RSSDoes Live.com Mean the End of MSN?
By Nate Mook | Published November 1, 2005, 6:32 PM
One of the most frequently asked questions following the Windows Live launch on Tuesday has been: "What happens to MSN?" Microsoft executives were quick to reassure that the online brand will survive. But with Messenger, Search, Mail and more becoming Windows Live services, what's left for MSN?
The answer isn't yet clear and will likely only come into focus once Microsoft's next-generation products begin rolling out next year. What is known is that most existing MSN services will get the new Windows Live moniker.
The changes follow Microsoft's September reorganization that combined the MSN group with the Windows division.
MSN Search will become Windows Live Search, while version 8 of MSN Messenger will be named Windows Live Messenger. Current Hotmail users will be offered a "seamless upgrade" to the AJAX-enabled Windows Live Mail that functions more like a desktop e-mail client.
OneCare, Security Center and a Web-based favorites management service will all become Windows Live products, which center around the new Live.com "starting point." Other MSN products will likely be folded into the new brand as well, with Virtual Earth already powering "Windows Live Local."
MSN.com will remain as a content portal, Microsoft contends, but its future is murky at best. Some reports have stated that Live.com will become the new default homepage in Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Vista. Moreover, the new Windows Sidebar will integrate with content modules from Live.com - not MSN.
But it's too early to be sounding the death knell just yet, says Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox, who notes that MSN will endure as a separate business group and continue to generate its own revenue through advertising.
"Microsoft isn't planning to abandon its investment in MSN.com or MSN adCenter, either. Windows Live branding eventually will be pervasive, but that makes sense," explained Wilcox. "Microsoft execs had to really push hard to convince me that Windows Live should replace MSN for product names. But I now concede that the greater brand equity is around Office or Windows."
Still, Microsoft is taking a major step by dropping the brand equity it has built up in MSN. While the former Internet service-turned online portal may not resonate well among Web 2.0 evangelists, the butterfly has soared overseas. MSN is especially popular in parts of Asia and Europe, where Hotmail is almost a de-facto standard.
MSN also has pull among younger consumers who have embraced Messenger and the company's Spaces blogging service.
It's too soon to speculate whether Windows Live and Live.com will prove a successful -- or necessary -- replacement for MSN branding, but Microsoft chairman Bill Gates is upbeat about his company's chances. "It's a revolution in how we think about software," Gates said. "The whole space is being transformed."
But beyond the grandiose vision lies some confusion. Does "Live" mean hosted services, or simply a community oriented design? Is it information, relationships, or safety? Says Wilcox: "I'll let Microsoft answer that question."
hey i installed messenger 8.0 ...
but when i try to sign in it tells me i dont have the appropriate user net passport (or summin like that)
can any1 help ?
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|live.com is really a nice site and provides many cool services for hotmail users. I really liked it.
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|Screenshot on my pc:
http://img180.imageshack...g180/4848/beta806fj.jpg
So as you can see I tried it and I know that the GUI is better but when it comes to performance I think when its released its gonan be nothing better then MSN Messenger 6.2.
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|how did u get it to work on ur pc man ...
when i installed it and tried to sign on,
it told me that i didnt have the appropriate passport... or summin like that
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|Umm, I don't think its the end with msn, as windows live messenger is great, has a nice gui and all. but as for performance I would prefer using MSN Messenger 7.0 :)
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|They need to reinvent themselves with a new name, because introducing all this "free" stuff under the MSN name is making just a big mess. MSN should just be an ISP, nothing more, nothing less because let's face it, no search engine not even MSN Search is better than Google!!! All this garbage like Search and Blogging should be left to something else. When Google bought Blogger, they didn't rename it to Google Blogger or when they bought Picasa, it didn't become Google Photos. They do need to leave Messenger and Hotmail with MSN though, just not worry about adding MSN to all this other crap, because that has become quite cliche. The writings have been on the wall for quite sometime that Microsoft is losing interest in MSN, I mean how long has MSN 9 been out? MSN is too closely related to Windows and XBOX and needs to branch out on its own. I personally would like it better if MSN left their search and ads to Google, and just worried about being an ISP.
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|why keep msn hotmail? who calls it that anyways? people just call it hotmail.
its about time they renamed it, its a left over name from before microsoft bought the service out, from a forgotten era of the internet
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|MSN has always been a dumb name and the butterfly sucks.
"MicroSoft Network" = MSN. That's dumb.
The Live stuff is OK but it will only work if it's free. Google will probably soon have web based office applications that you can use for free. Microsoft will be up poop creek when that happens. :-)
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|Save the Butterfly....they are our friends.
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|The OS, not the Butterfly.
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|Just check the site. Not impressed at all. I saw the following message at the top:
Firefox Users
Firefox support is coming soon. Please be patient :-) (This little message... are they trying to copy how Google displays a down to earth message instead of the technological mumbo jumbo?) :P
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|LMAO. That was funny.
It was a joke right?
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|So basically, 'Windows (this is a crap name) live' is msn, with a different name. Lovely. This a joke? No, in fact i'll tell you what it is. It's Microsoft trying to get more people to use their products in some weird way. I can see why they're doing it, but why not just heavily advertise msn or something? I love the name msn! :'( This sucks. I'm going to discuess it in 'Windows Live Messenger' and email people about it in 'Windows Live Mail'. I can officially say now aswell, i'm calling it Live Messenger and Live mail.
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|You know, I never thought I'd say that I'd miss that butterfly.
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|The thing I hate most about this Live idea is that, i hate admitting it, but it is better than google.com/ig =( I liked the idea of microsoft going under better than the idea of microsoft gaining popularity.
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|Still looks like a Personalized Google copycat to me. They even put "Google News" on their News link. Personalized Google has a good bit more content thus far.
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|Funny, I thought Personalized Google looked just like Microsoft's Start.com.
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|I'm pretty sure Google's custom home page came before Start.com.
Anyway, this idea is far from new. There's tons of websites out there like this. It's just a question of which ones have better content, layout options, and overall functionality.
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|Actually it didn't. I remember seeing Start.com months before I saw personalized Google.
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|hrmm... really? Because I remember the exact opposite (Google months before Start.com).
Anyone have any actual dates on when each page started? It's not really a big deal, but I'm curious now.
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|"Anyone have any actual dates on when each page started? It's not really a big deal, but I'm curious now."
The personalized version of google.com started in May of 2005. Microsoft took ownership of www.start.com in '98. Start.com in its current incarnation in March of '05. So Microsoft's personalized search page was technically launched first.
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|Actually, Windows Live may simply be a 'non paying' alternative for the MSN Explorer software - maybe an actual replacement. I don't think it will replace MSN Messenger though, I think everything will be rebranded and will come together under the 'Windows' name rather than have 2 separate complete entities....remember, alot of MS Windows sofware now require or work on/with 'net presence', this includes but isn't limited to MS Antispyware, Onecare, WMP 9/10 - and originally, the MSN part of MS was SUPPOSED to handle any software like that.
With the advent of broadband/dsl/some sort of high speed on almost every desktop, I think they figured it's time to have some kind of mini-merger aka rebranding. I'm all for it. I'd much rather having all the net' enabled Windows downloads under Windows Live, than have to go to MSN for bits and pieces and MS for the rest.
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|Well if the are trying to rebrand everything under the windows name I can see it now especailly if they start trying to package some off these things with Windows Vista. The antitrust suites will fly. Myself though I'm starting to like the idea of everything being integrated.
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|"Myself though I'm starting to like the idea of everything being integrated."
Same here.
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|Wince, you said that google came with a start page first - correct BUT check out the way you can just drag around the gadgets on live.com. It's pretty awesome. You customise it in all of like, 15 seconds and you're empowered with news, weather, your current rss, horoscope (if u want), dynamic timeclock...it's, ... well, really nice, and really easy.
Alas, as someone else said - I too will miss the butterfly.
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|Well looks like MSN Messenger will become Windows Live 8.0 or some crap like that, this isn't a good idea. Everyone knows MSN and the butterfly, this is a long-shot ... we'll see if it works. It most likely will since it has the Windows name in it, and they will push millions into TV advertising and all kinds.
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|Something tells me all of this will come out of beta around time for Vista to come out and their will be this big ad campaign.
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|...I hate that butterfly
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|Me too, the butter fly, creaps me out. mainly those commercials where they got this moron dressed like it.
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|I always wanted to hit that man. Always. And this time I will.
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|Hmm, all that's left is to change the name of ther internet service to Windows Online or WOL. Then Again AOL would probly try to sue them.
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|Then, after the merger, let the AWOL jokes fly ;)
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|LOL
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|Indeed! LOL!
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|Read they were renaming all the MSN stuff.....Just couldn't resist.
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|WOL means Wake On Lan, allowing you to boot a computer over a network. Imagine Microsoft deciding your computer needed to be turned on (yes, I know they wouldn't do that). How about Worthless On Line?
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|I just wish they'd make up their minds... as a fan of Microsoft, even I find it difficult to keep things straight, and keep track of whether Windows This or MSN That or Office What's-it is the best tool to use.
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|I'm a bit confused....does this mean that there will no longer be a desktop version of msn messenger for example and everything will be through live.com? Is that what they mean by live? GoodThings2Life, is this one of the things you're confused about too? Because I'm not sure if I totally get it either.
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|Messenger Live will still be a client on the desktop. It will essentially be MSN Messenger 8.0 with a different name. I'm not sure why they changed it to the misleading "live" name, but I guess the goal is to standardize the names for all of the services to show that they are (at least in some ways) linked to each other.
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|Much like the Windows One Care Live. It's still installed on your PC, but you have to install it from the web. This maybe what they are planning on in the near future. I am not sure nor do I have any facts at all supporting this. It is just a guess.
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|ah, I see...thanks for the clarification about that. It does seem a bit confusing right now but I guess it's because I'm not used to it yet.
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|Gawd I think you need to check this out http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/
Regarding Live, it's as I said - It's a way to reorganize everything under the Windows name - rather than have MSN and Windows Live....this should make it alot easier on customers later on, I don't think it will be that 'confusing' once the rebrand is complete.
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|«
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|¼
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|Have you beta tested any of the Live software? Have you even seen it, yet? If yes, then you are able to speculate. BTW they have free versions of the MSN Explorer. It's the MSN service you pay for.
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|tell me where to get the free version of MSN Explorer.
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|OMG dude, if you have Windows XP it's already on there. It will update when you run it. Just look in your Program files and you will see it. After a clean install it is on the start bar.
http://explorer.msn.com/install.htm
EDIT: Use IE to download it or it will try and make you get IE 5.5 for some reason.
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|The best tool to use----> LINUX
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