Here is a skin I've come across a couple of weeks ago for Windows Live Messenger 2009. Snow Leopard skin, based on Apple's new version of OS X 10.6 that was released last month is designed to make Messenger look like Apple's popular operating system UI.



Personally, I think this skin several flaws as it places too much emphasis on Leopard's style wallpaper, rather than the clean, slate feel of other Apple products e.g. iTunes. What makes this interesting is that others don't seem to agree and it has become one of the most popular skins created for MSN/ Windows Live Messenger. The skin has had over 1 million downloads despite still being in its beta stage.

If this skin looks appealing to you, then I recommend giving it ago as it is one of the fastest growing skins I've seen in terms of popularity for MSN/ Windows Live Messenger and its creator, coolzee deserves great credit for that achievement.

Download Snow Leopard skin for Windows Live Messenger 2009 (requires Messenger Plus! Live)

With the release of Windows Live Movie Maker this week, the second QFE (Quick Fix Engineering) patch has been released for the Windows Live Wave 3 cycle, updating the entire range of Windows Live desktop applications, including Windows Live Messenger.

Microsoft have not confirmed what the update provides, but one can assume it is security or integration with Windows Live Movie Maker related. The release does not fix the large personal message bug we talked about earlier in the week. Jonathan-Kay has provided a msi file for each installer over at his blog.

This release does not appear to conflict with add-ons such as Messenger Plus! Live and Willz has confirmed skins are unaffected.

Download Windows Live Messenger

A couple of days late, but rather now than never: Windows Live Messenger 9 has experienced a very small update. There are no obvious changes with the new build, and all add-ons appear to be compatible with the release. The Messenger team are forcing users to update and stop using any older builds. This may be linked to recent updates to the Messenger protocol, and thus the new version may be to optimise the application to work in sync with it.

See the announcement at the MessengerSays blog

The latest release candidate of Windows Live Messenger 2009 (Wave 3 generation) has now become the official first release of the next Messenger milestone. The official announcement came at Steve Ballmer's annual CES conference this week. There are no new builds or changes to the application, so essentially, if you are using the latest RC build of Windows Live Messenger, you now using the final release (the best auto-update I have seen).

Some notes on the update

1. Skinning is now possible again. Willz has posted he has started work again thanks to a new breakthrough in reserve engineering the skinning engine. The significant worry was patches and skins would no longer we able to work with the update.
2. A Messenger Plus! Live update is in development, and its skinning engine is still supported. In fact Patchou has to be given credit for restoring skins again. No word on when an update will be coming, all we know is you won't be waiting too much longer now that Windows Live Messenger 2009 is final.

So, after a long development period Windows Live Messenger 9 has finally been released. The update has added a definite polish to the program and it generally feels a less buggy, more robust product. Moreover it came a month before anticipated. The only question now is, what's next for Messenger?

Download Windows Live Messenger 2009

Recognise the numbers in the title? You should do if you're an avid Messenger user as they've all been used in relation to the latest versions of Windows Live Messenger. But which one should be used to describe the next generation of our favourite instant messaging software? This post will try and clear up some of the ambiguity.

3 - as in Windows Live Messenger Wave 3; this is not used in official titles by Microsoft but you may see it being referred to as "Wave 3" quite a lot. This is because it is the version of Messenger being released as part of Windows Live Wave 3 (the term wave is used to describe a group of Windows Live software and services released at the same time).

9 - the logical choice for the next major version of Messenger after 8.5, and the version number given to the first dogfood beta version (also known as "beta 0" or "beta 1") after the last 8.5 release.

14 - the build number used in the actual beta software and for the rest of the Windows Live Wave 3 applications. The number has jumped so much so that all these version numbers are unified (and is the number 14 as it follows on from 12 which was given to a lot of the applications in Windows Vista and Windows Live Wave 2 and to the last version of Office - missing out number 13 as it was deemed too unlucky).

2009 - the overall term used to describe all versions of Messenger released as part of Wave 3 (despite what their specific version or build numbers are). "Version 2009" is used officially by Microsoft and can be seen in the latest public builds of Messenger. 2009 is used as the final version will be released then, along with the other Windows Live Essentials software. "Version 2008" was used to describe the 8.5 version of Messenger which was released in 2008 as part of Wave 2.

So, the rule of thumb? It seems to be to use Windows Live Messenger 2009 to generally talk about Wave 3 builds or use Windows Live Messenger 14.x version numbers when talking about a specific build.



A bit extra on Windows Live & Windows 7:

Sorry, I couldn't resist a ramble of speculation and summarization here. I already mentioned how the unified version numbers follow on from the applications in Vista. As most of these apps are now duplicated by Windows Live Essentials (e.g. Mail, Photo Gallery) they are being removed from Windows 7 in favour of the Windows Live apps. This is also partly so that the pieces of software can be updated more often - through a Windows Live Wave - that they would be otherwise - just through a major operating system release. But presumably the built-in applications left in Windows 7 (e.g. Calculator, Paint, WordPad) will also be version 14 builds to follow on from Vista? And the Wave 3 software UI is the same as we have seen in Windows 7. So Windows Live Wave 3 and Windows 7 are surely designed to go together ... ?

It is planned that Windows Live Essentials (Wave 3) final will be released in Q1 of 2009. This should be after the Windows 7 beta 1 release but most likely before the RTM, meaning that there will be plenty of time to sort out any remaining problems between the Essentials software and Windows 7 before the general public begin experiencing the two together. This strongly suggests to me that there will no further major update to Windows Live until a while after the Windows 7 release (depending on how early Microsoft actually release 7).

It makes sense to link the two together and in some way have a coordinated release cycle/roadmap to avoid confusion to users and promote both products - although it is still unclear exactly how much Windows Live will be promoted within Windows 7. However, despite all these suggestions, in a recent interview Windows Live general manager Brian Hall "said it was too soon to say if the 'Wave 4' release would precede Windows 7 or be coincident to it". Make of that what you will.

So it has been two days since the initial release of Windows Live Messenger build 1202. There have been quite a few problems reported regarding compatibility issues with various pieces of software. However, I'm sure that you're enjoying this build as much as we are!

So this is what we do know:

• Messenger Plus! Live is not compatible 100% with this new build. We've confirmed reports that there is issues with your taskbar not flashing when you receive a message, and this is due to Messenger Plus! Live and the changes that were made to build 1202. So at this point, we are recommending that you un-install Messenger Plus! Live until a compatible version is released. If you're like me and you cannot live without Messenger Plus! Live, then subscribe to our RSS feed and we'll let you know as soon the release is available to everyone.


• The previous changes to the way the UI is coded has yet again been changed. Making it harder for skinners and programmers to update their pieces of work. However, TheBlasphemer and TheSteve are hard at work cracking the new protection. TB has also posted some information regarding the new protection, with some a snippet of information on how to workaround the new protection. TB has also noted that full documentation on the new workaround will be released to the public as soon as it's ready. Fellow programmers and skinners are working together to make sure the documentation will be easy to use.


• Yesterday we reported some workarounds for those of you who are experiencing trouble signing into the new build of Windows Live Messenger. After further investigating the issues, we've received confirmation that AVG's Messenger Control is blocking the new build of Windows Live Messenger. We strongly recommend that you disable AVG until a release is made to the program that does not block the new build. We'll let you guys know when and if it is updated!


• Once again, developer Ahmad is the first to release a patch for build 1202. Please note: This is not the full version of A-Patch. It's been released as a "light" version with 10 options. You can download it here Please be aware that using any type of patch is against Microsoft's Terms of Service.


• Liveside.net news reporter Sunshine has discovered that the new messenger build now supports polygamy (running more than once instant of messenger at a time), without the need for add-ons. However, in order to enable this feature you need to edit the Windows registry. Instructions on how to do this can be found on Liveside.net.

In other news, Messenger Stuff is now apart of Windows Live Alerts. This is still in works, and we're working out the kinks in the feeds. However, we're in a great position to release it to all of our readers so they can be alerted via messenger when we publish a new article on the website. With this new edition to the website, you can now either Sign up for Windows Live Alerts or subscribe to our RSS feed.

Stay tuned for more information!

Following yesterdays release of Windows Live Messenger Build 1202, we've seen a huge increase of users not being able to log-in to their messenger.

If you have downloaded the individual installer, you must install the other critical portions of the Windows Live Essentials Beta in order to run the build smoothly. The essentials suite downloads Windows Live Communications Platform, Microsoft Application Error Reporting, and Microsoft Visual Studio Runtime. The links for these applications can be found below, special thanks to Jonathan Kay.

We've also had reports that the anti-virus program AVG has been causing problems letting users log-in. If your unable to login, make sure you check your firewall settings, and if you're using AVG try disabling it.

If you still cannot log-in to your messenger, please post a thread in our support forum and we'll help you fix it.

Guest posting is enabled in our messenger support forums, but we encourage you to register an account so you can come back to us for all of your messenger needs.

Download: Windows Live Communications Platform
Download: Microsoft Application Error Reporting (32-bit)
Download: Microsoft Application Error Reporting (64-bit)
Download: Microsoft Visual Studio Runtime

It's official guys, Windows Live Messenger 9 RC build 1202 has been released, along with the entire Windows Live Essentials release candidates. The change-log has not been officially released, however here's what we've observed after installing the Messenger release candidate:

1. The games activity has been redesigned (Screenshot)
2. New feature: Save your shared photos
3. New e-mail icon in contact list(Screenshot)
4. Blocked contacts now more noticeable
5. 20+ new animated display pictures and status display pictures
6. New Messenger scenes (Screenshot)
7. Status text contact name in contact list has been removed
8. Signature sounds have been removed. It must be due to the belief that some annoying sounds could be created and the service abused. But it appears as if you can assign your own contacts signature sounds that play locally
9. New feature: Your contact's latest feed is now shown in the conversation window (Screenshot)
10. Redesigned sign-in layout
11. Fixed the highly publicised custom emoticon bug
12. New layout options (Screenshot)
• Sort your categories alphabetically or by status
• Show your offline contacts in your categories instead of a separate "Offline" category, or show them in a separate category if you want
• Show your offline SMS contacts in their own category
13. Redesigned toasts with transparency effects (Screenshot)
14. New Messenger buddy icon
15. Redesigned conversation window (minor tweaks from previous Wave 3 build) (Screenshot)
16. Windows 7 Jumplists updated (Screenshot, thanks to Tom Warren)
17. Plus many other UI changes that make this build sexy!

Compatibility note: The current version of Messenger Plus! Live does not seem to be fully compatible with this new build. We will update you with more information regarding Plus! when it's available, however most of your loved features still work (tabbed chatting, chat logging, etc).

Download Windows Live Essentials Beta (includes Windows Live Messenger)
Download the direct .exe (full) installer that will allow you to choose what to install
View additional screenshots
Download the individual Messenger installer, please note that you do need a few other components installed for messenger to run properly!
Spot a new feature or change? Comment this post or drop me an e-mail, RebelSean at live dot com.

Darren Huston, Corporate Vice President of Consumer and Online International at Microsoft, has revealed a more detailed timeline for the future of the Windows Live Wave 3 applications and services this week. LiveSide claims a new version of Windows Live Messenger will be released next week (with around 200 bug fixes!):



You can expect the scoop when the build is released (presuming it is). Let's hope all those small, annoying, little issues are resolved. In case you were wondering what has been going on in the beta world, here's some statistics that we've received about bug reports since the last beta version:

By design: 81
Duplicate: 1
External: 15
Fixed: 191
N/A (investigating): 113
Not reproducible: 46
Postponed: 52
Won't fix: 125

Further reading: LiveSide - Life Without Walls, Windows Live Timeline Revealed

Extra footnote by the andyman: The new versions of the Windows Live Wave 3 applications being released next week (or around the 15th of December as I'm hearing from other sources) - through the new Windows Live Essentials installer - should be the release candidates (RC) of the software, meaning that not much will change between then and when the final versions are released approx 9th/10th February next year. Expect the new Messenger build to look something like the one shown in this teaser video a few weeks ago.

Messenger Stuff is pleased to announce that from this month onwards we are going to run a monthly poll based on recent Windows Live services or technology issues. To kick the poll off, we have chosen the following topic for you to vote on:

What do you like most about the Windows Live Messenger 9 (Wave 3) beta?
Please note: There is no need to register on the forum in order to vote as guest posting and voting is enabled.

Click here to cast your vote!