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Messenger for Mac to gain audio, video support

updated 09:10 am EST, Fri December 19, 2008

AV in Messenger for Mac


Casual users of Messenger for Mac should finally be able to engage in audio and video chats like their Windows counterparts, Microsoft has announced. Following the addition of AV chat for corporate users, Microsoft says it is now working on support for personal clients. Though the technology is currently associated with a beta of Windows Live Messenger, a matching beta of Messenger for Mac should see public release in 2009. A demo should be present at next month's Macworld conference.

Audio and video will be cross-platform, critically, allowing Mac and Windows Messenger users to communicate with each other. Microsoft notes that the next version of Messenger for Mac should also include a variety of other features, though it has declined to offer specific details.


by MacNN Staff

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TAGS :

 software, Microsoft, messenger, instant messaging, Windows Live Messenger

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Comments

  1. Guest

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Nov 1999

    +12
    12/19, 09:22am | report spam | Reply |

    wow

    just in time for the year 2000. fantastic

  1. Guest

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Nov 1999

    -3
    12/19, 09:55am | report spam | Reply |

    Too late

    Why did they make us wait for this long?? It's too late. Video/Audio for Messenger should've been available many years ago. I can't count how many times my friends made fun of me for using the Mac because it couldn't do A/V via Messenger. Forget Skype, forget iChat, those are not the apps 99% of computer users use. It's one of many reasons we can never give up Windows.

  1. Mimi-mim

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2007

    +4
    12/19, 10:01am | report spam | Reply |

    MSN

    This is crazy. Does it mean that everyone in the world doesn't use AIM? I am shocked.

  1. dliup

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jan 2006

    +6
    12/19, 10:09am | report spam | Reply |

    MsMessenger = useless

    If messenger on windows doesn't work (stutters, have echo problems, can't connect, etc.), why would you want to use the Mac version?

    AIM or SKYPE both have video / voice chats that work great.

  1. Guest

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Nov 1999

    0
    12/19, 10:18am | report spam | Reply |

    RE: dliup

    AIM's video chat support is poor (small video dimension, poor quality, etc. etc.) and Skype is sluggish on Windows. That's why people use MSN Messenger. Plus vast majority of my friends use Hotmail so they naturally stick with MSN Messenger. It's irrelevant whether AIM or Skype can do video. That's not what people use. MSN Messenger is what they use.

  1. ezyrider

    Baninated

    Joined: Apr 2005

    +6
    12/19, 10:36am | report spam | Reply |

    Re: Too Late

    Quote from Anonymous Windows Troll: It's one of many reasons we can never give up Windows.

    Geez what a moron you are. It's Microsoft's fault AV wasn't enabled in MSN for Mac. Not Apple's!!! Everyone I know uses AIM or iChat. MSN has always sucked no matter what platform you are on. Your alleged friend's are probably making fun of you for other reasons too.

  1. Will53

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jan 2006

    +3
    12/19, 10:42am | report spam | Reply |

    Everyone

    Everyone you know, exyrider, is probably living in the USA, but it is a huge world outside of it and in that world, MSN is the huge thing and I would guess that the vast majority has not even heard of AIM. Or iChat, for that matter.

  1. macnixer

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Mar 2006

    +3
    12/19, 11:00am | report spam | Reply |

    MS too late

    Frankly, MS is too late. Google launched its voice and video through its gmail servers and being cross-platform it is easier to use. I use .Mac, MSN, GTalk all together in Adium. Text is what I want and need. If I need to do voice and video then it is mostly with people on .Mac (with AIM too). I used the corporate MSN chat too as that is the only method to communicate with my off-shore colleagues in India who are not allowed to use any other chat system in the office there.

    BTW the MSN video is better on the Mac even on corporate servers.

  1. nat

    Junior Member

    Joined: Mar 2002

    +10
    12/19, 11:27am | report spam | Reply |

    once again

    ms is late to the game (what's the very last major im to the scene?). and once again it gets market share by way of default through windows.

    ballmer recently touted how it's no. 1 in the rest of the world but not "yet" in the us. duh. go to the "rest of the world" and people who own their own computers use skype. those that don't use internet cafe's which are all windows which all have guess what bundled with it.
    in the last several years i've mountain biked across spain, france, part of germany, poland and the czech republic and you find an internet cafe when you can and they're packed with people using windows. have biker friends whom i regularly chat with in romania, lithuania, australia, spain, france, england, norway and germany. they all use skype on their personal computer.

    so you don't give up windows if you don't want to. i have no need.

  1. Athens

    Addicted to MacNN

    Joined: Jan 2003

    +5
    12/19, 11:29am | report spam | Reply |

    LOL @ MS

    AIM = Americans
    MSN = Rest of world

    I got most of my friends to switch to skype, not for the A/V which was only a small part of it, but the cross platform encryption of chats. I couldn't care less if MSN got it now because Skype is a better Text/Video client.

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