Microsoft Messenger for Mac

Microsoft Messenger for Mac

Sign In screen of Messenger for Mac v8.0.0 on Mac OS X 10.6.4 "Snow Leopard"
Developer(s)	Microsoft (Macintosh Business Unit)
Stable release	8.0.1 / May 3, 2011; 6 months ago (2011-May-03)
Operating system	Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later
Type	Instant messaging
License	Proprietary commercial software
Website	microsoft.com/mac/messenger

Microsoft Messenger for Mac (previously MSN Messenger for Mac) is the official Mac OS X instant messaging client for use with Microsoft's .NET Messenger Service and is developed by the Macintosh Business Unit, a division of Microsoft. However, the feature list is limited in comparison to that of its counterpart Windows Live Messenger. The client is still maintained and updated but still lacks a number of features that its Windows counterpart contains. However, several third-party applications that have support for the .NET Messenger Service, such as Trillian (software), Adium and aMSN, incorporate some of the features missing from the official client.

Versions

The versions 3.x and later of Microsoft Messenger for Mac feature new Aqua graphics, whereas version 2.x and below have graphics similar to Windows Messenger 4.0. Versions 5.x use the brushed metal theme.

• Version 2.5.1 is an update to version 2.5, which is a mandatory update to version 2.1 that is available for users running Mac OS 9.2.2.
• Version 3.5 for Mac OS X revisions older than 10.2.8
• Version 4.0.1 for Mac OS X revisions 10.2.8 and newer
• Version 5.1.1 for Mac OS X revisions 10.3 and newer
• Version 6.0.3 for Mac OS X revisions 10.3.9 and newer
• Version 7.0.0 for Mac OS X 10.4.9 or newer was released on April 29, 2008.
• Version 7.0.1 for Mac OS X 10.4 or later includes minor bug fixes.
• Version 7.0.2 for Mac OS X 10.4 or later: improves overall quality and conversations with Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2.
• Version 8.0.0 beta for Mac OS X 10.5 or later, for Intel Macs only: Official Beta released on March, 24th 2010. Adds A/V conferencing between Mac OS X users and Windows Live Messenger 2009 users.
• Version 8.0.0 for Mac OSX 10.5 or later, for Intel Macs only: Released with Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac in October 2010 and bears a visual similarity to previous Windows counterparts. It features somewhat more stable functional voice and video calls.

With the release of Microsoft Messenger for Mac 7.0, Microsoft has discontinued the client's support for older versions of their Corporate messaging systems (such as Live Communications Server 2005).^{[citation needed]} The latest version to support these older systems is Version 6.0.3, which is still available for download on the Microsoft website.

Webcam and audio support was delayed due to Windows Live Messenger's webcam and audio engine being reworked, which meant that the Mac version had to wait until this was complete in order for both platform releases to function correctly.

See also

• Macintosh Business Unit

References

• Macworld Expo San Francisco 2005
• Microsoft Mactopia - System Requirements

External links

• Microsoft Messenger for Mac
• Review of Microsoft Messenger 6 Features