SeaMonkey

SeaMonkey is a free and open source cross-platform Internet suite. It is the continuation of the former Mozilla Application Suite, based on the same source code. Core Mozilla project source code is licensed under a disjunctive tri-license that gives the choice of one of the three following sets of licensing terms: Mozilla Public License, version 1.1 or later, GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later, GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2.1 or later.
SeaMonkey consists of a web browser (SeaMonkey Navigator), which is a descendant of the Netscape family, an e-mail and news client program (SeaMonkey Mail & Newsgroups, which shares code with Mozilla Thunderbird), an HTML editor (SeaMonkey Composer) and an IRC client (ChatZilla). The development of SeaMonkey is community-driven, in contrast to the Mozilla Application Suite, which until its last released version was governed by the Mozilla Foundation. The new project-leading group is the SeaMonkey Council.

Norton AntiVirus

Norton AntiVirus, developed and distributed by Symantec Corporation, provides malware prevention and removal during a subscription period. It uses signatures and heuristics to identify viruses. Other features include e-mail spam filtering and phishing protection.
Symantec distributes the product as a download, a box copy, and as OEM software. Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security, a related product, held a 61% antivirus market share as of 2007. Competitors, in terms of market share, include antivirus products from CA, Trend Micro, and Kaspersky Lab.
Norton AntiVirus runs on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Version 17.0.0.136 is the latest Windows build. Windows 7 support is in development for versions 2006 through 2009. Version 2010 will natively support Windows 7, without needing an update. Version 11.0.3 is the latest Mac build.

In August 1990 Symantec acquired Peter Norton Computing from Peter Norton. Norton and his company developed various utilities, or applications for DOS, including an antivirus. Symantec continued the development of acquired technologies. The technologies are marketed under the name of "Norton", with the tagline "from Symantec". Norton's crossed-arm pose, a registered U.S. trademark, was traditionally featured on Norton product packaging. However, his pose was later moved to the spine of the packaging, and eventually dropped altogether.
Product activation was introduced in Norton AntiVirus 2004, addressing the estimated million counterfeit Norton products sold. A alphanumeric code is generated to identify a computer's configuration, which ties in with the product key. Users are allowed to activate their product five times with the same product key. Spyware and adware detection and removal was introduced to the 2005 version, with the tagline "Antispyware Edition". The tagline was dropped in later releases. However, Norton AntiVirus 2009 Classic does not include spyware or adware detection. The Classic edition is marketed alongside Norton AntiVirus 2009, which does include spyware and adware detection.
Existing users of the 2006, 2007,2008 and 2009 versions can upgrade to the latest 2010 version without buying a new subscription. Upgrading will preserve the number of days left on a user's

ESET NOD32

ESET NOD32 Antivirus, commonly known as NOD32, is an antivirus software package made by the Slovak company ESET. ESET NOD32 Antivirus is sold in two editions, Home Edition and Business Edition. The Business Edition packages add ESET Remote Administrator allowing for server deployment and management, mirroring of threat signature database updates and the ability to install on Microsoft Windows Server operating systems.

NOD32 was created in the early 1990s when computer viruses were becoming increasingly prevalent.
Initially the program gained popularity with IT workers in Eastern European countries, as ESET was based in Slovakia. Though the program's abbreviation was originally pronounced as individual letters, recent worldwide use of the program has led to the more common single-word pronunciation, sounding like the English word nod.The company reached its 4000th update to virus definitions on April 10, 2009.

Avast!

Avast! antivirus is an antivirus program developed by ALWIL Software a.s., a company based in Prague, Czech Republic. It was first released in 1988. Avast! is based on a central scanning engine that is certified by ICSA Labs and West Coast Lab's Checkmark process and incorporates anti-spyware technology, also certified by West Coast Lab's Checkmark process, as well as anti-rootkit and self-protection capabilities. It is a multiple recipient of the Virus Bulletin VB100 Award, for detection of 100% of "in-the-wild" viruses, and is a past winner of the Secure Computing Readers' Trust Award.
Avast! Home Edition is the freeware version of Avast! antivirus software available to Microsoft Windows and Linux users, while Avast! Professional Edition is offered to businesses and users that want additional features. Avast! Professional Edition contains an enhanced user interface, through which scanning tasks can be scheduled to run automatically, while priority updates are delivered automatically using PUSH update technology. The Professional Edition also has a command line scanner and a script blocker.
Avast! antivirus is one of the most widely used antivirus programs in the world, with almost 100 million users worldwide as of November 2009.

Panda Security

Panda Security SL, formerly Panda Software, is a computer security company founded in 1990 by Panda's former CEO, Mikel Urizarbarrena, in the city of Bilbao. Initially centered on the production of antivirus software, the company has expanded its line of applications to include firewall applications, spam and spyware detection applications, cybercrime prevention technology, and other system management and security tools for businesses and home users.
Panda's products include security tools for home users and enterprises, including protection against cybercrime and kinds of malware that can damage IT systems, such as spam, hackers, spyware, dialers and undesirable web content, as well as detection of WiFi intrusions. Its trademark technology, branded TruPrevent, is a set of proactive capabilities aimed at blocking unknown viruses and intruders. In 2007 Panda introduced a new collective intelligence security model, which utilizes grid computing for malware collection and detection.
Panda has recently launched new on the market, providing security from the cloud thanks to its proprietary Collective Intelligence technology; an automatic scanning, classification and disinfection system to combat new IT threats.
Panda Security spots market opportunity with cloud and on November 2009, unveiled its first Cloud-Based Security Services for Home Users and SMBs.

WinZip

WinZip is a proprietary file archiver and compressor for Microsoft Windows, developed by WinZip Computing (formerly Nico Mak Computing). It natively uses the PKZIP format but also has various levels of support for other archive formats.
WinZip was created in the early 1990s as a shareware GUI front-end for PKZIP. Sometime around 1996 the creators of WinZip incorporated compression code from the Info-ZIP project, thus eliminating the need for the PKZIP executable to be present.
From version 6.0 until version 9.0, registered users could download the newest versions of the software, enter their original registration information or install over the top of their existing registered version, and thereby obtain a free upgrade. As of version 10.0 this upgrade scheme was discontinued. WinZip is available in standard and professional versions. However, the ability of Windows XP and later versions of Microsoft Windows to open and create .zip files (as "compressed folders") has reduced the need for extra compression software.
In May 2006, Corel Corporation, known for its WordPerfect and CorelDRAW product lines, announced that it has completed acquisition of WinZip Computing.
WinZip has a 45-day free evaluation period, after which the program would still work even if the user had not registered, albeit with reduced functionality. However in later versions this feature appears to have been removed, although users are able to bypass this by downloading an earlier version.

Windows Vista

Windows Vista is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs. Prior to its announcement on July 22, 2005, Windows Vista was known by its codename "Longhorn." Development was completed on November 8, 2006; over the following three months it was released in stages to computer hardware and software manufacturers, business customers, and retail channels. On January 30, 2007, it was released worldwide, and was made available for purchase and download from Microsoft's website. The release of Windows Vista came more than five years after the introduction of its predecessor, Windows XP, the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft Windows desktop operating systems. It was succeeded by Windows 7 which was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and for the general public on October 22, 2009.
Windows Vista contains many changes and new features, including an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Windows Aero, a redesigned search function, multimedia tools including Windows DVD Maker, and redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems. Vista aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network, using peer-to-peer technology to simplify sharing files and digital media between computers and devices. Windows Vista includes version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, allowing software developers to write applications without traditional Windows APIs.
Microsoft's primary stated objective with Windows Vista has been to improve the state of security in the Windows operating system. One common criticism of Windows XP and its predecessors is their commonly exploited security vulnerabilities and overall susceptibility to malware, viruses and buffer overflows. In light of this, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced in early 2002 a company-wide "Trustworthy Computing initiative" which aims to incorporate security work into every aspect of software development at the company. Microsoft stated that it prioritized improving the security of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 above finishing Windows Vista, thus delaying its completion.
While these new features and security improvements have garnered positive reviews, Vista has also been the target of much criticism and negative press. Criticism of Windows Vista has targeted its high system requirements, its more restrictive licensing terms, the inclusion of a number of new digital rights management technologies aimed at restricting the copying of protected digital media, lack of compatibility with some pre-Vista hardware and software, and the number of authorization prompts for User Account Control. As a result of these and other issues, Windows Vista had seen initial adoption and satisfaction rates lower than Windows XP. However, with an estimated 330 million internet users as of January 2009, it had been announced that Vista usage had surpassed Microsoft’s pre-launch two-year-out expectations of achieving 200 million users. At the release of Windows 7 (October 2009), Windows Vista (with approximately 400 million internet users) was the second most widely used operating system on the internet with an approx. 23.6% market share, the most widely used being Windows XP with an approx. 60% market share.

Netscape Navigator

Netscape Navigator and Netscape are the names for the proprietary web browser popular in the 1990s, the flagship product of the Netscape Communications Corporation and the dominant web browser in terms of usage share, although by 2002 its usage had almost disappeared. One of the reasons for this was due to the popularity of Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser software and other web browsers, and partly because the Netscape Corporation (later purchased by AOL) did not sustain Netscape Navigator's technical innovation after the late 1990s.
The business demise of Netscape was a central premise of Microsoft's antitrust trial, wherein the Court ruled that Microsoft Corporation's bundling of Internet Explorer with the Windows operating system was a monopolistic, and illegal business practice.
The Netscape Navigator web browser was succeeded by the Netscape Communicator internet suite, in turn succeeded by Netscape 6, Netscape 7, and Netscape Browser 8. the resurrection of the Netscape Navigator name would be Netscape Navigator 9.
AOL formally stopped development of Netscape Navigator on 28 December 2007, but continued supporting the web browser with security updates until 1 February 2008, then extended until 1 March 2008, when AOL canceled technical support, yet permits user-downloading of archived versions of the Netscape Navigator web browser family. Moreover, AOL maintains the Netscape website as an Internet portal.
Netscape was the base for Mozilla Firefox and parts are used in Google Chrome.

Inkscape

Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics editor similar to Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Freehand, or Xara X. What sets Inkscape apart is its use of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), an open XML-based W3C standard, as the native format.
In contrast to raster (bitmap) graphics editors such as Photoshop or Gimp, Inkscape stores its graphics in a vector format. Vector graphics is a resolution-independent description of the actual shapes and objects that you see in the image. A rasterization engine uses this information to determine how to plot each line and curve at any resolution or zoom level.
Contrast that to bitmap (raster) graphics which is always bound to a specific resolution and stores an image as a grid of pixels.
Inkscape can import and display bitmap images, too. An imported bitmap becomes yet another object in your vector graphics, and you can do with it everything you can do to other kinds of objects (move, transform, clip, etc.)
While Inkscape does not have all the features of the leading vector editors, the latest versions provide for a large portion of basic vector graphics editing capabilities. People report successfully using Inkscape in a lot of very different projects (web graphics, technical diagrams, icons, creative art, logos, maps).
Title:
Inkscape 0.47
Filename:
Inkscape-0.47-3.exe
File size:
37.01MB (38,811,470 bytes)
Requirements:
Windows 9x / 2000 / XP / 2003 / XP64
Languages:
en-US
License:
Open Source
Date added:
November 25, 2009
Author:
Inkscape

WinSnap

WinSnap is a small enhancement utility for taking and editing screenshots. Standard features include easy capture of non-rectangular windows with customized and transparent backgrounds, simple and automatic canvas transformations, coloring effects, and the addition of eye-candy drop shadows. WinSnap supports a variety of image formats and has advanced auto-save features.
Non-rectangular shapes and rounded
Drop shadow effect and Windows Vista support
Alpha-Channel and PNG transparency support
Unique Multi-Object capture mode
Version 1 is FREE for personal, educational and non-commercial use. Version 2 and onwards is shareware.
Title:
WinSnap 3.1.4
Filename:
WinSnap_3.1.4.exe
File size:
618KB (632,576 bytes)
Requirements:
Windows 2000 / XP / 2003 / Vista / Windows7 / XP64 / Vista64 / Windows7 64
Languages:
en-US
License:
Shareware
Date added:
November 19, 2009
Author:
NTWind Software

XnView

XnView is freeware software that allows you to view and convert graphic files. It's very fast and easy to use. But more importantly it supports more than 400 graphics formats!
Import about 400 graphic file formats
Export about 50 graphic file formats
Multipage TIFF, Animated GIF, Animated ICO support
Image IPTC, EXIF metadata support
EXIF auto rotation support
IPTC editing
Resize, rotate, crop support
Lossless rotate & crop (jpeg) support
Adjust brightness, contrast...
Auto levels, contrast
Modify number of colors
Apply filters (blur, average, emboss, ...)
Apply effects (lens, wave, ...)
Fullscreen mode
Slide show with effects
Batch convert, batch rename
Create WEB page easily
Screen capture
Create contact Sheet
Create or edit Multi-page file (TIFF, DCX, LDF)
TWAIN & WIA support (Windows only)
Print support (Windows only)
Drag & Drop support (Windows only)
Compare image side by side
Filmstrip layout
44 languages support (Windows only)

Picasa

Picasa is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. Every time you open Picasa, it automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you had) and sorts them into visual albums organized by date with folder names you will recognize. You can drag and drop to arrange your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa makes sure your pictures are always organized.
Picasa also makes advanced editing simple by putting one-click fixes and powerful effects at your fingertips. And Picasa makes it a snap to share your pictures, you can email, print photos home, make gift CDs, instantly share your images and albums, and even post pictures on your own blog.
The latest version includes Web Albums (along with other improvements), but requires that you request an account from Google.

IrfanView

IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative Freeware (for non-commercial use) graphic viewer for Windows.
IrfanView features include:
Many supported file formats
Multi language support
Thumbnail/preview option
Slideshow (save slideshow as EXE/SCR or burn it to CD)
Show EXIF/IPTC/Comment text in Slideshow/Fullscreen etc.
Support for Adobe Photoshop Filters
Drag & drop support
Fast directory view (moving through directory)
Batch conversion (with image processing)
Multipage TIF editing
Multimedia player
Print option
Change color depth
And much more...

FastStone Image Viewer

FastStone Image Viewer is a fast, stable, user-friendly image browser, converter and editor. It has a nice array of features that include image viewing, management, comparison, red-eye removal, emailing, resizing, cropping and color adjustments.
Its innovative but intuitive full-screen mode provides quick access to EXIF information, thumbnail browser and major functionalities via hidden toolbars that pop up when your mouse touches the four edges of the screen.
Other features include a high quality magnifier and a musical slideshow with 150+ transitional effects, as well as lossless JPEG transitions, drop shadow effects, image annotation, scanner support, histogram and much more.
It supports all major graphic formats:
BMP JPEG JPEG 2000 animated GIF PNG PCX TIFF WMF ICO TGA It also supports popular digital camera RAW formats:
CRW CR2 NEF PEF RAF MRW FastStone Image Viewer is a fast, stable, user-friendly image browser, converter and editor. It has a nice array of features that include image viewing, management, comparison, red-eye removal, emailing, resizing, cropping and color adjustments.
Its innovative but intuitive full-screen mode provides quick access to EXIF information, thumbnail browser and major functionalities via hidden toolbars that pop up when your mouse touches the four edges of the screen.
Other features include a high quality magnifier and a musical slideshow with 150+ transitional effects, as well as lossless JPEG transitions, drop shadow effects, image annotation, scanner support, histogram and much more.
It supports all major graphic formats:
BMP JPEG JPEG 2000 animated GIF PNG PCX TIFF WMF ICO TGA It also supports popular digital camera RAW formats:
CRW CR2 NEF PEF RAF MRW ORF SRF DNG

PowerDVD

CyberLink PowerDVD is a commercial media player forMicrosoft Windows and Linux. Several editions of the software are sold including: Ultra, Deluxe and Standard. All editions support the viewing of DVD but only the Ultra edition supports Blu-ray playback.

The product is distributed via physical install media (CD) or via download from the Cyberlink website. PowerDVD is often bundled with a variety of PC systems and peripherals (particularly optical drives)

HD DVD support was included in some versions of PowerDVD 7 but was removed from PowerDVD 8 because there will be limited new releases in this format as it is no longer supported by any major studio. It can be re-enabled in the original retail version of PowerDVD 8 through a workaround.

Cyberlink advises users who want to keepHD DVD playback to buy the Ultra editions of PowerDVD 7 and 8 which can be installed together on the same system

A Linux version of PowerDVD is available at the Canonical Ltd. store.

Winamp

Winamp is a proprietary media player written by Nullsoft, now a subsidiary of AOL. It is skinnable, multi-format freeware/shareware.
Winamp was first released by Justin Frankel in 1997. Current Winamp development is credited to Ben Allison (Benski) and Maksim Tyrtyshny. Winamp grew from 33 million users in February 2005 to over 57 million users in September 2006

Besides MP3, Winamp supports a wide variety of contemporary and specialized music file formats, including MIDI, MOD, MPEG-1 audio layers 1 and 2, AAC, M4A, FLAC, WAV and WMA. Winamp was one of the first common music players on Windows to support playback of Ogg Vorbis by default. It supports gapless playback for MP3 and AAC, and Replay Gain for volume leveling across tracks. In addition, Winamp can play and import music from audio CDs, optionally with CD-Text, and can also burn music to CDs. It should be noted that it is necessary to buy the "Pro" version to be able to rip or burn discs at maximum speeds.
Winamp supports playback of Windows Media Video and Nullsoft Streaming Video. For MPEG Video, AVI and other unsupported video types, Winamp uses Microsoft's DirectShow API for playback, allowing playback of most of the video formats supported by Windows Media Player. Surround sound is supported where formats and decoders allow.

RealPlayer

RealPlayer is a closed source cross-platform media player by RealNetworks that plays a number of multimedia formats including MP3, MPEG-4, QuickTime, Windows Media, and multiple versions of proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo formats.
The first version of RealPlayer was introduced in April 1995 as RealAudio Player, one of the first media players capable of streaming media over the Internet. Version 6 of RealPlayer was called RealPlayer G2; version 9 was called RealOne Player. Free "Basic" versions have been provided as well as paid "Plus" versions with additional features. On Windows, version 9 subsumed the features of the separate program RealJukebox.
RealPlayer 11 was released for Windows in November 2007, and for Mac OS X in May 2008. Versions of RealPlayer are also available for Linux, Unix, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, and Symbian OS.The program is powered by an underlying open source media engine called Helix.
RealPlayer was a popular streaming media player during the early years of the Internet, but in recent years it has been surpassed in market share by Windows Media Player, and, since mid-2007, Apple's iTunes

Paint Net

Paint.NET is a freeware raster graphics editing program for Microsoft Windows, developed on the .NET Framework. Originally created as a Washington State University student project, Paint.NET has evolved from a simple replacement for the Microsoft Paint program, which is included with WinPaint.NET is primarily programmed in the C# programming language, with small amounts of C++ used for installation and shell-integration related functionality. Its native image format, .PDN, is a compressed representation of the application's internal object format, which preserves layering and other information. Excluding the installer, text, and graphics, Paint.NET is released under a modified version of the MIT-like License. It was initially released as completely open source, but due to breaches of license, all resource files (such as interface text and icons) were released under a Creative Commons license forbidding modification, and the installer was made closed-source.
Version 3.36 was initially released as partial open source as described above, but the sources were later removed by the developer. The developer no longer makes the source freely available for download. In version 3.5, the license was altered to reflect this.dows, into a powerful editor with support for layers, blending, transparency, and plugins.

flash player

The Adobe Flash Player is software for viewing animations and movies using computer programs such as a web browser. Flash player is a widely distributed proprietary multimedia and application player created by Macromedia and now developed and distributed by Adobe after its acquisition. Flash Player runs SWF files that can be created by the Adobe Flash authoring tool, by Adobe Flex or by a number of other Macromedia and third party tools.
Adobe Flash, or simply Flash, refers to both a multimedia authoring program and the Adobe Flash Player, written and distributed by Adobe, that uses vector and raster graphics, a native scripting language called ActionScript and bidirectional streaming of video and audio. Strictly speaking, Adobe Flash is the authoring environment and Flash Player is the virtual machine used to run the Flash files, but in colloquial language these have become mixed: "Flash" can mean either the authoring environment, the player, or the application files.
Flash Player has support for an embedded scripting language called ActionScript (AS), which is based on ECMAScript. Since its inception, ActionScript has matured from a script syntax without variables to one that supports object-oriented code, and may now be compared in capability to JavaScript (another ECMAScript-based scripting language).
The Flash Player was originally designed to display 2-dimensional vector animation, but has since become suitable for creating rich Internet applications and streaming video and audio. It uses vector graphics to minimize file size and create files that save bandwidth and loading time. Flash is a common format for games, animations, and GUIs embedded into web pages.
The Flash Player is available as a plugin for recent versions of web browsers (such as Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Safari and Internet Explorer) on selected platforms. Adobe states that each version of the plugin is backwards-compatible, with the exception of security changes introduced in Version 10.

Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. A Net Applications survey put Firefox at 25% of the recorded usage share of web browsers as of November 2009, making it the second most popular browser in terms of current use worldwide after Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

To display web pages, Firefox uses the Geckolayout engine, which implements most currentweb standards in addition to several features which are intended to anticipate likely additions to the standards.

Latest Firefox features include tabbed browsing, spell checking, incremental find, live bookmarking, a download manager, private browsing, location-aware browsing (aka "geolocation") based exclusively on a Googleservice and an integrated search system that uses Google by default in most localizations. Functions can be added through add-ons, created by third-party developers, of which there is a wide selection, a feature that has attracted many of Firefox's users.

Relationship with Google:

The Mozilla Corporation's relationship with Google has been noted in the media, especially with regard to their paid referral agreement. The release of the anti-phishing protection in Firefox 2 in particular raised considerable controversy: anti-phishing protection enabled by default is based on a list updated by twice-hourly downloads to the user's computer from Google's server. The user cannot change the data provider within the GUI, and is not informed who the default data provider is. The browser also sends Google's cookie with each update request. Some^[ Internet privacy advocacy groups have expressed concerns surrounding Google's possible uses of this data, especially that Firefox's privacy policy states that Google may share information gathered with "safebrowsing" service with third parties, including business partners. Google also promoted Mozilla Firefox throughYouTube until the release of Google Chrome. Recently, Mozilla Security assisted the search giant by pointing out a security flaw in Google's Chrome browser.

In 2005, the Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation had a combined revenue of US$52.9 million, with approximately 95 percent derived from search engine royalties. In 2006, the Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation had a combined revenue of US$66.9 million, with approximately 90 percent derived from search engine royalties. In 2007, the Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation had a combined revenue of US$75 million, with 88 percent of this sum (US$66 million) from Google.In 2008, both Mozilla organizations had a combined revenue of US$78.6 million, with 91 percent coming from Google. Mozilla Foundation and Corporation are being audited by the IRS and some believe its non-profit status may be called into question.

Windows Live Messenger

History

MSN Messenger

Before the product was renamed Windows Live Messenger, it was known as "MSN Messenger Service" from 1999 to 2001 and "MSN Messenger" from 2001 to 2005. During that time, Microsoft released seven major versions as follows.

The first version of MSN Messenger Service, version 1.0 (1.0.0863), 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 the software. Since then, the software has only allowed connections to its own service, requiring a Windows Live ID account to connect.

Microsoft released 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, one of the first 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.n 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," the name it has kept ever since. This version 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, that it originally intended to replace MSN Messenger with on Windows XP.

That strategy changed when 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 the user interfaceartwork, and a Windows Media Player interface plug-in.

The next year, 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 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 a major upgrade to version 7.0 on April 7, 2005. This version brought winkfeatures 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 is the last version of MSN Messenger that runs on Windows 98 and Windows Me. This version also introduced digital ink and handwriting recognition support.

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 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. You still can run MSN Messenger 7.5 by changing the compatibility settings to Windows 2000.

Windows Live Messenger (formerly named MSN Messenger) is an instant messaging client created byMicrosoft that is currently designed to work withWindows XP (32-bit XP only), Windows Vista,Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Mobile. The client has been part of Microsoft's Windows Live set of online services since 2005. It connects to Microsoft's .NET Messenger Service. The client was first released as MSN Messenger on July 22, 1999, and as Windows Live Messenger on December 13, 2005. The service attracts over 330 million active users each month.

Windows Live Messenger 8.0

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 the newly renamed Windows Live Messenger, Beta 1, was released on December 13, 2005. It remained online and usable for around a month until an auto-update feature forced one to install Beta 2, rendering this version obsolete. Known bugs within this version include the offline conversation feature: although still advertised in the yellow bar at the top of the conversation box, it was useless to anyone who had not received an invitation (i.e., downloaded it from another site). 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, was released on February 26, 2006. The overall theme of this version was improved, fixing and improving several smaller places in the program. This version has become obsolete, forcing users to update 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 the normal dash icon.

The final beta version, Beta 3, was released on May 2, 2006, was nearly identical to the final.Major changes and additions included new icons for the program, PC-to-phone calling, an updated look for theWindows 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 the U.S., and an option for sounds to be edited and/or turned off.^[20]

The final and 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, the status "On the phone" from the previous version was renamed to "In a call" due to the addition of Windows Live Call, customization for the nicknames of individual contacts, timestamps on messages, 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. Also when Windows Live Messenger was officially released, the main authentication system, Microsoft Passport Network, was replaced with Windows Live ID.

An update, labeled the Refresh to version 8.0, was released on August 10, 2006. It included audio and video improvements and fixed up minor bugs.^[22]

Features

In addition to its basic functionality and general capability as an instant messaging client, Windows Live Messenger offers the following features:

Sharing folders

The Sharing Folder feature is an alternative to the "direct transfer" method of file distribution. When a user wants to deliver a file to another person on his or hercontact list, the "sharing folder" window appears, which is an individualized representation of all previously shared items.

When files are added to the "sharing folder" for that particular person, the file will automatically be transferred to the corresponding computer when they are online. This means that the folder is literally "shared" between two computers. If a user deletes a file, for example, the file will also be deleted from the corresponding computer's shared folder.

To minimize risk of virus-infected transfers, the "sharing folder" feature is bundled with an anti-virusprogram. The "sharing folder" feature can only be used on computers with NTFS-formatted hard disks.

The Sharing Folder feature has been discontinued in the latest version of Windows Live Messenger (2009), and replaced with access to Windows Live SkyDrive instead.

PC-to-phone calls

Main article: Windows Live Call

In addition to PC-to-PC calls that have been supported in previous versions, Windows Live Messenger now supports PC-to-phone calls with Windows Live Call. In the US, this feature is supported by Verizon, branded as "Verizon Web Calling". Orange France also has a similar service. This feature is only available in selected countries, including the US, the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Belgium, Spain, and Italy. Verizon ended service in August 2008 and was replaced in the US with Telefonica, while Orange will offer the service for the rest of the world.

Interoperability

On October 13, 2005, Yahoo! and Microsoft announced plans to introduce interoperability between their two messengers,^[4] creating the second largest instant messaging user base worldwide: 40 percent of all users. The announcement came after years of third-party interoperability success (most notably, Trillian,Pidgin) and criticisms from Google that the major real time communications services were locking their networks.^{[citation needed]}

Interoperability between Yahoo! and Windows Live Messenger was launched July 12, 2006.^[5][6] This allows Yahoo! and Windows Live Messenger users to chat to each other without the need to create an account on the other service, provided both contacts use the latest versions of the clients. However, if a user uses an older or third-party client, they will appear offline to the users on the other network.

Offline messaging

One can send messages to contacts who are offline; they will receive the messages once they come online. Additionally, a user can start conversations even when his or her status is set to Appear Offline, similar to behavior in Yahoo! Messenger and ICQ. If talking to someone who has an older MSN Messenger client, they will lose the ability to talk to you after a short period of no activity, due to their client thinking you are offline.

Games and applications

Main article: Games and applications for Windows Live Messenger

There are various games and applications available in Windows Live Messenger that can be accessed via the conversation window by clicking on the games icon, and challenging your friend or contact to a competition in a game, or inviting them to launch a shared external application.

"i’m" initiative

The i’m initiative is a program Microsoft launched in March 2007, that connects the user with ten organizations dedicated to social causes through Windows Live Messenger, only for conversations sent or received in the USA and Australia. Every time someone has a conversation using i’m, Microsoft Corp. shares a portion of the program's advertising revenue with the organization of the user's choice. There is no set cap on the amount donated to each organization. The more i’m conversations the user has, the more money goes to one of the ten causes. Each participating organization was guaranteed a minimum donation of $100,000 during the first year of the program. There is currently no end date for the program.