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New IM networks for Windows Live?

By on March 31, 2009 11:55 PM
25 comments

Liveside

No doubt about it Windows Live Messenger is popular, almost everyone has a Windows Live ID & messenger is installed on almost every new computer. Thus making it an easy choice for most peoples IM needs.

However, there are still a lot of people who use another service, Microsoft connected Messenger to Yahoo’s IM service a while ago… Now they are ready to open it up to everyone.. and I do mean everyone

AOL, ICQ, Skype, Facebook & Google Talk are among the services mentioned in a leaked internal message to developers.

 

“We are currently aiming to achieve full integrative support for widely popular instant messaging networks. Therefore, we have started discussions with the back-end and front-end Developer Teams of AOL LLC, Skype Ltd and Google Inc. Furthermore, we have intensified our cooperation with Facebook Inc. for a similar purpose,”

says Dharmesh Mehta, Windows Live Messenger Product Manager.

Going by the source it seems that the “integrative support” will show up sometime in Q4 2009. Right around the time that Windows Live Wave 4 hits.

I for one, am very excited about this… One IM client instead of 5… that will be nice.

We will just have to wait and see if the can smoothly pull it off, are you excited about this?

Posted in News | Tags:

Comments

  • http://sync-tech.net/forum Chris-Gonzales

    I see this happening. Have one program that can connect to all other im clicents and being able to be loged in all at the same time. Much like Pal-Talk

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/jamiet/default.aspx jamiet

    Great news.

    IM standards are really what’s required tho. Remember what happened when SMTP came about?

  • http://menthix.net/ Menthix

    I’ll wait for april fools to pass before I make a proper comment :p.

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/Khristopher/default.aspx Khristopher

    Considering it’s still not April 1 in most places in the world, I would say this is not an April Fool’s joke.

    Sounds pretty awesome, and I hope it turns out to be true. It’s something I thought might happen someday, and would only benefit everyone.

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/damaster/default.aspx damaster

    The new Messenger Web toolkit at mynetx (the link referenced to in this article) works great! We should implement that here at LiveSide =)

    And this is great news! Finally integration with all the IM platforms out there.

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/ddelor/default.aspx ddelor

    I’m a big fan of Digsby, but Messenger is more refined and this would probably secure its lead in the IM world if it can pull it off seamlessly. I know that I would certainly switch back to Messenger if they added AOL and Facebook to it. Here’s hoping this is for real.

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/Alber1690/default.aspx Alber1690

    Would love Facebook IM integration…that would be awesome.

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/orionll/default.aspx orionll

    Woah, cool!

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/JSYOUNG571/default.aspx JSYOUNG571

    WOW! that is great. Just wondering about the release date. That could be next year. BTW, aren’t we still waiting on web messenger in Hotmail?

  • http://home.live.com/ Dharmesh Mehta

    Hilarious. Looks like the folks over at mynetx got you tripped up. Happy April Fool’s Day!

    I’m looking forward to seeing you put together a more creative story that can one up them. =)

    -Dharmesh

  • JohnCz

    It would be a win win win situation. A win for Microsoft, a win for competiting social networks and more importantly a win for consumers. If there is a loser in more IM network interoperability it could be some of the 3rd party IM clients out there.

  • http://gregsedwards.spaces.live.com gregsedwards

    I’d feel a lot more optimistic about this if they could figure out how to bring a decent web-based IM experience to Windows Live.

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/ChaosAngelic/default.aspx ChaosAngelic

    Right now? Oh, I’m REALLY hoping this isn’t an early April Fools’ joke. Seems like all the great announcements are made around this time, which is why I hate this time of year. XD

    (Especially when the April Fools’ products are things I’d actually want! ^^;)

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/Jamie/default.aspx Jamie

    I really hope this is true – more IM networks and facebook!!

    Liveside, Livesino and any other site reporting this. try and get ‘Independant’ confirmation from a trustworthy Microsoft/ Windows Live management source.

    I like to question the timezone of authors of mynetx – if somewhere like Australia then sadly the chances of April fool prank is more possible :(

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/yogi76/default.aspx yogi76

    We’ve been waiting for IM interoperability for what seems like forever… remember the IMUnified Coalition? I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

  • http://msftandthefuture.spaces.live.com/ Quikboy

    Sounds swell. Most of my friends unfortunately use AIM (That has got to be the worst!), and don’t feel compelled to use another service because all of their friends have AIM too.

    Now I might not even bother having to deal with crappy AIM anymore :)

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/madboggar/default.aspx madboggar

    This is great news, get rid of the rest of the IM i am using. Roll on Q4.. I suppose it will be the same on the Live messenger mobile as well

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/mfitz3232/default.aspx mfitz3232

    I can’t wait for this update. The only reason I have not been using Live Messenger was because of the fact it did not use AIM. The addition of Facebook will be a huge plus that I did not even think of.

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/jamiet/default.aspx jamiet

    I think we;ve all been had!!!

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/zeke009/default.aspx zeke009

    This would not be a very funny April Fool’s joke if it were one.

    I really hope this happens and could see it being a two way partnership. WLM can add AIM users, while AIM can add WLM users. With WLM in the middle of all of this they will benefit the most, hopefully other clients do the same thing and see one big happy family of IM Clients. Users can pick their client of choice and interact with users on other services. It would create more competition in this area and we’d see better IM clients.

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/Jamie/default.aspx Jamie

    The evil ones at mynetx have tweeted suggesting it was April foolsprank … – the horrible meanies!!!

    # @dharmeshmehta If you like my idea so much, why not make it true – finally? Would make a hilarious fulfillment of the joke…
    about 9 hours ago from TwitterFox (source: @mynetx)

    if this tweet is to be believed it was a hope for april fool prank and Dharmesh Mehta seems to ‘like’ the idea.

  • http://blog.mynetx.net/ mynetx

    Dear LiveSide readers,

    Adding support for additional instant messaging networks has always been on a high place on the wish list for Windows Live Messenger. People were excited when they have to know that Microsoft and Yahoo would cooperate to allow using the networks in both company’s clients, back in 2005. People were even more excited when they learnt that the Windows Live team had not lied and integration really came true in 2006.

    However, since then, not much has happened in relation to cooperation between big chat networks. Even the situation between Microsoft and Yahoo has become quite strange since last year’s happenings. For now, the latest report published on “mynetx – Windows Live Enhanced” ( http://blog.mynetx.net/ ) as well as “Messenger Stuff” ( http://www.msgstuff.com/ ) is a made-up story, as far as considering the planned cooperation of Windows Live with ICQ, AIM, Skype, Google Talk and Facebook Chat.

    Microsoft landed a big coup with Windows Live Wave 3, adding social networking features and reinventing the world of Live Spaces as well as introducing new functionality like Windows Live Profile and Web Activities showing up in omnipresent “What’s New” feeds.

    Sadly, implementing Facebook as a new Web Activity, something that had always been in the mind of the Windows Live Managers, took longer than expected, which is the reason why it is still not released to the public yet. From the latest news that I read, the release date for Facebook “What’s New” integration is already set internally, only not announced yet.

    Adding support for all major instant messaging networks would make Windows Live Messenger the unquestionable no. 1, and we should really hope that Microsoft would finally realize exactly this. The tremendous amount of comments and enthusiasm about this news story, here at LiveSide as well as at the corresponding news posts at Messenger Stuff and in my blog, shows what Messenger users throughout the world think about such a universal Instant Messaging integration.

    Dear Windows Live Team, do you see how much your users want it?

    mynetx
    Windows Live Enhanced – http://blog.mynetx.net/
    Messenger Stuff – http://www.msgstuff.com/

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/Edgar-J_2E00_/default.aspx Edgar J.

    Great… waiting!!!!

    also wating for web messenger arrgh!!

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/ChaosAngelic/default.aspx ChaosAngelic

    GAH! Microsoft should really get to work on this. Why’d you have to post that a day early? >.>

  • http://www.liveside.net/members/Bi0hazard/default.aspx Bi0hazard

    Now if only they could get it to work with xfire :)

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