Tag: MSN

Using the consummate magic of Facebook Connect (or Windows Live ID), users of Microsoft's game portals can now stay in touch with their friends while they play Bejeweled thanks to a 'casual games hub.' From what I can see, this games hub takes the form of a 'dashboard' that wraps around each of the games, whether you play them on MSN Games, Bing or Live Messenger. Take a look at the screenshot ...

Must-have smartphone apps are few and far between. In fact, it's hard to name more than two apps that I use on a daily basis: Angry Birds is the first, of course, and BeejiveIM is the second. I reviewed BeejiveIM for Android last month and came away with the conclusion that it's almost faultless. The interface is smooth, and you can customize colors and backgrounds to your heart's content. ...

I always had one rather large complaint about Fring and other multi-network messengers: they're dog-ugly -- like, Ugliest Dog In The World ugly. Fortunately there's a beautiful alternative that, until now, has only been available for iPhone and BlackBerry: it's called BeejiveIM, and after you try it every other messenger app on Android will fade into clumsy and ugly insignificance. From the ...

While I wasn't one of the handful of Chosen Ones to attend the Windows Phone 7 launch in London yesterday, I have been lucky enough to get my hands on some lovely screenshots of WP7 apps. So far, most major websites have only run photos-of-handsets, complete with skewed angles and glaring reflections. With these images, you can see what the interface of some big-name apps really look like -- ...

Miranda IM is pretty much the most versatile, customizable, powerful, minimalistic and down-right sexy IM client on the planet. I know that sounds like a lot, but I've been using it for years, and I've tried pretty much everything else Windows and Linux have to offer. I never tried Adium, so maybe Adium's better – but for Windows, nothing beats Miranda. As you can tell, this application is ...

Call me crazy, but there's something awesome about 1) an official app from Microsoft 2) with Windows branding appearing in Apple's App Store. Today, Live Messenger for the iPhone became available for download on your iPhone or iPod touch. And like the Bing app which came before it, Live Messenger for the iPhone is actually quite good. Launch the app, and you'll see your Live social stream -- ...

Today... my Android phone arrived! Yes, I finally bit the bullet and bought one. I had hoped that someone would send me a review sample of a sexy HTC or something, but alas... cheap bastards... Anyway! This means you'll now be treated to reviews of Android apps. Most of them will be free and available from the Android Marketplace, but I will also occasionally turn my attention to the slightly ...

I'm blown away by how many of my customers have three or four chat programs installed on their computers. I'm even more blown away by how many of them wind up with malware after letting their curiosity get the best of them and clicking a link some unknown user sends via those chat apps. If only they'd switch to something smarter, like a multi-network app...and maybe one that had some kind of ...

75 million unique users simply isn't enough, as far as Zynga's concerned! Using the power of Facebook Connect, Zynga -- the developer of FarmVille, Cafe World, Mafia Wars and others -- is bringing FarmVille to Windows Live Messenger and MSN Games. Back in November 2009 Zynga announced that over 100 million unique users were visiting their site and playing their games. I know it was 'only' two ...

Live Messenger 2010 is coming, and NeoWin has posted some hands-on screenshots. The short version: it looks a lot like the current version, which many of you think is ugly as sin. There's also the addition of social kung-fu with activity streams from sites like Twitter and Facebook. There's also a big win when it comes to the conversation window: a tabbed interface. Thank you, Live Messenger, ...

There are plenty of competing chat apps for iPhone and Android, but BlackBerry users have, thus far, been left out in the cold in terms of multi-service chat clients. Nimbuzz is stepping in to plug that hole, though, with a BlackBerry-native app that allows you to chat over AIM, Gtalk, MSN, Skype, Facebook and more. Being a native app means Nimbuzz can run in the background and take advantage ...

MSN.com, Microsoft's search, news and services portal page, hasn't weathered the years well. Tweaking the same basic design for a decade left it far behind the times in terms of design and usability. With today's clean, whitespace-friendly, reimagining of MSN.com, Microsoft ditches the spectre of MSN search and delivers a site that's a little more worthy of showcasing the company's new search ...

Instant messaging from your web based inbox? GMail users have had that for eons. Heck, they've had voice and video chat capabilities since last Novemeber. Live Hotmail devotees, however, have had to wait patiently for similar features to be rolled out. Users in France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, the UK, and Japan have been enjoying IM in Hotmail for about a month, and the Live team finally decided ...

If you haven't checked it out yet, the Windows Live Messenger 2009 Beta is now available for download. Yes, it's the same horrid installer. It has obviously undergone some changes, though, and isn't quite as bad as the previous version. My apps downloaded and installed on the first try, a stark contrast to my numerous failures with the last Live Installer. Live Messenger's UI has received a ...

Back in 2006, Microsoft decided to kill its MSN Music store. But MSN Music customers didn't have anything to worry about, because the songs they'd already legally purchased would be theirs to play forever. Sort of. In April of this year, Microsoft announced that it would be pulling the plug on its DRM servers for MSN Music. That meant that once you authorized your purchased music you'd be able to ...