A public beta of Windows Live Messenger 2011 has been released by Microsoft. Coming part of an extensive package of Windows Live Essential's new betas, Microsoft's IM client has received an array of new features and improvements for users to test before the application's official release expected mid-August.


Some observations we've made

• The build number is 15.3.2804.607.
  
  
• Display names have been replaced by real names associated with that particular Windows Live ID. This is a significant change, most probably associated with Messenger's social networking push. Some users however, have expressed concerns over the idea, with worries over privacy for those who choose not to publish their real identities.
  • Microsoft MVP CookieRevisied has criticized the feature, stating: "This isn't about 'getting used to changes' or 'getting rid of the old and going forward in time', or even a 'personal taste of a feature' or whatever, this is all about privacy!"
  
  
  
• The multiple location login feature introduced in Windows Live Messenger 2009 has received further integration, allowing you to control all devices currently connected to Messenger. This works particularly well if you're using the Messenger for iPhone app released this week.
  
  
• The contact list has received several UI modifications, allowing you to remove the "social pane" feature and maintain the classic design using several columns for organizing friends.
  
  
• The main contact list features a larger square advertisements, while the text promotion feature at the bottom of the conservation window has been replaced by an image banner. [Read our previous discussions on the new Messenger advertisements]
  
  
• Contact sorting has become highly customized. You can order your contacts by their online status, if they are favorites, by specific groups, who you appear offline to and "others".
  
  
• The UI has remained mostly unchanged in terms of color scheme and layout. Previous Windows Live betas have witnessed significant UI modifications.
  
  
• Facebook is fully integrated into the build. Status updates are synchronized and you can share information between the applications.
  
  
• Toast notifications are larger and more rectangular, featuring a more simple design:
  
  
  
  
• Keywords are underlined within conversations which then become searchable. Links to YouTube and other services also receive thumbnail previews which then play embedded into the client (pretty cool, even if it is a little buggy at the moment).
  
  
• There has been no word on whether a compatible Messenger Plus! Live will be released for the beta. Based on previous releases however, Patchou is likely to provide a beta build within the next couple of weeks.

Community impressions

Having kept a close eye on the Windows Live Essentials beta page all of yesterday I was excited when my download started at around 19:30 (BST). The installer was simple to say the least: it lacked any sort of solid GUI and after waiting a long 20 minutes for it to complete I was ready to sign in.

My first impressions were positive, the layout looked slick and although the social pane was hardly relevant (just having Facebook notifications in it would be ideal for me) I quickly switched to the classic contact list and marveled at the obvious implementation of sorting contacts into columns - why didn't they think of this before!

The honeymoon period quickly ended however, as the program began to repeatedly crash upon signing in. Then the impressions of others began to hit my computer screen thick and fast: most of which were negative - issues over installing, signing in and the privacy changes plagued any new positive features. Yes Messenger is buggy but I'm trying to forgive it, after-all it is a beta for a reason.

ZDNet blogger Zack Whittaker likened the Essentials beta as “watching a clown run across a minefield.” While Peter Bright over at Arstechnica praised the small design decisions noting a "cleaner and crisper" appearance that incorporates more whitespace. There has been a mixed set of opinions.

From experience there is typically a lukewarm response to any sizable Messenger upgrade. Microsoft however, are moving in a new direction and it seems like the right decision. The Windows Live Messenger 2011 public beta is no panacea to the IM/ social networking gap, but Microsoft seem to be the only company attempting to change that position in order to fire some energy back into its flagship instant messaging service.


Screenshots

Screenshot: Installer privacy settings
Screenshot: Social pane
Screenshot: Classic contact list
Screenshot: Contact list - large contacts
Screenshot: Multi-column contact list
Screenshot: Conservation window
Screenshot: Tabbed chatting
Screenshot: Facebook integration
Screenshot: About window

View our gallery of screenshots for the previous leaked beta back in March
Download Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 beta