We're a little late, but better late then never;

Thursday, LiveSide reported the following news:



So it would seem that Microsoft is being pressed on by the Obama government to cut some cords, which seems odd seeing as they were apparently trying to tie loose ends and stop the nonsense earlier this year.

There is, however, an alternative method to connect for those users affected by this that has worked for some people. Bleak Morn over at LiveSide mentioned that using a third party program (such as Pidgin and stating that your country is one other than one that has been blocked.

What are everyone's thoughts on this matter?

There has been a number of small things going on in the Messenger world in the past couple of weeks. Below is a summary of some of the news that we have failed to cover, or too small for its own post:

1. IMO is a small, stable, compact web Messenger has undergone major changes this week. The development team have been working hard to improve services and have recently launched a new and improved imo.im, along with eight cool new features. IMO now offers a number of options that allow you to personalize your contacts list and prioritize your buddies. Click here to check IMO out!
2. This week has seen an update to the Messenger protocol (common when new versions are released). However, there has been implementation problems, freezing some 3rd party IM clients out from signing into the Messenger servers. Although the issue has now been claimed to be resolved, there is an update for Pidgin and Messenger for Mac users to download
3. Rebelsean has recently had the opportunity to interview some Windows Live directors. Having recently moved to Neowin, Sean has not forgotten his Messenger roots and has brought up the issue of tabbed conversations and what we can expect from Windows Live Wave 4. Generally he got a good feel for the direct Windows Live is heading in, and although is not Messenger specific, it still provides a useful insight to what's going at the live front

Although there are only three relatively small pieces of news to cover, I thought it may be in your interest to know about them. There are a few other stories that should pop-up in the next couple of days, but with most of my admins currently busy or disappearing, don't count on us to cover everything until February starts.

Pidgin has been in the news since early April, after it became the new name for Gaim. A few weeks later it was released and after an update last week I've decided to give it a try and see how it feels.

I've seen a lot of forum threads this week asking for alternatives to Windows Live Messenger, as it no longer meets their requirements. I've found myself showing them Pidgin because it works on many IM networks. However, I was recommending the program based on what I knew, I never really tested the program for long, I guess it is time I took it out for a real test drive.

Pidgin is extremely easy to install. Just over 10MB gives you so much, and you can choose to download extras such as Aspell within the installer itself. The NSIS installer system allows you to easily customise where Pidgin should be installed and what shortcuts to use without it becoming complicated.

Compared to Microsoft installers there is a huge difference, they are large, slow and, well, not easy to use. First impressions do count, and I don't want to wait 10 minutes to install a program (which is how long it takes Messenger on my old XP machine).

Getting my accounts set up was a little tricky, mainly because I didn't know what some of the input forms meant. Still it wasn't difficult, just not perfect. This is just me being nitpicky.

Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live Messenger may have teamed up, but Pidgin allows you to use all your IM accounts within one program. It may lack in features, but the features it does have provide everything you really need. I just wish the design was more customisable.

With more features and more on the team, Pidgin could be a huge program. It's great for on the go and if you are a business user. However, if like me and everyone you know uses MSN/ Windows Live Messenger, it is better to just use the main program by Microsoft. Nevertheless Pidgin is simple, clean and easy to use. I recommend this as the main alternative to Messenger, it just doesn't suit me.

Adding an account
Buddy list
Conversations in Pidgin
Managing accounts
Setting your friendly name

Following on from the news about the latest Pidgin beta, the final version of Pidgin 2.0.0 was released yesterday.

This is the first release of the multi-platform and multi-protocol instant messaging client under its new name and "features extraordinary enhancements to features and functionality over the previous release".

Official release announcement
Find out more about Pidgin and its features
Download Pidgin

Just a quick post here summing up 3 small pieces of news.

Pidgin beta released
The long awaited Gaim 2.0 beta 7 (now known as Pidgin) has been released to the public. This is hopefully going to be the last public beta before the official release. It is the first we have seen of the newly re-named software. Click here to view the announcement, or click here to download Pidgin.

Video coming to Google Talk?


Read more on the subject here, here and here.

Windows Live Hotmail finally ready (for US and UK)?
LiveSide have reported about an email certain US testers recently received containing details of a few rewards for beta testers to thank them for testing Windows Live Hotmail. Could this finally mean Windows Live Hotmail is ready for release in the main worldwide markets? (PS from the andyman: UK users might want to keep an eye on this site)

Gaim, a multi platform IM client has been in the news a lot this week, under going a somewhat a forced name change. The client is extremely popular, mainly because it talks to various other IM clients without lacking useful and fun features. The client was originally designed as an alternative for AOL's Instant Messenger (AIM).

However the program has created great controversy recently with AOL, and it has delayed the release of any 2.0 beta. Therefore Gaim will be renamed to Pidgin on the next built release:





View the official announcement