My thoughts
This is an alright program. The chatting below average - it's hard to find people to chat to although you can invite people to download the program, and it is a very small download (only about 400kb). It's easy to add contacts, not that you'll find too many to add! Maybe if you hang out in MSN chat you might somebody using it. Another disadvantage, yet it can be an advantage for some people - you need a hotmail account to use messenger. This is kinda annoying if you've already got too many e-mail address.Having said all that, if you do have a hotmail a/c which you use regularly then this is a handy program. It tells you how many 'new' emails you have in your folders. Although this really means how many 'unread' messages you have. If you've it turned on while surfing it's helpful too. It tells you that you've received an email and names the address it's from.
Ok.... on to the chatting bit. Well it's your average chat box. You can change colours and font. It's nothing special really. A big disadvantage is that there is no file transfer feature. This would really be handy. My final word on this is that if you have a hotmail account, use this to check for emails coz that's about all it's useful for.

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What Computer Active said:
Microsoft's entry into the messaging arena forces you to open a Hotmail account before you can access the service. Therafter, it works in much the same way as AIM. In fact, the accounts menu provides an option to directly access the AIM network but untill AOL lightens up, you'll get kicked off almost immediately. Disappointingly, there is no facility for transfering files directly between chatters, be they snapshot pictures or programs. Oh, and we kept receiving the same irritating, and seemingly irremovable, Hotmail message everytime we logged on. Until the product evolves, as surely it will, this is for now a rather limited service with the added inconvience of lumbering you with yet another email account you probably don't need or want.

Download.com's review
MSN Messenger Service is an Internet instant messaging service from Microsoft that helps you keep in touch with your friends online.
It lets you see if people you know are online, send and receive instant messages, talk with several friends at once, and control who can see and contact you. You can set your status as any of the following: online, invisible, busy, be right back, away from the computer, and out to lunch.

In addition, MSN Messenger Service notifies you when e-mail has arrived at Hotmail.com (a free Web-based e-mail service).

This newest version features easier setup, links to news and information services, message formatting (using fonts, colors and styles), improved HotMail integration, an always-on-top mode, the ability to view your current online status in the status bar as well as changes to some of the names used to designate status. In addition, on your MSN home page you can display a summary of who from your list is currently online, the number of unread messages you have, and popular chats and Web Communities that are available.

Info on MSN Messenger from Softseek.com:
MSN Messenger Service is an Internet instant messaging service from Microsoft that helps you keep in touch with your friends online.
It lets you see if people you know are online, send and receive instant messages, talk with several friends at once, and control who can see and contact you. You can set your status as any of the following: online, invisible, busy, be right back, away from the computer, and out to lunch.

In addition, MSN Messenger Service notifies you when e-mail has arrived at Hotmail.com (a free Web-based e-mail service).

This newest version features easier setup, links to news and information services, message formatting (using fonts, colors and styles), improved HotMail integration, an always-on-top mode, the ability to view your current online status in the status bar as well as changes to some of the names used to designate status. In addition, on your MSN home page you can display a summary of who from your list is currently online, the number of unread messages you have, and popular chats and Web Communities that are available.

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