Microsoft Messenger:Mac

Contact list, chat window and pop-up alert, v7.0.2, on Mac OS X v10.5.2 "Leopard"
Developer(s)	Macintosh Business Unit
Stable release	7.0.2 / February, 2009
Operating system	Mac OS X
Type	Instant messaging
License	Proprietary
Website	www.microsoft.com

Microsoft Messenger for Mac (previously MSN Messenger for Mac) is the official Mac OS X instant messaging client for use with Microsoft's .NET Messenger Service and is developed by the Macintosh Business Unit, a division of Microsoft. However, the feature list is limited in comparison to that of its counterpart Windows Live Messenger. The client is still maintained and updated but still lacks a number of features that its Windows counterpart contains. In response^{[citation needed]} to its lack of features third-party competitors have been developed, such as Adium and aMSN.

[edit] Versions

The versions 3.x and later of Microsoft Messenger for Mac feature new Aqua graphics, whereas version 2.x and below have graphics similar to Windows Messenger 4.0. Versions 5.x use the brushed metal theme.

• Version 2.5.1 is an update to version 2.5, which is a mandatory update to version 2.1 that is available for users running Mac OS 9.2.2.
• Version 3.5 for Mac OS X revisions older than 10.2.8
• Version 4.0.1 for Mac OS X revisions 10.2.8 and newer
• Version 5.1.1 for Mac OS X revisions 10.3 and newer
• Version 6.0.3 for Mac OS X revisions 10.3.9 and newer
• Version 7.0.0 for Mac OS X 10.4.9 or newer was released on April 29, 2008.
• Version 7.0.1 for Mac OS X 10.4 or later includes minor bug fixes.
• Version 7.0.2 for Mac OS X 10.4 or later "improves overall quality and conversations with Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2."
• Version 8.0.0 for Mac OS X 10.4 or later will be released in March of 2010.^[1] There are new added features such as audio/video conferencing.

It should be noted that with the release of Microsoft Messenger for Mac 7.0, Microsoft has discontinued the client's support for older versions of their Corporate messaging systems (such as Live Communications Server 2005).^{[citation needed]} The latest version to support these older systems is Version 6.0.3, which is still available for download on the Microsoft website.

Webcam and audio support has been delayed due to Windows Live Messenger's webcam and audio engine being reworked, which meant that the Mac version had to wait until this was complete in order for both platform releases to function correctly.

Version 8.0.0 was expected to reach beta in 2009 with webcam and audio support. An unreleased and unstable version of Microsoft Messenger for Mac, labeled as version 8.0.0, was shown at Macworld Conference & Expo at the Macintosh Business Unit booth which contained webcam and audio support but no other new features.^[2] However, almost a year later no new information on this version, or any form of webcam support for personal accounts, has emerged. However, there is now a leaked version of Messenger for Mac 8, which has full microphone and webcam support.

[edit] See also

• Adium
• aMSN
• Comparison of instant messaging clients
• iChat
• Macintosh Business Unit
• Windows Live Messenger

[edit] References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (March 2008)

This article uses bare URLs. Please help improve this article by turning bare URLs into proper citations containing all of the information on the referenced work's title, date, publisher, publication, and author, so that the article remains verifiable in the future. (There are several templates available that can help to make formatting such citations simple.) This page may also be able to help find problematic links. (March 2008)

• Macworld Expo San Francisco 2005
• Microsoft Mactopia - System Requirements

[edit] External links

• Microsoft Messenger for Mac
• Review of Microsoft Messenger 6 Features