Kitz ADSL Broadband Information
adsl spacer  
Support this site
Home Broadband ISPs Tech Routers Wiki Forum
 
     
   Compare ISP   Rate your ISP
   Glossary   Glossary
 
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

Author Topic: Windows Messenger - whatever happened to?  (Read 2438 times)

Weaver

  • Senior Kitizen
  • ******
  • Posts: 11459
  • Retd s/w dev; A&A; 4x7km ADSL2 lines; Firebrick
Windows Messenger - whatever happened to?
« on: March 15, 2017, 12:10:53 PM »

I used to use Windows Messenger [aka MSN Messenger aka Live Messenger] all the time. It seemed to die a horrible death. God only knows why. A real shame, as it was a zero-hassle way of getting the wonderful Remote Assistance going, which I used to use all the time in my work. It was superb in WinXp because it was in every box, albeit a rather old version.

When VIsta came out, for some crazy reason to do with politics, Windows Messenger was no longer preinstalled, and I had to install this thing called Live Messenger with every installation. This was full of unrelated bloatware crap too, iirc. (It was a total pig to script that installation as well. In the end I wrote my own install-helper tool thing that made the installation process a lot cleaner, with no downloads and none of the bloat to start with.) This was a horrible decision by MS, and I think they were trying to push business users towards some other offering.

What finally happened to Windows Messenger/Live Messenger? And why? And what is the story about Remote Assistance these days?
Logged

Ronski

  • Helpful
  • Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 4300
Re: Windows Messenger - whatever happened to?
« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2017, 01:29:21 PM »

Logged
Formerly restrained by ECI and ali,  now surfing along at 390/36  ;D

Weaver

  • Senior Kitizen
  • ******
  • Posts: 11459
  • Retd s/w dev; A&A; 4x7km ADSL2 lines; Firebrick
Re: Windows Messenger - whatever happened to?
« Reply #2 on: March 15, 2017, 01:39:05 PM »

I forgot about the Skype purchase. I presume they paid that insane amount of money, completely wasted, simply to stop Google and the rest from purchasing Skye. Either that, or out fear that by some miracle Skype might grow into the next Google or Facebook - stamping on acorns. I remember was it IBM buying Display Postscript off Adobe and then immediately burying it, and at the time I assumed that that was a similar case of acorn squashing.
Logged

burakkucat

  • Respected
  • Senior Kitizen
  • *
  • Posts: 38300
  • Over the Rainbow Bridge
    • The ELRepo Project
Re: Windows Messenger - whatever happened to?
« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2017, 09:22:12 PM »

. . . simply to stop Google and the rest from purchasing Skye.

I didn't realise that the Island was up for sale! How does it feel living in M$ land?  ::)
Logged
:cat:  100% Linux and, previously, Unix. Co-founder of the ELRepo Project.

Please consider making a donation to support the running of this site.

Weaver

  • Senior Kitizen
  • ******
  • Posts: 11459
  • Retd s/w dev; A&A; 4x7km ADSL2 lines; Firebrick
Re: Windows Messenger - whatever happened to?
« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2017, 11:40:33 AM »

Oops ;D
Logged

huwwatkins

  • Member
  • **
  • Posts: 80
Re: Windows Messenger - whatever happened to?
« Reply #5 on: March 17, 2017, 11:53:37 AM »

Logged

Weaver

  • Senior Kitizen
  • ******
  • Posts: 11459
  • Retd s/w dev; A&A; 4x7km ADSL2 lines; Firebrick
Re: Windows Messenger - whatever happened to?
« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2017, 12:27:55 PM »

Agreed. I remember that they omitted it in VIsta. There were several downloads available in the Win Xp days. There was the thing branded MSN which came complete with a certain amount UI crap and possibly ads. And there was an upgrade v5.1 version of Windows Messenger, which if I recall, could hook into some sort of corporate systems as well into the public cloud-hosted Microsoft central system.
Logged

WWWombat

  • Kitizen
  • ****
  • Posts: 1674
Re: Windows Messenger - whatever happened to?
« Reply #7 on: March 18, 2017, 01:40:39 AM »

And what is the story about Remote Assistance these days?

I never felt comfortable with Messenger.

For remote assistance nowadays, I tend to use TeamViewer
Logged

Weaver

  • Senior Kitizen
  • ******
  • Posts: 11459
  • Retd s/w dev; A&A; 4x7km ADSL2 lines; Firebrick
Re: Windows Messenger - whatever happened to?
« Reply #8 on: March 18, 2017, 02:30:48 AM »

Windows Xp's Remote Assistance was so brilliant, as novice computer users found it very easy to use and I could sort customers out even from four hundred or so miles away when I was working as a consultant sysadmin.
Logged

tickmike

  • Kitizen
  • ****
  • Posts: 3640
  • Yes Another Penguin !. :)
Re: Windows Messenger - whatever happened to?
« Reply #9 on: March 18, 2017, 10:58:11 AM »

Windows Xp's Remote Assistance was so brilliant, as novice computer users found it very easy to use and I could sort customers out even from four hundred or so miles away when I was working as a consultant sysadmin.
You need 'Teamviewer' for that.

www.teamviewer.com/en/
Logged
I have a set of 6 fixed IP's From  Eclipse  isp.BT ADSL2(G992.3) line>HG612 as a Modem, Bridge, WAN Not Bound to LAN1 or 2 + Also have FTTP (G.984) No One isp Fixed IP >Dual WAN pfSense (Hardware Firewall and routing).> Two WAN's, Ethernet LAN, DMZ LAN, Zyxel GS1100-24 Switch.