcw since 2002 and w:et since its beta upto 08/09. RTCW/W:ET is easily the best game(s) ever created. Too bad it wasn't as popular as CS.

I played for a bit but I was too obsessed with CSS and HALO custom edition

[ZReal]

are you effin kidding me for skype i just got dam msn yesterday fuk