Fuse is something I have been working on and off for the past few months. Messenger 9's layout is difficult to manipulate when it comes to taking down the extra space Microsoft added in.

With every skin I made, I learnt a bit more on how to get around some of these sizing restrictions to condense the space down. So after a lot of coding I was able to construct a skin which significantly brings down the minimum window size you can have when using Messenger.

Fuse features a highly compressed chat window and contact list design. It took a lot of experimentation and a mixture of code from different skins to be able to come to the final product (kinda how it got it's name, it's a fusion of all the layout compression I have done.)

Fuse features the standard options you guys have been used to in my skins recently and also uses some of the extra registry entries you see in Phunk'n as a little bonus. But yeah I recommend people check out this skin because it really does grow on you (like how it colorizes and if you combine it with the right scene it looks really nice).

8 months of development and testing and MessengerDiscovery 2 is at long publically available!

MessengerDiscovery 2 has been completely re-written using Microsoft .Net technology and boasts some serious advantages over any previous version of MessengerDiscovery.

Plugin support is one of the most important upgrades so now any one (even you) can write a plugin for Windows Live Messenger, MessengerDiscovery 2 makes it very very easy!

MessengerDiscovery 2 is now translated into 20 different languages and can be translated into any other.

I had to completely recode the entire skin and re-think certain parts of the skin to suit Messenger 2009. While most of the skin retains the layout from the previous version you will notice some differences in version 2.

The most major one is that fade animations had to be scrapped. Sad to say that they have changed in Messenger 2009 and are extremely restricted. I couldn’t really find a balance between making it work, look right and not lag the skin up.

The custom Messenger Plus! UI has also been scrapped due to the fact that Messenger Plus! Live 5 will be entering development soon and I would rather wait to see what is going to happen with the UI before diving in too deep.

The registry entries that I added in the previous version return in version 2. There are a few new ones such as choosing the size of the extra display picture in the chat window and also the one in the contact list. Toolbar alignment options are also in these entries.

Why LTD? Well I was trying to come up with something that would describe what I wanted to do with the skin. LTD stands for "Love This Design", which is kind of what I want to happen. The skin was designed specifically for Messenger 9 so scenes work better than ever. For those wondering, yes dark colors work on this skin unlike Ev0.

So what does this skin have to offer? Well along with the usual settings, LTD has been designed compress down the look of 9 and offer something that is a bit more cleaner and functional. The display pictures have been simplified further and do not take as much space so you can fit more contacts in your list area.

Additionally the chat window has been transformed into a new layout where your text goes from one end of the window to the other. This gives you a lot more room to read and means you can have a shorter window but not sacrifice the reading area. You also have the option to switch back to the default style of chat window if you really want to, the options are all there.

Being the second skin in the designer series, I take great pride in this skin and it has been created with a lot of thought. Check it out even if you don't like white skins, you'll be surprised how quick it grows on you. I would have a darker version, but I found that a lot of the design didn't really work.

MessengerDiscovery is about to undergo a massive transformation. Coming in 2009, The new Messenger Discovery will change the way you look at Messenger forever. For those die hard fans, we have prepared a special beta version just for you. Compatible with both Messenger 8.5 and 2009. Just remember there is still a lot of work to be done, so this is nowhere close to the final product.

It's now official, Microsoft has released the final version of Windows Live Messenger 2009 on the Live web site. That's about time. It took more than a year of beta versions to get to this new release but it was worth the wait. Of course, it means Messenger Plus! needs a final update too and I’ve got good news: I just saved a bunch of mon... I mean, the beta version available in the Download page has been updated to support the new Messenger. The new build number is 353. Even better, Messenger Plus! Live 4.80 will officially be released before the end of the month :-).

Two reasons pushed me to refresh the public beta before doing a final release: first, the sooner the better. I know many of you were wondering what would happen with Messenger add-ons with the new Messenger and this beta it meant to be somehow reassuring. After all, everything is fully functionnal again, including emotion sounds, scripts, skins, logs, colors, event notifications, as well as the hundred of other features&options offered in the software. Secondly, I thought some developers may like to benefit from the research I had to do during the past few weeks in the windows files of Messenger; more precisely, in UIB data files.