MSN Messenger 4 to have no new features...

[AppleMatt]

Following on from this thread...
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=55871&highlight=msn+messenger+mac

It seems as if MSN Messenger 4 will only have the following new features;
- Integration with Entourage.
- New graphical user interface.
- And the default MSN Messenger 6 emoticons

The source's reliability is unknown, as the screenshots could easily be faked , but www.mess.be claims...

Sad news for Mac users, MSN Messenger 4 for mac is probably going to be a cheap rip-off of version 3.5. The new help files were uploaded not long ago, and did not differ much from the old one. So here is the list of new things:

- Integration with Entourage.
- New graphical user interface.
- And the default MSN Messenger 6 emoticons.

That`s it, no custom emoticons, no webcam, no display pictures, no launch-site, no nothing..

...and...

Yet another update on MSN Messenger 4 for Mac OS, today we bring to you the official new Messenger for Mac logo, and some proof that this version already exists.

The first shot shows the new logo, on a chrome background. Possibly MSN Messenger is going to be styled this way. The second shot is a shot of the same logo with a white background. And last but not least a screenshot that tells us that MSN Messenger 4 for Mac already exist because it is running in the dock bar.

Seems that the new MSN Messenger for Mac is going to be a lot darker then the old one.


Cheers Microsoft. I thought the MacBU were "avid Mac users and fans" :mad:

AppleMatt

[SpaceMagic]

This is unbelievably sheisse :p I have to use MSN to keep in contact with all my friends (e-mail is soo passé). I wanted the webcam, voice and the picture avatars at least! Oh well... Microsoft have a plan I suppse. Unfair riverally why can't companies just get along!!

[Darwin]

Doesn't really surprise me at all, i hope that there are alot of new things in Office altogether. If it takes a year for Apple to put 100 new features in OS X then I expect some new things from M$ after about 3 years on a set of programs :mad:

[Versello]

I don't see any difference in those supposedly v4.0 screenies than the current Mac MSN version... but I'll gladly welcome a new GUI. That gawd-awful circular button in the message window is a pain to look at.

[riggers]

I don't see any difference in those supposedly v4.0 screenies than the current Mac MSN version... but I'll gladly welcome a new GUI. That gawd-awful circular button in the message window is a pain to look at.

Have you tried Fire (http://fire.sourceforge.net/) ?

[BornAgainMac]

This was the reason I left the Windows platform. There was no innovation from Microsoft even for Windows. They change the colors and logos and say "We are announcing Microsoft Money 2004 complete with improved preference settings and joystick support."

You would think they would at least be able to copy the features from the Windows version of Messenger.

[tomf87]

Have you tried Fire (http://fire.sourceforge.net/) ?

I have issues with Fire. It will not show my contacts as being online. One of my contacts who works next to me IM'ed me because it said he was offline. I tried to reply, but it said they were offline, even though he could repeatedly send me messages.

[Versello]

Have you tried Fire (http://fire.sourceforge.net/) ?

Yeah I tried fire - It crashed on me back in the Jaguar days; since then I've stopped.

I also used to use Proteus until recently something was changed in the MSN protocol, effectively crippling Proteus (although I hear there is a patch for that). I'm waiting for the next release of Proteus before I go back.

[stcanard]

I have issues with Fire. It will not show my contacts as being online. One of my contacts who works next to me IM'ed me because it said he was offline. I tried to reply, but it said they were offline, even though he could repeatedly send me messages.

That's because MS keeps tripping their protocol to try and kick it off.

Download the new version ("m") and it will fix that until the next protocol change comes along.

Microsoft's behaviour wrt to this is annoying, but I find the developer is fast enough with updates that it's not been a serious impediment to me.

[Edit] And responding to the next comment -- I've been using Fire on Panther since Panther came out, and have not had a single crash (using MSN & ICQ protocols only), so whatever stability problems were there seem to have been resolved.

[jeffy.dee-lux]

I have issues with Fire. It will not show my contacts as being online. One of my contacts who works next to me IM'ed me because it said he was offline. I tried to reply, but it said they were offline, even though he could repeatedly send me messages.

edit - yeah, that's what happens when i take my sweet time replying... i use fire on jaguar and its working just fine.


i had the exact same problem, using version J, but i found a line you could type into the terminal that completely fixed the problem somewhere on their forums. They just released version M though, and they say it fixes msn connection issues, so i'd assume that's all you need.

http://fire.sourceforge.net/

there are still a couple issues i've got with fire, like how you can't really see msn display names, well really that's my only issue i guess. But the 1.0 version should be coming out, and it seems they're going to address a bunch of requests people have sent them.

[jeffy.dee-lux]

That's because MS keeps tripping their protocol to try and kick it off.

do you know if what fire does is legal? isn't it based on a freely available library or something that lets them connect?

[haiggy]

I hate Fire. It doesn't work well for me and is very ugly.

[mac15]

From what I heard 4 weeks ago, it will have ever feature in MSN6 and a few mac only features...

[Maritan]

When the hell is it going to be available for download?

[blue&whiteman]

amsn pretty much has all the features of the pc version of msn msger.
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/22504

there is a new version of fire out now that fixes the msn glitch. I myself am a big fan of fire. http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/8933

[stcanard]

do you know if what fire does is legal? isn't it based on a freely available library or something that lets them connect?

AFAIK it's legal, because there's nothing legally restricting them from implementing the msn protocol. That's probably why MS is trying a technological solution to breaking it.

[djbombjack]

My only issue iwth Fire is that I can't use the shortcut (that you use with MSN Messenger) to access hotmail i.e. it automatically opens up your Hotmail account in Safari.

If it did this i'd use Fire more.

[blue&whiteman]

My only issue iwth Fire is that I can't use the shortcut (that you use with MSN Messenger) to access hotmail i.e. it automatically opens up your Hotmail account in Safari.

If it did this i'd use Fire more.

it does have a popup to tell you when you have mail and the option to ignore for the moment or go to the page.

[Jo-Kun]

I use dMSN Messenger now, get it at: http://www.dmsn.nl

you allso will find that some persons (including me) had helped improving the mac version to what its now!

the latest public release is: 1702

BUT...

you can get the new 1703.12 Beta if you want, just check out the site and you'll find it trough the Forum :-D

[AppleMatt]

I use aMSN and Microsofts version at the moment, but when 6.2 for Windows comes out, Microsoft are completely shutting down the network so that only authorised (i.e. Microsoft) clients can join it.

Goto the site I linked in the original post and you'll see screenshots of Microsofts upcoming site, detailing this.

AppleMatt

[blue&whiteman]

I don't understand why microsoft even cares if other messenger apps use their protocol. its not like they make money off their own version anyway. well, I guess they make some of the ads it runs. so I guess they are basically trying to force us to see those ads. pretty sleazy but hey its ms so its no big shock.

[djbombjack]

it does have a popup to tell you when you have mail and the option to ignore for the moment or go to the page.

Yes, but it only tells you that you have mail. With MSN Messenger, when you click on mail, it opens up your account for you in a new Safari window. Fire doesn't do this. A small thing I know, but a useful feature which is the only reason I don't use Fire.

Call me lazy... ;)

[blue&whiteman]

Yes, but it only tells you that you have mail. With MSN Messenger, when you click on mail, it opens up your account for you in a new Safari window. Fire doesn't do this. A small thing I know, but a useful feature which is the only reason I don't use Fire.

Call me lazy... ;)

email the fire team and tell them you would like to see that feature. can't hurt to try.

[stcanard]

I don't understand why microsoft even cares if other messenger apps use their protocol. its not like they make money off their own version anyway. well, I guess they make some of the ads it runs. so I guess they are basically trying to force us to see those ads. pretty sleazy but hey its ms so its no big shock.

You answered your own question :-)

Download the latest Windows Messenger (on Windows) and look at all the advertising popups, advertising in the window, and automatic redirects to the MSN site you get when using it.

Of course that's precisely why I don't use it, it's too d**n annoying.

[jeffy.dee-lux]

Yes, but it only tells you that you have mail. With MSN Messenger, when you click on mail, it opens up your account for you in a new Safari window. Fire doesn't do this. A small thing I know, but a useful feature which is the only reason I don't use Fire.

Call me lazy... ;)

i dunno man, when i get a mail, it tells me about it and has a "read" button which when i click, brings me to my hotmail, opening the link in a new tab like pretty much any other app, which i prefer and which msn can't seem to do.

[Shrike_Priest]

This is crap... I'd gladly take an MSN with ads etc, as long as I get to video-chat with all my PC-using friends.

I seriously can't understand why they won't include new features in the mac version. I mean, if aMSN can add display-pictures, why can't the official fricking client do it?

[ingenious]

I don't understand why microsoft even cares if other messenger apps use their protocol. its not like they make money off their own version anyway. well, I guess they make some of the ads it runs. so I guess they are basically trying to force us to see those ads. pretty sleazy but hey its ms so its no big shock.


try messenger plus for windows. it can hide the ad bar. i wish someone would teach him how to program in cocoa so he could write a mac addin

msgplus.net

[imac_japan]

Its another way to show everyone that Microsoft is leading the field in "Microsoftism"

Well, Now Im glad that the EU gave them a fine and asked them for a medialess windows...now they should ask for an equal messenger for all computer - be it Pc's, Mac's, Linux and etc etc....

Microsoft should complete not just sit around.

[SLJ]

anyone have a URL for a beta copy of MSN messenger 4.0 for mac? I would like to play around with it... and get a feeing of it... anyone?