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72-698: Development of SPOT began as an incubation project initiated by the Microsoft Research division. SPOT was first announced by Bill Gates at the COMDEX computer exposition event in 2002, and additional details were revealed by Microsoft at the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show where Gates demonstrated a set of prototype smartwatches —the first type of device that would support the technology. Unlike more recent technologies, SPOT did not use more traditional forms of connectivity, such as 3G or Wi-Fi , but relied on FM broadcasting subcarrier transmission as

144-450: A 100  MHz RF receiver chip . SPOT was unveiled by Bill Gates at the annual COMDEX computer exposition event in fall of 2002. Gates stated that "new devices and technologies will help bring about the next computing revolution" and demonstrated refrigerator magnets that displayed the current time and sports scores , and an alarm clock that could display a list of upcoming appointments, traffic updates , and weather forecasts . At

216-499: A SPOT-powered coffeemaker, for example, would be able to display information such as weather forecasts on an electronic visual display. Smartwatches featured digital watch displays, referred to as Channels , that presented information in a manner that could be customized by a user—a user could also specify the default channel to be displayed; this feature was functionally analogous with a home screen commonly seen in mobile operating systems . Additional channels could be downloaded from

288-507: A consistent navigation experience across Windows -based devices, such as smart phones , tablet PCs , and those powered by SPOT. Microsoft intended for XEEL to create a consistent navigation experience across hardware devices that equaled the software interface navigation consistency introduced by the mouse scroll wheel . In June 2003, Microsoft unveiled its MSN Direct wireless service developed specifically for SPOT, which would be made available across North America. The company stated that

360-560: A free version of Microsoft Teams became available after years as a component of an Office 365 subscription. Teams inherited the Microsoft accounts architecture, allowing users to invite contacts from the discontinued services, MSN Messenger and Skype . Before the product was renamed Windows Live Messenger, it was named "MSN Messenger" from 1999 to 2006. During that time, Microsoft released seven major versions as follows. The first version of MSN Messenger Service, version 1.0 (1.0.0863),

432-558: A major upgrade to version 7.0 on April 7, 2005. This version brought wink features that were previously only available in threedegrees . This version also advertised items to sell to you including animated display pictures , emoticons and backgrounds. The contact list window style was also updated to match instant message windows. This version also introduced the Xbox Live Integration feature. This version also introduced digital ink and handwriting recognition support. It

504-500: A message for a maximum of 15 seconds and send it to the recipient. The window for conversations was changed slightly with an added video button. This version also introduced the Windows Installer for its auto-update feature. As part of Microsoft's Windows Live effort, which rebranded many existing MSN services and programs, MSN Messenger was renamed "Windows Live Messenger" beginning with version 8.0. The first beta of

576-426: A method of data distribution. While several types of electronics would eventually support the technology throughout its lifecycle, SPOT was considered a commercial failure . Reasons that have been cited for its failure include its subscription-based business model , support limited to North America , the emergence of more efficient and popular forms of data distribution, and mobile feature availability that surpasses

648-411: A multi-year deal to collaborate with Syneos Health in development of a platform to leverage machine learning for the optimization of clinical trials. Microsoft's "AI for Good" initiative represents a significant commitment to leveraging artificial intelligence technology for social and environmental benefits. This initiative is part of a broader vision by Microsoft to utilize AI in addressing some of

720-439: A new Photo Sharing utility that allows contacts to quickly and easily browse photos together, and a "What's New" section at the bottom of the contact list to outline recent contact updates. Display pictures have been moved over to the left side of conversation windows, and new colorful borders appear around display pictures to display the current status of that contact. Milestone 3 is the first version of Windows Live Messenger to use

792-469: A public beta of Windows Live Messenger Wave 4 was released as part of the new Windows Live Essentials beta. A "beta refresh" of Windows Live Messenger Wave 4 was released on August 17, 2010, as part of an upgraded Windows Live Essentials beta. The final version of Windows Live Messenger 2011 (Wave 4) was released on September 30, 2010. On the same date, a version of Windows Live Messenger for Zune HD also became available. On June 14, 2012, Microsoft made

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864-453: A removal of the custom sign-in sound feature however it is still possible to select a sound for other individuals, as well as changes to how the background image chosen is applied to the conversation windows. This build also included over 200 bug fixes including the "Custom Emoticon Bug" and saving of pictures when using the Photo sharing feature. On January 7, 2009, the same build was released as

936-621: A revamped interface which brings the "What's new" section of Windows Live to the new "social pane", similar to the way a social networking site presents updates. Among the new features are tabbed conversations, a redesign of the old emoticons, integration of Bing results, built-in video message support, HD video chat, in-line commenting of social updates, a new social photo viewer that supports commenting (for Facebook and SkyDrive photos), badges support, synchronized status updates, availability by categories, as well as integration with Facebook chat . However, several features had also been removed from

1008-499: A security problem, all users of versions 8.1 and newer need to update to the latest version, 14.0.8089. The mandatory upgrade requirement would be fully phased in by late October 2009 and began on September 15, 2009. The first beta of Windows Live Messenger 8.5, Beta 1, was released on May 31, 2007. An update was released on June 21, 2007, to test updates being installed by Microsoft Update . This version required Windows XP SP2, compared to previous versions requiring Windows XP SP1. It

1080-523: A security vulnerability in versions of Messenger older than 8.1, that the released fix would resolve. This led to an auto-update being released to all older versions. Versions running on Windows 2000 and below were required to update to a new version of MSN Messenger 7.0, and versions running on Windows XP and above were required to update to Windows Live Messenger 8.1. On August 27, 2009, the Windows Live Messenger blog posted that due to

1152-563: A specialized website, and a Glance feature would allow a user to cycle through downloaded information. Manufacturers could also add their own features to SPOT-based devices; as an example, a manufacturer could create its own smartwatch channel in order to distinguish its product from a competitor's product. Each SPOT-based device included a unique identification number used to enable secure authentication and encryption of DirectBand signals. Microsoft also reportedly considered an alarm function for SPOT-based smartwatches that would activate in

1224-413: A topological quantum computer from Majorana quasiparticles. In 2002, Michael Freedman , who led Microsoft’s quantum research at Station Q in 2005, authored a paper with Kitaev demonstrating how a topological quantum computer could perform any computation that a conventional quantum computer could. In 2005, 2006 and 2008,  Sankar Das Sarma , Freedman and Chetan Nayak developed theoretical proposals for

1296-548: A topological qubit using the  fractional quantum Hall effect and for topological quantum computing based on non-abelian anyons. In 2015, Microsoft developed the theoretical framework of Majorana zero modes for information processing through braiding-based topological quantum computing. In 2023, Microsoft research demonstrated the creation and control of Majorana quasiparticles for topological quantum computing. In 2024, Microsoft created 4 logical qubits from 30 physical qubits, demonstrating reliable logical qubits by reducing

1368-555: A video call, the Send button, some games (depending on your localization) and integration with Windows Contacts . Other features were replaced, such as Sharing Folders (replaced by integration with Windows Live SkyDrive) and background sharing (replaced by the "Scene" feature). On December 15, 2008, Windows Live Messenger 2009 RC (Build 14.0.8050.1202) was released together with the other Windows Live Wave 3 software applications, now renamed as Windows Live Essentials . This version saw

1440-411: A week later, Microsoft began sending out emails welcoming them to the Windows Live Messenger "9" beta program for the first release, known as Beta 0. A fan site for Windows Live Messenger, Mess.be, claimed to have a new build of Windows Live Messenger "9" on August 11, 2008, and published screenshots along with a brief summary of new features. The screenshots featured a new user interface design matching

1512-530: Is a recent feature of Windows Live Messenger 2011, and is a departure from the previous versions of Windows Live Messenger, where blocking a contact would prevent the "blockee" from sending the user any messages to the "blocker". With the "appear offline to" configuration currently implemented, "hidden from" users can still send "offline messages" to the target. Users can connect services such as Facebook , MySpace and LinkedIn using Windows Live Profile , and display their contact's Messenger social updates within

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1584-576: Is interactive and supports full screen and slideshow modes, as well as viewing and uploading comments on Facebook and SkyDrive albums. It also supports people tagging for SkyDrive. The album viewer closely resembles the Microsoft Silverlight counterpart for web photo albums present on SkyDrive. Windows Live Messenger allows users to appear offline to particular individual contacts, as well as to an entire category within Windows Live Messenger, while appearing online to other contacts. This

1656-457: Is the ability to import and save/export instant messaging contacts to and from .CTT files. In late March 2010, a beta of Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 was leaked onto the internet and has since spread to various BitTorrent networks, which included a private beta build of Windows Live Messenger Wave 4. However, as the software was designed for private beta testing, non-beta testers cannot sign into this leaked build. The new software features

1728-531: Is the last version of MSN Messenger to support Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows 2000. The last version of MSN Messenger before the name change, version 7.5, was released August 23, 2005. New features included the Dynamic Backgrounds feature and the "msnim" protocol handler, which allowed Web sites to provide links which automatically add a contact or start conversations. Additionally, a new Voice Clips feature allowed users to hold down F2 and record

1800-633: Is the research subsidiary of Microsoft . It was created in 1991 by Richard Rashid , Bill Gates and Nathan Myhrvold with the intent to advance state-of-the-art computing and solve difficult world problems through technological innovation in collaboration with academic, government, and industry researchers. The Microsoft Research team has more than 1,000 computer scientists, physicists, engineers, and mathematicians, including Turing Award winners, Fields Medal winners, MacArthur Fellows , and Dijkstra Prize winners. Between 2010 and 2018, 154,000 AI patents were filed worldwide, with Microsoft having by far

1872-431: The user interface artwork, and a Windows Media Player interface plug-in. Version 6.0 of MSN Messenger was released July 17, 2003. MSN Messenger 6.0 was a major overhaul of the whole platform, upgrading its simple text-based interface to include customizable elements such as emoticons, personalized avatars, and backgrounds. An update, version 6.1, focused on improvements to the conversation window, enabling users to hide

1944-590: The " Wave 3 " design in development by Microsoft. The images were later removed by the site after a DMCA notice was received. The installer for the same build was leaked through private forums on August 23, 2008. It would later be discovered this build was a preview of Milestone 2, or M2. News web site LiveSide published an article on September 4, 2008, with screenshots of M2 of the newly minted "Windows Live Messenger 2009", which had become version 14.0 instead of 9.0 as previously expected. LiveSide summarized its new features, including protection against messaging spam ,

2016-610: The Consumer Electronics Show of 2003, Microsoft announced that wristwatches would be the first type of device to utilize the technology in a partnership with watch manufacturers Citizen Watch Co. , Fossil , and Suunto . Bill Gates also demonstrated a set of prototype smart watches. SPOT was not Microsoft's first foray into the smartwatch business—the company previously co-developed the Timex Datalink with Timex in 1994. During CES, Microsoft claimed that

2088-555: The MSN/Windows Live Messenger functional again. The service is now provided under the name Escargot MSN . In addition to its basic functionality and general capability as an instant messaging client, the latest version of Windows Live Messenger offered the following features: Windows Live Messenger's album viewer is based on Windows Photo Gallery and provides users a photo viewing experience for photo albums shared via SkyDrive and Facebook. The album viewer

2160-506: The Messenger team had been working on multi-person audio/video chat, and they are also attempting to create interoperability with AIM / XMPP / ICQ . There is a basic internal version that works with XMPP already. However, these features were not seen in any versions of Windows Live Messenger 2009. Microsoft sent an invitation to participate in the Windows Live Messenger "9" beta program to Microsoft Connect members on November 20, 2007;

2232-491: The US, and an option for sounds to be edited and/or turned off and another redesign of the log in page, The official release of Windows Live Messenger version 8.0 was on June 19, 2006. Although no notable changes were made between Beta 3 and the final version, the change from MSN Messenger to Windows Live Messenger brought some additional changes, such as customization for the nicknames of individual contacts, timestamps on messages,

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2304-434: The ability to see a contact's name only once if the same person writes multiple messages in a row, and color schemes for the entire application. The main authentication system, Microsoft Passport Network , was replaced with Windows Live ID at the same time. A refresh to version 8.0 was released on August 10, 2006. It included audio and video improvements and fixed up minor bugs. The first update to Windows Live Messenger

2376-486: The ability to stay signed into the application from several computers (referred to as "Multiple Points of Presence Support"), animated GIF files in the photo area, per-contact customized sounds for various user actions, and clickable URLs in the status area. Microsoft began the official beta program for Windows Live Messenger 2009 on September 17, 2008, when it released a new beta officially known as Windows Live Messenger 2009 Beta (Milestone 3, Build 14.0.5027.908), which

2448-473: The company's competitors; Karr proposed FM broadcasting subcarrier transmission as a method of distribution, technology which would also be used by Microsoft's SPOT. Microsoft Research and SCA Data Systems would ultimately develop the DirectBand subcarrier technology for SPOT. National Semiconductor would aid in the development of device chipsets , which would feature an ARM7 CPU and ROM , SRAM , and

2520-485: The contact list, and the display of these scenes in conversation windows for improved contact identification and window management. Milestone 3 also brings a new " Groups " feature that allows users to create a continuous group conversation between select contacts, newly redesigned status icons which now resemble small gems rather than the previous "Messenger Buddy" icons, a new default "Favorites" category in which you can place your favorite contacts for easy access to them,

2592-484: The core Microsoft Research labs and Microsoft Research AI, Microsoft Research NExT (for New Experiences and Technologies), and other incubation efforts all directed by corporate vice president Peter Lee . Microsoft research is categorized into the following broad areas: Microsoft Research sponsors the Microsoft Research Fellowship for graduate students. Microsoft has research labs around

2664-635: The discontinuation email was only sent to one percent of Messenger users, a test group. On the same day, Microsoft announced its plans to phase out Messenger: the process would start on April 8, 2013, with English users and would end on April 30, 2013; Messenger would remain available in mainland China. According to ZDNet , this might only apply to the ability to sign in with Messenger client; Microsoft would keep its Messenger service running for another year. "Windows Live Messenger Upgrades to Skype", as they were referred to by Microsoft, started on April 8, 2013. This transition took place language by language. Brazil

2736-595: The event of theft. SPOT relied on the .NET Micro Framework for the creation and management of embedded device firmware . This technology would later be used for the Windows SideShow feature introduced in Windows Vista , which shares design similarities with SPOT. In 2007, five years after SPOT was announced, Microsoft released the first software development kit for the .NET Micro Framework. Microsoft Research Microsoft Research ( MSR )

2808-474: The features that SPOT offered. Development of SPOT began as an incubation project led by Microsoft engineer, Bill Mitchell, and initiated by the Microsoft Research division. Mitchell would enlist the help of Larry Karr, president of SCA Data Systems, to develop the project. Karr had previously worked in the 1980s to develop technology for Atari that would distribute games in a manner distinct from

2880-487: The final version of Windows Live Messenger 2009. The last QFE update for Wave 3 was released on May 12, 2010, and saw the removal of some features from Windows Live Messenger. Specifically, the ability to independently show only your own webcam or your contacts' webcam (one way webcam) and without an audio call is gone. It is only possible to start a video call which starts the webcams of both people communicating, and which also automatically starts audio calling. Also removed

2952-508: The first SPOT-based smartwatches would be released in the fall of that year; the company would also release a promotional video that displayed an estimated delivery time of fall 2003, but the first devices would be delayed until the beginning of 2004. At the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference of 2003, Gates unveiled a new set of hardware-based navigational controls codenamed XEEL, designed to create

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3024-502: The first compatible watch to feature a touchscreen , and Swatch would release the first compatible watch, largely tailored towards younger consumers. As smartwatches were the first type of devices to make use of the technology, they became the de facto type of device that represented it. In 2006, Oregon Scientific released the second type of SPOT device, a weather station that displayed regional weather forecasts and other various types of information. A second generation of smartwatches

3096-437: The first major update, version 2.0 (2.0.0083), on November 16, 1999. It included a rotating advertising banner and the ability to customize the appearance of the chat window. It came as an install option for Windows Me . This version was followed the next year by version 3.0 (3.0.0080), which was released May 29, 2000. It included file transfers and PC-to-PC and PC-to-phone audio capabilities with Net2Phone and Callserve, two of

3168-485: The first quarter of 2013. According to Tony Bates (president of Skype Division at the time), Messenger users could sign into Skype using their Microsoft accounts , access their Messenger contacts and communicate as usual. On January 8, 2013, Microsoft emailed Messenger users and informed them that with the exception of mainland China , the Messenger service would stop working on March 15, 2013, and users would not be able to sign in. On February 15, 2013, ZDNet wrote

3240-433: The larger VoIP providers. Along with the release of Windows XP came version 4.6 of MSN Messenger, on October 23, 2001. It included major changes to the user interface, the ability to group contacts, and support for voice conversations. In this version, the client software was renamed from "MSN Messenger Service" to just "MSN Messenger", while the underlying service became known as " .NET Messenger Service ". This version

3312-584: The largest percentage of those patents, at 20%. According to estimates in trade publications, Microsoft spent about $ 6 billion annually in research initiatives from 2002 to 2010 and has spent from $ 10–14 billion annually since 2010. Microsoft Research has made significant advances in the field of AI which it has infused in its products including Kinect , Bing , Holo Lens , Cortana , Microsoft Translator , Linkedin , Havok and Dynamics to provide its customers with more benefits and better service. The mission statement of MSR is: Microsoft Research includes

3384-445: The logical error rate by 800x compared to the physical error rate. MSN Messenger MSN Messenger (also known colloquially simply as MSN ), later rebranded as Windows Live Messenger , was a cross-platform instant-messaging client developed by Microsoft . It connected to the now-discontinued Microsoft Messenger service and, in later versions, was compatible with Yahoo! Messenger and Facebook Messenger . The service

3456-522: The main menu allowing the association and editing of a phone number to the contact and allowing text messaging to a contact, a "sign out" button, a "report abuse" option in the help menu, interoperability with Yahoo! Messenger , and improvements to user status on Windows Vista A minor update, the Windows Live Messenger 8.1 Beta 1 Refresh, was released on December 13, 2006, and fixed bugs that were causing some people to be unable to sign in and others unable to see their contact list. The final version 8.1

3528-640: The most widely used instant-messaging clients in the world. Following its acquisition of Skype Technologies in May 2011, Microsoft added interoperability between Skype and Microsoft accounts , allowing Skype—which had features unique to its platform and a wider user base—to communicate with Windows Live Messenger contacts. In 2013, the product was discontinued, and Microsoft began cutting service to existing clients. It remained active in China for another 18 months and ceased operations there on October 31, 2014. In 2018,

3600-408: The newly renamed Windows Live Messenger, Beta 1, was released on December 13, 2005. Major changes and additions included offline messaging, an option to change the color theme of the windows, separated send and search boxes, a word wheel search box in the main window, and additional details for contacts when hovering over their names in the contact list window. The second beta of version 8.0, Beta 2,

3672-553: The normal dash icon and a redesign of the log in page. The final beta version, Beta 3, was released on May 2, 2006. Major changes and additions included new icons for the program, PC-to-phone calling, an updated look for the Windows Live Call window, a new default display picture, the Windows Live Today window, improvements to the grouping of sequential messages from each contact, Rhapsody integration in

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3744-638: The previous version, such as the removal of display names, handwriting tool, one-way webcam requests and import/export of instant messaging contacts feature. The "Wave 4" release of Windows Live Essentials, which includes Messenger, also dropped compatibility with Windows XP and only runs on Windows Vista or Windows 7 . The new Windows Live Messenger for the iOS became available on the App Store on June 21, 2010, in addition to other mobile versions of Windows Live Messenger for Windows Phone , BlackBerry , and Symbian mobile platforms. On June 24, 2010,

3816-644: The service would enable the delivery of personalized information on devices and, as an example of this functionality, would allow users to receive messages sent from MSN Messenger or calendar appointment reminders from Microsoft Outlook . MSN Direct would use a subscription-based business model, available through monthly or yearly service plans. MSN Direct relied on the DirectBand subcarrier technology developed by Microsoft in conjunction with SCA Data Systems. The first devices to make use of SPOT were released in 2004 by Fossil and Suunto. Tissot would later introduce

3888-680: The service would receive additional location-based enhancements. Production of SPOT watches ceased in 2008. In 2009, Microsoft announced that it would discontinue the MSN Direct service at the beginning of 2012. The company stated that this decision was due to decreased demand for the service and because of the emergence of more efficient and popular forms of data distribution, such as Wi-Fi . The MSN Direct service continued to support existing SPOT devices until transmissions ceased on January 1, 2012. SPOT extended functionality of traditional devices to include features not originally envisaged for them;

3960-468: The software. AOL did this by exploiting a buffer overflow bug in AIM, which causes it to execute a bit of machine code sent by the server. When this code runs, it determines if the client is AIM and sends a message back to verify the client. Since then, the software has only allowed connections to its own service, requiring a Windows Live ID ( .NET Passport at that time) account to connect. Microsoft released

4032-454: The standard window frame on Windows Vista in accordance with the user experience guidelines. Several features were removed in version 9.0, however, such as the ability to use add-ins, the ability to transfer files when the recipient is signed in as offline, the "Be right back", "Out to lunch", and "In a call" status options, the Go to my space button, the ability to adjust webcam settings during

4104-639: The update from 2009 to 2011 mandatory for those using Windows Vista or 7. 2009 continues to be usable for those still running XP. This can be circumvented by running Windows Live Messenger in Windows XP compatibility mode, thus making it believe it is running on Windows XP. On August 7, 2012, Microsoft delivered a new version of the Windows Essentials 2012 suite, which includes Windows Live Messenger 2012. On November 6, 2012, Microsoft announced that Messenger and Skype services would merge in

4176-570: The window frame and menu bar, and also the ability to change the theme color. The theme color could be set differently for each user. Another update, version 6.2, was released April 22, 2004, and it was the last version of the MSN Messenger 6 series. The most notable changes were a dedicated Mobile group for mobile contacts, a connection troubleshooter, and the Launch Site feature was renamed to Fun & Games . MSN Messenger received

4248-765: The world including the following non-exhaustive list: Microsoft Research invests in multi-year collaborative joint research with academic institutions at Barcelona Supercomputing Center , INRIA , Carnegie Mellon University , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), the Microsoft Research Centre for Social NUI and others. Since 2016, Microsoft has partnered with Toyota Connected to research technology for telematics , data analytics and network security services. In October 2019, Microsoft partnered with Novartis to apply artificial intelligence to enhance personalized medicine research. In 2023, Microsoft signed

4320-452: The world's most challenging issues, including those related to health, the environment, accessibility, cultural heritage, and humanitarian action. AI for Good includes topics like Microsoft AI for Earth . Microsoft Azure Quantum has researched quantum information science since 2000 and is developing a topological quantum computer based on Majorana zero modes. In 2000, physicist  Alexei Kitaev  at Microsoft Research proposed developing

4392-457: Was also released, and were designed to address the shortcomings observed in first generation models. Later that year, Melitta released the third type of device to utilize the technology: a coffee maker that displayed weather forecasts on an electronic visual display. Garmin released the first SPOT-compatible GPS navigation units in 2007. In early 2008, Microsoft announced that MSN Direct would be available for Windows Mobile , and in early 2009,

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4464-558: Was discontinued in 2013 and was replaced by Skype . The client was first released as MSN Messenger Service on July 22, 1999, and was marketed under the MSN brand until 2005, when it was rebranded under the Windows Live name. It has since been officially known by the latter name, although its first name remained in common use. In June 2009, Microsoft reported the service attracted over 330 million active users each month, placing it among

4536-599: Was made available to the general public as a free download. The ability to submit feedback, however, was restricted to select participants of the Microsoft Connect closed beta program. Notable changes in Milestone 3 include a new revamped and refined user interface to follow suit with the rest of the Windows Live "Wave 3" design, the ability to set a "Scene" by customizing the background image and color of

4608-421: Was only compatible with Windows 95 , 98 , ME , NT 4.0 , and 2000 , because Microsoft provided a scaled-down new program for Windows XP , called Windows Messenger . Version 5.0 of MSN Messenger was released on October 24, 2002. It was the first version that was allowed to be installed along with Windows Messenger on Windows XP. It included UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) based file transfers, minor changes to

4680-424: Was previewed on October 30, 2006, with the release of Beta 1 of version 8.1. No major changes were made, but several minor changes were included. These include the addition of the roaming identity feature (so that the same user's display name and picture would appear on any computer), a new contact card appearance, a "recently used" list for the emoticon, wink, display picture and background menus, an SMS phone book in

4752-399: Was released July 22, 1999. It included only basic features, such as plain text messaging and a simplistic contact list. When it was first released, it featured support for access to America Online 's AIM network. America Online continually tried to block Microsoft from having access to their service until eventually the feature was removed, and it has not re-surfaced in any later versions of

4824-427: Was released on February 26, 2006. The overall theme of this version was improved, fixing and improving several smaller places in the program. Major changes and additions included the introduction of Windows Live Contacts , the reintroduction of single file transfer, improvements to the "Add a Contact" dialog box, improved color themes, minor changes in the conversation window, and revert of the "Busy" status icon back to

4896-462: Was released on January 29, 2007. No changes were made from the Beta 1 Refresh. All versions of Windows Live Messenger below version 8.1 were rendered obsolete on September 12, 2007, due to a security issue identified when a user accepts a webcam or video chat invitation from an attacker. On September 12, 2007, the Windows Live Messenger blog posted a fix that resolved a security problem. It reported of

4968-488: Was released on November 6, 2007, and it introduced no major changes. Windows Live Messenger 2009 was originally designated version 9.0, it was later assigned the technical version number 14.0, in order to be unified with the other Windows Live programs and Microsoft Office programs. In a presentation to the Georgia Institute of Technology's IEEE Student Branch, Microsoft employee Andrew Jenks reported that

5040-454: Was released on September 5, 2007. Several issues were fixed in Beta 2, but no significant changes were applied. Compared with the first beta, the build does not say "Beta" on the top of the window, although developers had noted that it was not the final release. The new Windows Live Installer , which is used to install Windows Live Messenger 8.5 Beta 2, does not run on Windows Server 2003. The final release of Windows Live Messenger version 8.5

5112-679: Was the first version to be installed in a "Windows Live" folder under "Program Files", with the shortcuts placed in a "Windows Live" folder in the Start Menu . Major changes and additions in Beta 1 included a new installation program in conjunction with the release of Windows Live 2.0 , a new look for all of its windows that matches the aesthetic styles of Windows Vista, a new "bunny" emoticon, and integration with Windows Live OneCare Family Safety . Beginning with this version, updates could be downloaded and installed through Microsoft Update . The second beta of Windows Live Messenger 8.5, Beta 2,

5184-461: Was the last country to be "upgraded", on April 30. Chinese Messenger users received an email from Microsoft in August 2014, containing an announcement that Messenger service in China would end on October 31, 2014; users were advised to migrate to Skype and receive free credits. In 2017 a number of developers managed to reverse engineer the Messenger protocol and designed custom servers that make

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