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MSN Messenger for Mac.
- Thread starter GreyFox1221
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Everyone I know here in the UK uses Microsoft Messenger so I may as well just stick with whatever comes with Mac Office. I recently upgraded to Office 2008 and Messenger works just as well for me as it's always done.
It's not like I use it a great deal so I'm not bothered about any extra features or all that jazz. I'm just happy that it's part of the Office suite and the Entourage integration is as much as I need. What I would like to see is a native M$ Messenger application for the iPhone.
It's not like I use it a great deal so I'm not bothered about any extra features or all that jazz. I'm just happy that it's part of the Office suite and the Entourage integration is as much as I need. What I would like to see is a native M$ Messenger application for the iPhone.
Oops!
I encountered a problem with the WM I downloaded from the link provided here. It worked fine last night but today it started acting funny and wouldn't close, basically froze, plus I got three warnings that something might be wrong with it. Called Apple Care and was advised to delete the whole thing and go straight to the Microsoft website and see what they offer for Mac.
I will say that so far Apple Care has been nice but they sure don't seem to have many answers about things that aren't Apple products. Since they're trying to get PC customers, you'd think they'd know all about PC's so they could help people when they change from PC to Mac. That is the second time in one week that they really couldn't provide knowledge about products that would work with Mac.
I'm brand new, though, so will hope for the best.
I encountered a problem with the WM I downloaded from the link provided here. It worked fine last night but today it started acting funny and wouldn't close, basically froze, plus I got three warnings that something might be wrong with it. Called Apple Care and was advised to delete the whole thing and go straight to the Microsoft website and see what they offer for Mac.
I will say that so far Apple Care has been nice but they sure don't seem to have many answers about things that aren't Apple products. Since they're trying to get PC customers, you'd think they'd know all about PC's so they could help people when they change from PC to Mac. That is the second time in one week that they really couldn't provide knowledge about products that would work with Mac.
I'm brand new, though, so will hope for the best.
Does anyone else here besides me find this thread funny as hell... not that there's anything wrong with a 4 year old thread on MSN messenger in the Mac Pro forum that has more readership hits than most Mac Pro threads! 
Guess we just don't have much relevant stuff to talk about besides the endless threads on "What Mac Pro should I get?"
Guess we just don't have much relevant stuff to talk about besides the endless threads on "What Mac Pro should I get?"
well, it is frustrating!
Virtual,
Yes, I suppose it is funny to those who've solved all these problems or issues. It seems to me this would be easily solved after all these posts. It shouldn't be that difficult to have Windows Live Messenger work on a Mac. And it seems to me Apple Care folks would have a handle on it already. After all, it would benefit Apple to have the answers to this problem rather than customers being so frustrated they go back to a PC. There are very specific reasons I want to continue using WLM, as mentioned above. I was just sure that after all this time Mac would work with pretty much everything. I still think it will, I just haven't discovered it yet.
As for why this particular thread, I am new to this site and when I did my search this thread came up.
So, I'll keep plugging along. And I'll go back and re-read all the posts on here to see if there is another way to do it.
Virtual,
Yes, I suppose it is funny to those who've solved all these problems or issues. It seems to me this would be easily solved after all these posts. It shouldn't be that difficult to have Windows Live Messenger work on a Mac. And it seems to me Apple Care folks would have a handle on it already. After all, it would benefit Apple to have the answers to this problem rather than customers being so frustrated they go back to a PC. There are very specific reasons I want to continue using WLM, as mentioned above. I was just sure that after all this time Mac would work with pretty much everything. I still think it will, I just haven't discovered it yet.
As for why this particular thread, I am new to this site and when I did my search this thread came up.
So, I'll keep plugging along. And I'll go back and re-read all the posts on here to see if there is another way to do it.
sorry that you had a problem, but its a link straight to microsofts mactopia site. i even used that download to upgrade my older version of MSN...
Holy old thread batman! I even posted on it when I was relatively new on here three three years ago.
Challiman, its not Applecare's fault - blame Microsoft for their msn clients. They've been pretty bad for years now and have lacked many features compared to the Windows version. Before you start banging your head against a wall I'd strongly recommend just giving up trying to get video working and just use Skype for video calls instead. Get your granddaughter to install it too of course.
Personally, I use aMSN with the growl plugin and non-tabbed conversation windows. It supports webcams but not video conferencing (i.e. no audio). Its not an ideal solution, not nearly as polished as MSN for Windows was but its done me fine for the past few years. If I want video then I'll open up Skype.
Challiman, its not Applecare's fault - blame Microsoft for their msn clients. They've been pretty bad for years now and have lacked many features compared to the Windows version. Before you start banging your head against a wall I'd strongly recommend just giving up trying to get video working and just use Skype for video calls instead. Get your granddaughter to install it too of course.
Personally, I use aMSN with the growl plugin and non-tabbed conversation windows. It supports webcams but not video conferencing (i.e. no audio). Its not an ideal solution, not nearly as polished as MSN for Windows was but its done me fine for the past few years. If I want video then I'll open up Skype.
for Spanky Deluxe
First, love your name. Our Olde English Bulldogge is named Spanky!
I wasn't trying to use the video at all. I just wanted to be able to Instant Message with granddaughter. She has to type since she is non-verbal, and while we could use the webcams at times, that's not my focus on this thread. She does use sign but I can't keep up with her on that, her fingers just fly! But, your suggestion for Skype could be very helpful.
Thanks for the reply. I guess frustration is normal when changing formats. As for Apple Care, I realize they didn't create the problem but it would be great if they could be helpful when these issues come up.
First, love your name. Our Olde English Bulldogge is named Spanky!
I wasn't trying to use the video at all. I just wanted to be able to Instant Message with granddaughter. She has to type since she is non-verbal, and while we could use the webcams at times, that's not my focus on this thread. She does use sign but I can't keep up with her on that, her fingers just fly! But, your suggestion for Skype could be very helpful.
Thanks for the reply. I guess frustration is normal when changing formats. As for Apple Care, I realize they didn't create the problem but it would be great if they could be helpful when these issues come up.
Hmmm.... if you're not using video then most of the MSN clients, including Microsoft's official one should be fine.
Microsoft Messenger can be downloaded from here: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downlo...d=E3F79AE4-7B7C-42AB-89C0-EC5F513C24F3#viewer (same file as linked before but not a direct link this time. The link to 7.0.2 is in the bottom half of the page.
If you're new to mac then you may want to have a look at some of the essential software lists that have been posted a few times on here.
Personally, I would always install the following straight out:
Perian - Lets QuickTime play most video formats.
Flip4Mac Quicktime components - Lets QuickTime play most Windows Media files.
[url=http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html]VLC - If Quicktime still can't play a file then VLC often can - useful as a backup video player.
Growl - Shows pop up messages similar to those you would have seen with MSN in Windows. Is used by many, many third party software and is generally a good thing to have. Installs as a preference plane.
If Microsoft's official messenger client doesn't work for you then you could give AMSN a try. Its not ideal, by a long shot, but it does have things like rudimentary webcam (image only) support and if you activate the Growl plugin (in AMSN, choose the AMSN menu and then "Select Plugins", click "growl" and click "Load"). and then if you wade through the complicated AMSN preferences and set it up with things like not to used tabbed windows (Session tab in preferences, lower half of window under "My Messaging Interface") then it works pretty much the same as Windows Messenger. Sending files doesn't always work too well though (don't try to send more than one at a time usually).
The problem with MSN is that its a closed connection protocol, i.e. Microsoft won't tell anyone else how exactly they do it. They (purposely?) keep the OS X client way behind the Windows client in functionality and the makers of third party clients have to try to work out how the MSN service works and basically have to hack their stuff together.