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Msn messenger logo1/22/2024 ![]() ![]() These challenges couldn't have come at a worse time because MSN was at the height of the chat wars with AOL. Then, Microsoft Passport, the key to access many services, started failing, and users couldn't log in to Hotmail and Messenger. And this happened in many countries, such as Chile, United States, Korea, and Singapore.Įstimates were that one-third of all Messenger users had some sort of problem. In 2002, many Messenger users had intermittent connections, and their buddy lists disappeared. Messenger had millions of users, had innovative features, and was, in all honesty, addicting. How we communicate today was due, mainly in part, to MSN and instant messaging. Messenger was so advanced that, with version 7.5, you could even send a 15-second voice note. You could play games like minesweeper and tic-tac-toe with your friends. The webcam calls had been a hit, with 2.5 million sessions each day. So much was its success that by December 13, 2003, Microsoft announced that it had reached an astounding 110 million users every month. With all these tools, MSN was carving its own path in the world of messaging. It was setting trends, even some of them were annoying, like the nudge, born in 2005 and perforated eardrums until its demise. Back then, Messenger was giving us what we consider fundamental right now. We had nothing but text, so a little smiley face went a long way.Īnd then, they included Webcam conversations. To the younger audience, you might not understand how essential emoticons were back then. The following versions included an integrated Windows Media Player, file transfers, and more emoticons. But through improvements and the launch of another icon, Windows XP, Messenger really took off.īesides aesthetic changes, the new operating system brought along improvements for Messenger like voice conversations and contact grouping. Messenger's first ever version was basic: it had only text and a contact list. So, this was the beginning for MSN Messenger: turbulent, truculent, but the first steps towards greatness. Oh, the tech world and how it resembles a playground fight. ![]() But then, once AOL used the flaw against its competitor, Microsoft said that the move was a bit outside the realm of fair play. In fact, at first, AOL called Microsoft a cheat for hacking them. Basically, they used their own security flaw to fool MSN's client, which, according to software analyst Geoff Chapell, is a genius yet controversial move. And Microsoft wanted them.Įventually, AOL fought back and managed to block out MSN by using the very same bug Microsoft had created, but to their advantage. ![]() Auerbach recalls that the cat and mouse game was vital because, after all, AIM had 40 million users. If Messenger found a way through, then AOL countered, day in and day out. Until AOL discovered the tiny hack.ĪOL immediately blocked Messenger, but Microsoft insisted. When MSN Messenger launched, people could talk to contacts from both antagonizing services. What if, through code, Messenger could access AIM? Yes, it sounds like a cheat, and it was. But the staff at Microsoft didn't stop there instead, they came up with a naughty but brilliant idea. MSN Messenger would connect directly with the popular email service to give millions an instant ability to chat. No easy task, but they had an ace up its sleeve: Hotmail. So Microsoft had to find a way to lure people to their software and also offer a way to connect with other platforms. In a detailed narration for NP1 Magazine, former MSN Engineer David Auerbach explains Microsoft's two significant challenges: there were already millions using the competitors' platforms, and the programs weren't compatible. Microsoft wanted in on the ever-growing instant messaging world, but it had to compete against three giants in the market: ICQ, Yahoo, and AOL Instant Messenger, known as AIM. How did this happen? We'll tell you all about that time Microsoft was cool and how Messenger lost its flair. It was part of a war between now-faded giants that were unknowingly laying the foundations of social networks.Īnd now, it's completely gone. MSN Messenger helped shape our adolescent years, from annoying nudges and animated emoticons to talking to your crush and expecting a reply.īut if we look back, we can see that it was more than just teenagers chatting amongst themselves. It not only connected friends and family. And, by the end of that decade, one of the greatest messaging services was born. A moment in history with no Whatsapp, Snapchat, or Instagram no, it's not a post-2020 dystopian novel, but rather an era called the 90's. ![]()
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