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MSN Messenger for Mac: Microsoft Doesn't Get It

truebastardteddy.com — Microsoft recently released a new version of MSN Messenger for Mac and although the improvements are nice, there is still much that could be worked on.

Who dugg this? Made popular Oct 3, 2006

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  • fyngyrz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+46One word: Adium.

    Adium owns the Mac messaging space, and with good reason.
  • kolywater, on 10/12/2007, -4/+30better solution: use adium or ichat.
  • paulryan21, on 10/12/2007, -3/+24There's already too much hate in the world. But one question - why do PC people even click on Mac links - it really puzzles me !!
  • jm1234567890, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20http://blogs.msdn.com/macmojo/archive/2006/09/27/774149.aspx

    This explains why there isn't A/V in MSN for mac
  • LordSkywalker, on 10/12/2007, -11/+26"Quicktime for PC: Apple Doesn't Get It"

    See? I can be anti-Apple just as much as you can be anti-Microsoft.
  • BETRAMS, on 10/12/2007, -3/+18There's windows links?
  • drakethegreat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16Adium is my choice as well cause of the customization options. It uses gaim as its engine however and the only thing I'm critical of is that it lacks the plugins that gaim is known for. If Adium could add 3rd party extensions then it would be by far not only the best IM app on Mac OS X but the best period.
  • jm1234567890, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15aMSN is another option, and it supports almost all of the features in the windows MSN.

    http://amsn.sourceforge.net/

    It is not as pretty as adium thought.

  • Quix, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13"why do PC people even click on Mac links - it really puzzles me !!"

    Envy? Inferiority complex? A desperate need for attention? Nothing else to do while their spyware scanner is running?

    Who knows. This is just one of life's great mysteries.
  • Swift2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Look, there's only one cross-platform, does-it-all IM/phone/audio/video chat program: Skype. Granted, you have to use Skype, but it works across platforms -- just no video yet for Linux, I understand.

    I thought iChat was great when it came out, but it works well for other Mac users with broadband, but who wants to buy a phone that can only call other Sony-Ericcsons, sometimes Motorolas, but no Nokias? The network's the thing, and curses on every single jerkwater company that's trying to block out all competitors and speak only to their own brand.

    It took regulation for the railway tracks to be all the same width. It'll probably take regulation for all the companies to shut the hell up and let their serfs communicate with each other as they please, whether they bought into your brand or not.

  • cell00, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Because ... I'm interested in what goes on in the Mac world? Is it really that hard to imagine a PC user that enjoys reading about (*gasp*) Mac news?
  • trylleklovn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Don't assume.. Check..
  • ThatBlokeRob, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Well, I think the point that Microsoft are slow to update all of their Mac software is just to upset switchers. For example, my work colleagues have just switched - MS Excel for Mac is a joke, it handles the basic stuff - as soon as it gets complex it falls over. Nothing is familiar to them, it should be, no?

    Its like they don't really care if their Mac software is any good.

    @ paulryan21: "why do PC people even click on Mac links - it really puzzles me !!" - Excellent point!
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Anyone who uses MSN Messenger on a Mac should be shot in the first place.
  • alloneword, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5People still use the Microsoft's client? There are so many better options.
  • zetsurin, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8Christ people, rome wasn't built overnight. Nobody can just wave their wand and magically create A/V support overnight. Anyone who has tried to build a universal binary application that involves 3rd party libraries etc will understand that it's not such a walk in the park. And I think it's pretty normal that MS would place emphasis on the windows product which almost everyone is using anyway. As a mac user, I'm happy enough that they are still working on the mac MSN client. in the meantime there are numerous alternatives to fill the gaps.
  • leonwehttam, on 10/12/2007, -6/+10Adium pwns faces, screw MSN messenger
  • Wandel, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"It’s simply clear that Mac users are just not a priority for Microsoft."

    Wow, that guy is genius.
  • cell00, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3That could have been funny ten years ago.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4it's not down...
  • EmmEff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3How many different articles about every release of MSN Messenger for OS X are there going to be confirming that MS doesn't put priority on it's free OS X apps? Please... if you don't understand this concept, I suggest learning a bit about economics before starting yet another blog post about how MS hates OS X.
  • Kelmon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3In my case, no it doesn't unless I manually configure the frickin' proxy settings. The System Preference Network settings are a system-wide repository for network settings that all applications should use yet MSN chooses to require me to enter the proxy settngs manually. I'm sorry but this is a poor job for a mobile user like myself who moves between networks with/without proxy servers.
  • KAMiKAZOW, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I don't see any logic in your comparison.
    Is any functionality missing in QT for Windows compared to the Mac version? AFAIK QuickTime looks a bit out-of-place under Windows, but is 100% identical when it comes to features (same with iTunes and FileMaker). Microsoft OTOH drops VBA from Office and still has only text chat in Messenger for Mac and on top of that, VirtualPC for Mac development halted completely.
  • pinky24, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2because, I if it was up to me I'de have a mac.

    but my dad, is the one paying...

    and he thinks macs suck... (poor poor him)
  • techrevolution, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2For Mac msn messenger, you can view your contact list under the "group" view. Just click contacts and select 'view contacts by groups', instead of online/offline.
  • Sophistifunk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It doesn't even flaming work. I upgraded and all it does is log in and logout with no errors, nothing. Now it's adium FTW.
  • Newtylicious, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2" If Adium could add 3rd party extensions then it would be by far not only the best IM app on Mac OS X but the best period."
    Wait, are you thinking? Adium logically couldn't add third party plugins. If you're asking for an API, I do believe Adium has one in place. It's not great, but it does exist.

    What third party plugins do you want anyways?
  • LaughingMan11, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1iChat video works with Windows users using newer versions of AIM.

    It's not as smooth as it is with another iChat user because i'm fairly certain that AIM for Windows reverts back to using H.263 instead of H.264, and you can't do 4 party video chats in AIM, but it does work.
  • astrotrain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I sum up Microsoft as being the "Jehovah's Witnesses" in the Mac World....

  • evilspoons, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@firsttube: you get this if you're using *any* version of MSN that doesn't support the features, Mac or not. Other IM clients just fail to display these error messages. (although why it's sent to the person receiving the invitation instead of just the person sending is beyond me)
  • stewacide, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Other than the lack of video support there's nothing wrong w/ MSN for Mac. I strongly commend MS's commitment to the platform.
  • badtz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1performance is the same on the mac. HD h.264 trailers lag on semi-old computers.
  • t3hX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1There's also Mercury, although I'd only reccommend that on a fast computer - it's made in Java...
    http://mercury.to/

    It supports some of the MSN games, and webcam stuff, better than the Mac MSN.
  • nathanchase, on 05/06/2009, -1/+2Adium is excellent - but doesn't support SIP / MS Live Communication Server, thus I must use Microsoft Messenger for Mac for work IM, and Adium for AIM, Yahoo!, etc.
  • monkeyrun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Actually they do.

    They know no one uses it on Mac, eveyone's using Adium, why update it at all.
  • Hiseran, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I'm pretty sure they get it...now do they care about MSN Messenger for mac that much? I doubt it
  • toasterwaffle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't own a mac, but I use linux, and aMSN is the way to go (if msn is the only service you use)

    I wonder if aMSN would be sexier on OSX if you tried some of the skins?

    In conclusion,
    aMSN Messenger > regular MSN Messenger
  • Flawless, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The new version still has no proper proxy support for those of us stuck behind corporate firewalls (Same thing goes for iChat). Sorry MS, I'm sticking with Adium.
  • dineshbabu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Skype Beta - Video and Audio for Mac, Just works.
  • m00dy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1do not forget yahoo popped its cherry and broke the V barrier.

    But yea regarding that article about the dad and his children regarding getting a PC versus a mac because of MSN. I'll tell you it does work, sadly there are people who buy a PC just for the sole purpose of using MSN, I cant tell you how many times I got a primitive comment as to how macs suck from an PC MSN friend regarding the fact that I cannot receive winks or custom emotions or whatever you call them .

    It is really sad how primitive that crowd of PC users are.
  • rhubarb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I agree... it isn't half bad. I just wished it was comparable to the Windows version.
  • theonlyvlad, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3yeah right.... try playing a 1080p trailer on QuickTime for windows on medium range PC. It will run about as fast as a crippled turtle. And it's not hardware. Open the same file in Mplayer and it plays without the hint of lag.

    It's not features, it's performance.
  • m0laria, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5http://duggmirror.com/apple/MSN_Messenger_for_Mac_Microsoft_Doesn_t_Get_It/
  • rhubarb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Wow... I agree with what someone said above... these conversations do seem to spiral out of control. I work for a telephony software company. We work with Microsoft to enable their Telephony support within MSN Messenger. I also am a Mac user. So it sucks for me in the sense that while Microsofts new version of MSN Messenger for the Mac finally works with MS LCS, it does not enable any of the telephony functionality. I also use Adium and love it. So now I am using both Adium and MSN Messenger. I would love to consolidate in to one client.
  • firsttube, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1They DO hate OS X. When I was silly enough to use msn messenger for mac, I'd have game requests from windows friends. I'd always get the obligatory "That sucks your mac can't do ..." (insert new feature for windows version here)
  • rhubarb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I don't agree with this at all. The only reason MS doesn't update it is to keep their own Windows version ahead of the curve. If they made them equal, I think it would be one less reason people have to use Windows.
  • PeteyEks, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5iChat and Adium filled the void that other messengers left open on OS X. Good luck M$ ^_^
  • tommasz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0While the Mac market is small for MS, it's more profitable on a per-user basis that Windows. So while they don't want to abandon such a nice (and niche) market, there's also no incentive for them to really go all out. Mac Office is a good example. It may lag behind the Windows version (and there's no Access equivalent), but it's good enough to dominate the Mac market the way it does the Windows market. More importantly, it wouldn't be any more dominant if it was equivalent to Windows Office.
  • jpma, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Apple just spurs too much emotion to make any sort of constructive conversation about it or anything related here or in any other public forum (as in the Greek form of the word).

    I speak for myself... I mean, I was defending all things mac over anything PC even before I _had_ anything mac!

    About Messenger for Mac, I think its a good piece of software, but there is a strong competition in the IM area and so I don't see it gaining significant market share.
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