Tag - M2

Home > News Archives > Tag - M2



Windows Live Messenger M2 screenshots and features unveiled
Posted by absorbation on Fri 05 Sep 2008 (14:28 GMT) (4606 views)
Continuing with the vast amount of Windows Live Messenger 9 converge, it appears that the M2 build of Windows Live Messenger 9 – released to a few selected testers recently – has had some screenshots "leaked" (or are they M3 mockups?). LiveSide found the new screenshots and have the scoop on the new features we can see in them:

  1. Personalisation – We've talked about the new Wave 3 header before, but what we haven't really talked about is how it can be personalised. With Wave 3, the header allows for theming across Windows Live using "scenes", meaning that the UI you see in Messenger is also the UI you see on the web. As the image on the right shows, users can select their own background image – maybe its time for some LiveSide themed screenshots? This was discussed in one of our first ever interviews with Phil Holden over 2 years ago, so its great to see this finally come to fruition.
  2. Simplified header - As well as having the new Wave 3 UI, the header at the top of the contact list has also had a redesign, removing a lot of the clutter. Gone are many of the buttons like Windows Live Call, Windows Live Today, Spaces, Mobile messaging etc, leaving just a simplified Hotmail notification icon on the right hand side. This is something we're not so surprised about, we heard a while ago that usage of these extras was very low (think less than 1 percentage of all users).
  3. Improved Personal Status Message (PSM) – The PSM was first introduced in Messenger v7 along with the music PSM, showing your contacts what you are listening to. Since then not much has changed, despite some intrepid investigators noticing that there are Office and Games icons contained within Messenger for use in this area. With Wave 3 this upgraded PSM allows users to show both their regular status and music updates at the same time.
  4. The new buddy icons - There's two parts to this. The most obvious point is the removal of the messenger buddy icon to be replaced with a coloured tile [the andyman adds: more similar to those in Microsoft Office Communicator]. Then there’s also the new new online presence indicator, which both colours the tiles and surrounds display pictures in the form of a glow. See the Favorites at the top of the contact list for an example of this. Presumably green is available, orange is away and red is busy - could we also see this implemented at the top of the new Wave 3 header for online services?
  5. The "What's new feed" - This is my pick for underrated killer feature. Much like the existing Spaces homepage and the Facebook news feed, this displays notifications showing what your contacts are doing. Check out what playlists your Zune friends have made, or what files they’ve added to Skydrive for example. This should drive cross-platform integration in a big way, and turn Windows Live into a truly cohesive web platform. Can you tell I like this? See also the individual contact feed in the conversation window showing new photos are being shared online.
  6. Tabs – No not the kind you chat through, the kind that links to other online services which Microsoft wishes to promote. These have been moved from the side of the contact list down to the bottom, just above the advertisement, saving screen real estate and making them less intrusive.

    We ran through some of the other new features already in our first post about Messenger Wave 3, here’s a quick summary:

    • Favourite Contacts - these are the contacts you are most interested in. Positioning this special group of contacts at the top gives you at-a-glance information about their status and activities
    • Groups – Allowing groups of contacts to communicate with each other through Group IM, this update takes the existing multi-party chat functionality to a new level. Of course it also opens up others scenarios such as sharing files and photos.
    • PhotoShare application - This is a new application that allows users to transfer photos to their contacts for viewing. The main part of the conversation window shows a large preview for one of the photos, with the right hand side column showing smaller previews for the upcoming photos



All in all this news sounds great. It looks like Wave 3 has brought out the best in Windows Live Messenger and taken the program a lot further than past updates have, including taking into consideration a lot of suggestions made in previous betas. There also appear to be other new features hidden away in those screenshots so keep your eyes peeled!

There have, however, been conflicting statements by some M2 testers who claim not to have the same design as the one shown within the screenshots which adds more light to the theory that these are M3 (or final version) mockups. But then again we'll will just have to wait and see.

View screenshot 1 of WLM 9 M2
View screenshot 2 of WLM 9 M2

0 comments