posted by Nasa

Did you know you can view who currently has you on their contact list? This is sometimes useful information if you've deleted people on your list you haven't blocked or perhaps you just want to see if that old flame is still keeping you on their "friends list". Come on ... you know you want to know! ;)

So before we get into that ... let's talk about a few concepts:

In order for someone to see your online status, you must "allow" them to see it. You can do this two ways:

1. You add someone to your contact list
2. You accept someone's invitation to be added to your list

Once someone is allowed, they can see whenever you're online or offline. If you later delete that person, they may still continue to see your presence depending on how you delete them.

When you delete a contact, you will be prompted with the below dialog. If you do not check "Also block this contact", they will be removed from your list, but you will still exist in their list AND they can see your online status.

If you do check "also block this contact", you will still be in their list, but you will always appear "offline" to them.

So, let's say you've added and deleted some folks over time and you want to know ... who still has me in their contact list? Well, here's how:

1. From the Windows Live Messenger main window, go to Tools>Options
   
2. Select "Privacy" from left panel
3. Click "View" button
   

Once you click the "View button, you will see the below window "Who has you in their contact list?".

Voila!

If you see someone who is watching you but you don't want them to see your status, you can go back to the Privacy Options (above) and move them over to "blocked". Once they are blocked, they can still have you on their list, but you will always appear as "offline" to them. And of course, if you change your mind, you can always go back and put them over to "allow".

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If you have a comment/question/concern/discussion topic/rant/rave/other - please head over to the Windows Live Messenger Newsgroup.

 Posted by Daniel

Who doesn't like movies? Anyone ...? I thought so...

I love movies that make you laugh , movies packed with action   , movies that showcase new tech stuff  , but I'm not really into moves that make you sad .

I used to watch almost all new releases but lately my priorities have changed and now I mostly watch videos with my son . For the rest of you who still go to every new movie Windows Live Messenger has a pretty cool bot that helps you find shows, theatres and show times near you.

The bot's address is MovieScout@botmetro.net, just add it to your buddy list and start a conversation with it. As soon as you start the dialog it ask your zip code and then it will show a menu where you can find show times and movies.

For full instructions and more info go to the MovieScout's site http://moviescout.msn.com/.

[Update: the bot only understands US zip codes]

Here is a a sample conversation I had with the bot this morning:

moviescout@botmetro.net said:
Hi, I'm Movie Scout. To read my privacy policy, click http://www.colloquis.com/legal/privacy.html.

I can help you find movies near you. Please enter your zip code and we'll get started. If you want to see a list of options, type "menu."
Daniel said:
98052
moviescout@botmetro.net said:
Type the name of the movie or tell me the type of movie you would like to see.

1 Action
2 Comedy
3 Crime & Espionage
4 Documentary
5 Family
6 Drama

Type a number to select a movie genre or type "more" for more genres.
Daniel said:
2
moviescout@botmetro.net said:
Comedy movies playing in or near Redmond, WA (98052) on Monday, February 19th:

1 Because I Said So [PG13]
2 Borat [R]
3 Epic Movie [PG13]
4 Music and Lyrics [PG13]
5 Night at the Museum [PG]
6 Norbit [PG13]

For theaters and showtimes, select a movie by typing a number. Type "more" for the next set of results.

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If you have a comment/question/concern/discussion topic/rant/rave/other - please head over to the Windows Live Messenger Newsgroup.

posted by Steve

There’s a lot of love in the air today and many, many flowers are being passed around including dozens and dozens of roses. We here on the Messenger Team have received a dozen roses from you, our customers! These are ideas for features you’ve mentioned in feedback that you’d like us to work on!

What we’d like to do is invite you to show these ideas some additional lovin’ by voting on your favorites! I’ll start a thread in the Windows Live Messenger newsgroup (microsoft.public.windows.live.messenger) so that you, our blog and newsgroup enthusiasts, can discuss and vote on these or other ideas you might have for 9.0...10.0 and beyond!

Please note that this is not a guarantee that these features *will* be worked on, but it’s important for us to know your thoughts. Feature selection for Messenger takes into account many, many factors including customer input, business needs, available resources and level of effort estimates. It’s a complicated process but one we know will ultimately produce the best possible Messenger we can build.

At the top of that list is Customer Input because it’s ultimately *your* product. So please take some time to talk about your ideas, share more thoughts, vote and generally give us your feedback!

Here’s the “rosy” dozen features you mentioned:

· Contact/group unique behaviors, such as playing a unique sound when a specific contact or group member signs in or out

· Support for multiple accounts at the same time. For instance, someone could log in with their work email account and their home or social email account and send/receive IMs from both groups of contacts at the same time!

· A Spelling / grammar checker for conversations. An optional feature to make sure IMs are spelled and worded properly before sending.

· Tabbed chat – conversations are in one window with tabs allowing you to select individual conversations to be brought forward. Similar to tabbed browsing in IE7

· A way to automatically install messenger updates and fixes without downloading a whole new messenger (like Windows does)

· The ability to appear offline or have different statuses for different groups or contacts. For instance, you might appear offline for group A, busy for group B and yet let 2 or 3 other contacts see you as available.

· An easier way to invite friends and family to download and install and join the Windows Live Messenger community

· Animated display pictures or custom avatars (or other enhanced personalization/online presence features.)

· Stored and searchable chat history

· Better formatting of text within individual IMs – bold, underline, colors, fonts

· Easier/better search for contacts - maybe a directory of messenger users or better integration with spaces for finding WLM users there?

· N-way audio/video conferencing

Oh, wait!  Two that I forgot!  Shame on me!  (not that we're listening, for those of you on mess.be...)

· File transfer resume - Didn't complete that last file transfer?  Pick up where you left off.  Good for slow connections.

- Skinning. Skinning means that it's possible to alter most if not all of the appearance of Messenger, hiding or emphasizing specific features of the application.

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If you have a comment/question/concern/discussion topic/rant/rave/other - please head over to the Windows Live Messenger Newsgroup.

posted by Nasa

Have you tried "ink" yet? In Windows Live Messenger, you can send messages in your own handwritting using the digital equivlent of ink. It's easy to do if you have a Tablet PC, but you can also do it with a mouse! I love using ink to express my thoughts or just make my friends laugh!

Here are the basics from the Windows Live Messenger Help:

To send a handwritten message:

1. At the bottom of the conversation window (The window you use to send and receive instant messages.) , click the handwriting button .
2. Use the six formatting buttons that appear in the conversation window to personalize your message.
3. Click Send when you are finished.

There are a few things you'll notice when using ink. First, the typing indicator now shows your friends "writing a message" instead of "typing a message".

Also, the IM window will have a new toolbar which will allow you to select your pen size, erase if you make a mistake, rotate, choose colors, and enable a grid.

Once you are in handwritting mode, you can write/draw in the IM window. Now you have one more way to illustrate your ideas! Have fun!

If you have a comment/question/concern/discussion topic/rant/rave/other - please head over to the Windows Live Messenger Newsgroup.

posted by Wendy the Mighty

Yes, the title is a not-so-obscure reference to the great novella by Dr. Seuss.  I love Dr. Seuss, but really... who doesn't?!?  Sneetches, Horton, Cindy Lou Who... All irrelevant to today's post, but I am just saying.  Dr. Seuss rocks.

Getting back to today's post....

Below, is a table on the reported average number of contacts a Windows Live User has, per country, as of January, 2007:

Now I am looking at this and thinking.... Holy Datapoint, Batman!  Look at Morocco!!  It's got the U.S. (my own hometown) beat hands down!!!   I mean, they are almost four times as friendly as we are!!   In my personal account, I have (in fact) 287 buddies.  287.  Which means there are a few people (and this boggles MY mind) that don't even have the 45.7 average!  I shudder to think.  Shudder!  All of those lonely people out there with only 45 buddies?!?  Or... <whispers> less??

So, to those of you in Morocco, Brazil, and the UK.  Way to go, you social animals!!! 

To those of us in countries that... shall we say... need a hug??  Let's get out there and get friendly!!  You have friends, add them.  Add them immediately.  And start chatting.  "Get Friendly!"  is my new motto.  Hey!  You there in the red shirt!  "Get Friendly!!!"

-Wendy the Mighty