Wave 3 invites for Windows Live products have been sent out
on Sat 30 Aug 2008 (17:33 GMT) (1646 views)
on Sat 30 Aug 2008 (17:33 GMT) (1646 views)
As discussed earlier this week, invitations have been sent out to apply to beta test Wave 3 in Windows Live products. Below is part of the email Microsoft sent users:
So those of who you received the email, looks like you have a chance of beta testing the new Windows Live Messenger/ other Windows Live products. One thing we noticed during the survey however, was a question saying "Do you have friends that use Messenger and would like to participate in a beta with you so that you can test new features together?". Could this hint at the ability to invite further friends to the product? We doubt it, as Microsoft did claim this was a small scale beta, but one can always speculate.
The Windows Live Team invites you to be an extension of our development process by giving us feedback on our software. You'll be helping us ensure that we deliver a great experience to all Windows Live users.
As a Windows Live beta tester you'll have an opportunity to try out multiple Windows Live products as part of a single beta program! As always, this beta program contains all of the great components you've come to expect from a Windows Live beta, including the ability to file bugs and talk to the product teams in private newsgroups.
Unlike past betas, this is a small-scale beta with a very limited number of open seats. The nomination survey will close as soon as we reach our target number. If you want to participate in this beta, please act quickly. (Early entry doesn't guarantee final approval)
So those of who you received the email, looks like you have a chance of beta testing the new Windows Live Messenger/ other Windows Live products. One thing we noticed during the survey however, was a question saying "Do you have friends that use Messenger and would like to participate in a beta with you so that you can test new features together?". Could this hint at the ability to invite further friends to the product? We doubt it, as Microsoft did claim this was a small scale beta, but one can always speculate.
Invites going out to beta test Windows Live Wave 3 products
on Wed 27 Aug 2008 (10:42 GMT) (2731 views)
on Wed 27 Aug 2008 (10:42 GMT) (2731 views)
With every major step in a program's development comes a testing phase, some of which become open to a large user base of testers. Ars Technica reports that "many Windows Live applications are expected to be updated with the roll out of Wave 3, while others will be discontinued. Over the weekend, members of the Butterfly community (MSN/Windows Live testers who have been recognized by Microsoft for their hard work) received invites to participate in 'the next Windows Live beta program' with very limited seats open." [emphasis added] Below is an extract from a Microsoft email, concerning Wave 3 testing:
We do not currently know if this also includes Windows Live Messenger 9. A couple of things suggest it would: M2 has been expected for a while now and this is common method of gaining beta testers for the program. However, the leak of the other day may delay or even stop this beta phase of Windows Live Messenger in fear of another beta being leaked (which it always does when a large amount of testers start using it).
Source: Ars Technica's One Microsoft Way blog
In a week's time, we will send out mass invitation to previous Windows Live beta testers, which means you probably will receive a second invitation for this beta. When you receive the second e-mail, please ignore it. Do NOT take the nomination survey because by that time you should already be approved in this beta, there is no need to waste your time and ours.
We do not currently know if this also includes Windows Live Messenger 9. A couple of things suggest it would: M2 has been expected for a while now and this is common method of gaining beta testers for the program. However, the leak of the other day may delay or even stop this beta phase of Windows Live Messenger in fear of another beta being leaked (which it always does when a large amount of testers start using it).
Source: Ars Technica's One Microsoft Way blogJust a quick post here to let you know you can patch all the elements you don't like out of the M1 build of Windows Live Messenger 9 leaked a couple of days ago.
The new version is missing some features, due to the dramatic changes Windows Live Messenger 9 has created. It sure feels nice to remove all the advertisements, buttons, etc, you don't want to look at and that bloat up Messenger. Then again you probably get more out of the vast array of skins for Windows Live Messenger 8.5, I know I've already gone back to using Oil Slick.
Download A-Patch for Windows Live Messenger 9 M1
The new version is missing some features, due to the dramatic changes Windows Live Messenger 9 has created. It sure feels nice to remove all the advertisements, buttons, etc, you don't want to look at and that bloat up Messenger. Then again you probably get more out of the vast array of skins for Windows Live Messenger 8.5, I know I've already gone back to using Oil Slick.
Download A-Patch for Windows Live Messenger 9 M1There were rumours that M2 of Windows Live Messenger 9 would be released to testers sometime this week. Today a new version of Windows Live Messenger 9 was leaked, showing what was seen in the leaked screenshots of last week. This however, is of the M1 build testers have had for a while, not the new M2 build, which was expected to be out this or even next week. Notable changes include:
The new build does not currently work with Messenger Plus! Live, and will be unlikely to until Windows Live Messenger 9 is officially released.
Screenshot: Contact List
Screenshot: Conversation Window
Screenshot: About Box
- The program now has real Window handlers, at least in Windows Vista
- URLs in personal messages now are clickable
- The groups feature has been updated and become more customisable
- You can now have a favourite contacts list, which appears before other contacts
- There are several glossy effects used within the program
- Display pictures have been moved to the left in conversation windows
- Conservation messages are now in bullet points when sent
- You have now the ability to share photos with contacts
The new build does not currently work with Messenger Plus! Live, and will be unlikely to until Windows Live Messenger 9 is officially released.
Screenshot: Contact List Screenshot: Conversation Window Screenshot: About BoxSkin gives Messenger a new look based on leaked screenshots
on Sat 23 Aug 2008 (14:30 GMT) (3301 views)
on Sat 23 Aug 2008 (14:30 GMT) (3301 views)
Last week we posted some leaked screenshots, showing the wave 3 style interface of Windows Live Messenger 9 M1. From the comments and opinions I heard these were generally well received, breaking away from the very Vista look of the current version of Windows Live Messenger.
roflmao456 has created a skin based on these screenshots, taking the colour scheme and gradient effects and implementing them into Messenger. The skin isn't great, but it's not disastrous either. Seeing as we have only had a few selected screenshots this has generally been pulled off well. Using the Open Live skinning engine means there are heaps of options to use too.
Download Windows Live Messenger 2009 skin, requires Messenger Plus! Live
View a screenshot of the skin
roflmao456 has created a skin based on these screenshots, taking the colour scheme and gradient effects and implementing them into Messenger. The skin isn't great, but it's not disastrous either. Seeing as we have only had a few selected screenshots this has generally been pulled off well. Using the Open Live skinning engine means there are heaps of options to use too.
Download Windows Live Messenger 2009 skin, requires Messenger Plus! Live View a screenshot of the skinWindows Live Messenger 9 won't contain FULL WPF after all
on Thu 21 Aug 2008 (18:40 GMT) (3761 views)
on Thu 21 Aug 2008 (18:40 GMT) (3761 views)
There has been confusion circulating the internet recently over WPF coming to Windows Live Messenger 9. Although this is true, it seems to be heavily misinterpreted. To put it simply, Windows Live Messenger 9 will not have FULL Windows Presentation Foundation by its first official release.
The news that it would do spread quickly, and with good reasons; it was positively received in Yahoo! Messenger for Vista and it would only make sense that Microsoft would mimic their own technology in a piece of software where it appeared natural to do so.
So why won't it be added? Well a source has said that full WPF will only come if it was probably implemented. Adding full WPF would require an entire re-code on the main structure of Messenger, something a piece of software that is so very visually based would take a significant development period to implement. Although full WPF hasn't been ruled out as coming to Windows Live Messenger, in order to make it to a high standard it would require more time and therefore will not come to version 9.
To sum up, full WPF won't be coming to Windows Live Messenger version 9, although some WPF effects will be present. This does not rule out it coming in the future: if anything it seems likely and, although nothing is confirmed, it has been strongly hinted at. If it ever did, it would be implemented well.
The news that it would do spread quickly, and with good reasons; it was positively received in Yahoo! Messenger for Vista and it would only make sense that Microsoft would mimic their own technology in a piece of software where it appeared natural to do so.
So why won't it be added? Well a source has said that full WPF will only come if it was probably implemented. Adding full WPF would require an entire re-code on the main structure of Messenger, something a piece of software that is so very visually based would take a significant development period to implement. Although full WPF hasn't been ruled out as coming to Windows Live Messenger, in order to make it to a high standard it would require more time and therefore will not come to version 9.
To sum up, full WPF won't be coming to Windows Live Messenger version 9, although some WPF effects will be present. This does not rule out it coming in the future: if anything it seems likely and, although nothing is confirmed, it has been strongly hinted at. If it ever did, it would be implemented well.
Some WPF effects will be present but they will not be fully utilised in Messenger, at least not for the next major release.
More information concerning WLM 9 WPF effects and leaked screenshots
on Tue 12 Aug 2008 (15:49 GMT) (8474 views)
on Tue 12 Aug 2008 (15:49 GMT) (8474 views)
In addition to the screenshots that are being circulated around the internet showing the upcoming build of Windows Live Messenger 9.0, we have some information to update our readers regarding the overall design of the new version as well as a new feature we're going to be seeing. As we announced a few days ago, Windows Live Messenger 9.0 will use WPF effects. These effects have been confirmed to be limited in Milestone 1 (M1) of the new version, however in the coming months we will see a complete UI using WPF effects.
The screenshots that are being circulated at this time do not show the WPF features because the build being shown is M1. We can confirm that M2 has been released internally and is currently being tested by internal dogfood testers. By the time we enter beta phase (which should be less than a month away), we will see some nifty WPF features. So if you haven't made the transition to Windows Vista, now would be the time to because Messenger is not the only thing we're going to see taking advantage of Vista only technology. Wave 3 of Windows Live is going to be the best wave we've seen, so keep checking back for more information!
Oh, and if you don't have a Microsoft Zune, we'd highly suggest you get one because there's been some awesome new features added to Windows Live Messenger that will make your Zune experience 10x better. One feature we've been told we're going to see in the next build of Windows Live Messenger is complete synchronization with your display status and your Zune Social status.
As always we've more to come. Check back with Messenger Stuff frequently for the latest information on Windows Live Messenger 9.0 and subscribe to our RSS feed for more exclusive news as we get it (or are allowed to publish it!).
The screenshots that are being circulated at this time do not show the WPF features because the build being shown is M1. We can confirm that M2 has been released internally and is currently being tested by internal dogfood testers. By the time we enter beta phase (which should be less than a month away), we will see some nifty WPF features. So if you haven't made the transition to Windows Vista, now would be the time to because Messenger is not the only thing we're going to see taking advantage of Vista only technology. Wave 3 of Windows Live is going to be the best wave we've seen, so keep checking back for more information!
Oh, and if you don't have a Microsoft Zune, we'd highly suggest you get one because there's been some awesome new features added to Windows Live Messenger that will make your Zune experience 10x better. One feature we've been told we're going to see in the next build of Windows Live Messenger is complete synchronization with your display status and your Zune Social status.
As always we've more to come. Check back with Messenger Stuff frequently for the latest information on Windows Live Messenger 9.0 and subscribe to our RSS feed for more exclusive news as we get it (or are allowed to publish it!).
Our post this week gained some extreme attention, which has seen a sharp spike in users. Well the snowball effect seems to be in place as it appears Inky, once a Windows Live intern, has published some exclusive screenshots of the new version of Windows Live Messenger:
Well, it appears Microsoft haven't really integrated the WPF effects very well, if at all, in these leaked screenshots. However I make one thing clear: it will be coming, and we have seen it. I guess now we will have to wait to see how things develop.
Edit: Apparently the screenshots shown are not of the latest build and are believed to be old. Our inside source claims the design has been tweaked and changed again in the latest version, using the WPF effects we talked about this week.
Screenshot: Contact list
Screenshot: Conversation
Screenshot: Sharing photos
Screenshot: About box
Source: mess.be
Update: See this newer post for more exclusive information regarding the next version of Windows Live Messenger, its new interface, and these leaked screenshots.
In the feature department quite a few things have been added and changed as well. The biggest of which is the new Groups feature (while the old groups are renamed to Categories). A Group is a special chat room to which you can invite your buddies, and which stays on your contact list until you delete it (making it an instant multi-party conversation). The group will appear to be online when a another buddy in the group is also online. With a group, you can share files, photos, chat history, etc. (More coverage on Liveside). Aside from groups, there's another new entry in the contact list: the Favorites category. This category is always shown at the top, and when contacts are added to them their full details are shown in your contact list (similar to the "Show all contact details" feature in v8.5). The favorites category is also shown on older clients, where it will display as a regular category.
Along with the new UI of the conversation window (most noticeably the display pictures appearing at the left side of the conversation), a new feature has also been added: photo sharing. You can add or remove photos from the current session, and browse through them while you and your buddy discuss the currently displayed photo. Although we couldn't try it out in detail yet, this promises to make it much easier to show all those holiday and party photos to your buddies.
The build in question is the first milestone after the questionable BETA period which was closed at the end of June, with a new second milestone already coming up. We can't wait to see what turns up in the next few months... Seeing as the most-requested features haven't been added yet (Messenger Team, we're looking at you!). We will keep you posted.
Well, it appears Microsoft haven't really integrated the WPF effects very well, if at all, in these leaked screenshots. However I make one thing clear: it will be coming, and we have seen it. I guess now we will have to wait to see how things develop.
Edit: Apparently the screenshots shown are not of the latest build and are believed to be old. Our inside source claims the design has been tweaked and changed again in the latest version, using the WPF effects we talked about this week.
Screenshot: Contact list Screenshot: Conversation Screenshot: Sharing photos Screenshot: About box Source: mess.beUpdate: See this newer post for more exclusive information regarding the next version of Windows Live Messenger, its new interface, and these leaked screenshots.
You may have already heard that, along with the rest of Windows Live wave 3, the next version of Windows Live Messenger (version 9.0) will have a new user interface.
After being tipped off by an unaffiliated yet trustworthy source who – naturally – doesn't want to be identified, Messenger Stuff can now reveal that the new interface will use the graphics effects available through WPF [Windows Presentation Foundation] where supported (i.e. with a decent graphics card and .NET 3.0 framework installed).
To put it simply, this finally means that we will see transparency effects in the various windows of the program, possibly similar to those already seen in Yahoo! Messenger for Vista. My bad, looks like I misunderstood the information from my source and everyone else took it out of context! We are led to believe that the actual design has not changed much but the WPF effects have been integrated well in what is bound to be a popular new addition.
In other version 9 news, the Messenger team – as with nearly everyone else inside Microsoft – are still keeping their cards close to their chest. Whilst we do know about the knew interface and that they have moved on from a milestone 1 build to a beta 2 build (seemingly counting this an an alpha build, not beta 1), we do not yet know as much about the new features.
Presumably some, if not all, of the new features will be different to those in the aforementioned alpha version if they are not being publicly disclosed. Also, since all the other Windows Live software and services seem to be getting better integration with one another Messenger might get more integration as well, including with the mysterious "Groups" and "People".
After being tipped off by an unaffiliated yet trustworthy source who – naturally – doesn't want to be identified, Messenger Stuff can now reveal that the new interface will use the graphics effects available through WPF [Windows Presentation Foundation] where supported (i.e. with a decent graphics card and .NET 3.0 framework installed).
In other version 9 news, the Messenger team – as with nearly everyone else inside Microsoft – are still keeping their cards close to their chest. Whilst we do know about the knew interface and that they have moved on from a milestone 1 build to a beta 2 build (seemingly counting this an an alpha build, not beta 1), we do not yet know as much about the new features.
Presumably some, if not all, of the new features will be different to those in the aforementioned alpha version if they are not being publicly disclosed. Also, since all the other Windows Live software and services seem to be getting better integration with one another Messenger might get more integration as well, including with the mysterious "Groups" and "People".
The Windows Live Messenger 9 beta program closed this week and looking back over the whole experience brought this question back to my mind: was this beta program public dogfood? All signs point to a big "yes" ... [long post alert!]
The actual beta program was designed to gather feedback on the totally new features (animated display pictures, signature sounds, multiple points of presence, etc) and suggestions about what people want from the new version. Releasing a build like they did at the early stage they were at in the development cycle meant that they could get good user input and feedback and actually have time to implement changes and improvements to the software.
This is unlike most of the betas we have been seeing recently (e.g. Windows Live wave 2 beta) where the changes to the software are already mapped out and beta testing only appears to be to check that it doesn't crash on "real-world" PCs and that there are no major bugs. This beta seemed to show a real shift in the way Messenger is developed, which could be attributed to the Sinofsky effect.
Microsoft need to improve their Messenger client to stay on top of the game and what better way of attracting new users (and persuading current ones to keep using it) that including new features that people actually want and not just their own ideas. Despite lots of criticism of the way this Messenger beta was handled, we are being led to believe that big changes have been happening to the software behind the scenes during all this time of unusual inactivity and silence from the development team.
They don't want these major changes and additions to the software leaked to the public and hence weren't too bothered when the things that the public knew about anyway were leaked through news and the leaking of the beta software itself. The leaking of the beta (which could easily have been prevented by Microsoft but surprisingly wasn't) also meant that they could see how the servers coped with the new features - all of which are fairly server intensive - which is one of the purposes of dogfood releases.
The closure of the beta program seems like a logical step at the moment as, with no new version since late November last year, there is nothing really left to test. Not much is known about the next beta version so, as always, everything is left to be seen in the next few months when it is released into the wild, readying itself for a final release with the rest of the Windows Live wave 3 suite in late 2008 (or early 2009).
Want some wildly guessed tips for the new version anyway? Look out for a possible new UI, changes to audio and video chats (including multi-person functionality), Windows Live Groups integration, "Echoes" integration, and Office/Office Live (Workspace) integration (and/or even Live Mesh integration).
Please note: the usual standard blogging disclaimer applies; the views expressed here are the views of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of any of their associated employers, companies or organisations.
Thanks to LiveSide for the image and plethora of links.
The actual beta program was designed to gather feedback on the totally new features (animated display pictures, signature sounds, multiple points of presence, etc) and suggestions about what people want from the new version. Releasing a build like they did at the early stage they were at in the development cycle meant that they could get good user input and feedback and actually have time to implement changes and improvements to the software.
This is unlike most of the betas we have been seeing recently (e.g. Windows Live wave 2 beta) where the changes to the software are already mapped out and beta testing only appears to be to check that it doesn't crash on "real-world" PCs and that there are no major bugs. This beta seemed to show a real shift in the way Messenger is developed, which could be attributed to the Sinofsky effect.
Microsoft need to improve their Messenger client to stay on top of the game and what better way of attracting new users (and persuading current ones to keep using it) that including new features that people actually want and not just their own ideas. Despite lots of criticism of the way this Messenger beta was handled, we are being led to believe that big changes have been happening to the software behind the scenes during all this time of unusual inactivity and silence from the development team.
They don't want these major changes and additions to the software leaked to the public and hence weren't too bothered when the things that the public knew about anyway were leaked through news and the leaking of the beta software itself. The leaking of the beta (which could easily have been prevented by Microsoft but surprisingly wasn't) also meant that they could see how the servers coped with the new features - all of which are fairly server intensive - which is one of the purposes of dogfood releases.
The closure of the beta program seems like a logical step at the moment as, with no new version since late November last year, there is nothing really left to test. Not much is known about the next beta version so, as always, everything is left to be seen in the next few months when it is released into the wild, readying itself for a final release with the rest of the Windows Live wave 3 suite in late 2008 (or early 2009).
Want some wildly guessed tips for the new version anyway? Look out for a possible new UI, changes to audio and video chats (including multi-person functionality), Windows Live Groups integration, "Echoes" integration, and Office/Office Live (Workspace) integration (and/or even Live Mesh integration).
Please note: the usual standard blogging disclaimer applies; the views expressed here are the views of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of any of their associated employers, companies or organisations.
Thanks to LiveSide for the image and plethora of links.
Messenger Stuff
