There 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.
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".
According to Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft are currently making a new platform — code-named Echoes — designed to be implemented by (mobile/cell) phone companies, aka carriers, so that not only can Microsoft try and stay on top of the game by encouraging more of these companies to deploy Windows Live mobile services to their customers, and do it more easily, but also so that the customers (us!) get these useful features:
With part 1 of Echoes (scheduled for summer 2008, approx. July):
So is this why we're still waiting for another beta version of Messenger 9? Foley also says:
The full extent of Echoes should apparently be seen in the next year or two.
Source: All about Microsoft: Microsoft's grand plan to eliminate phone numbers
With part 1 of Echoes (scheduled for summer 2008, approx. July):
- Synced Windows Live Contacts on your phone — Your contacts from Messenger appear in your phone's address book. Among other things this means that you don't have to know a contact's phone number to call them as each contact will have their mobile number 'assigned' to them (hence Bill saying "We can get rid of phone numbers" in another one of his good old visions of the future). It seems that the Echoes platform will push new contacts and contact updates to your phone without it needing special client software.
- Simultaneous ringing — Presumably similar to how simultaneous ringing (or dual forking) works with Office Communications Server and how MPOP [multiple points of presence] works in Windows Live Messenger 9 (currently in private beta). It will probably mean that when you ring a contact from your phone it will call their phone and PC and they can choose which one to answer, and vice-versa so that you can call a contact's phone and PC from your PC.
- IM to SMS continuity — A bit like the current mobile messaging integrated into Messenger. Allows you to send a text message to a mobile contact (who will always appear 'online' or similar if they don't choose otherwise?) from within Messenger and their SMS reply returns to you as an IM.
- Who knows? Integration with landline phones? Synchronisation with your schedule/calendar and mail? Your phone's voicemail in Messenger? It's all unified communications!
So is this why we're still waiting for another beta version of Messenger 9? Foley also says:
The word is Echoes Phase 1 will be shipped with Microsoft’s Windows Live Messenger 9.0 beta clients until Microsoft releases the final Windows Live Messenger Wave 3 release in the fourth quarter of 2008.
The full extent of Echoes should apparently be seen in the next year or two.
Source: All about Microsoft: Microsoft's grand plan to eliminate phone numbers
Messenger Stuff
