Mac Mojo: The Office for Mac Team Blog

I wanted to take a moment and share with you the progress we are making with Messenger for Mac. This year we successfully delivered Audio and Video (A/V) support in the corporate service (works with Office Communications Server) of Messenger for Mac 7. We are now on the path to implement A/V support in the personal service (which will work with Windows Live service), and uses the same protocol as the corporate service.

I'm glad to say that the upcoming release of Windows Live Messenger, currently in beta, delivers the new A/V protocol that enables us to deliver A/V support in Messenger for Mac. It is cross-platform compatible and will work with Windows Live Messenger. This is a huge milestone that will enable us to continue moving forward with Messenger for Mac development.

We are very excited to be able to bring A/V support to the personal service. Our plan is to deliver a beta version of A/V in 2009. We are also working on additional features in both the personal and corporate service of Messenger for Mac for the next version of Messenger. We’ll provide more updates and details in a future blog post.

Since we can’t wait and are dying to share with you the progress we’ve made so far, at Macworld we hope to have a live demo of the A/V work we have completed to date in the personal service of Messenger for Mac. So please come on by the MacBU booth at Macworld!

Posted by: Anav in MacBU 2008 Year In Review, Messenger

29 Comments

Comments | Who's Blogging This

[NeilBradley]

NeilBradley

Dec 18, 2008

2:11pm

Awesome!

The comment title actually warranted several exclamation marks.

I'm so glad that we will finally get a preview of A/V functionality in Messenger for Mac. The feature is well overdue - although i am sure that getting the protocols working together has been no small feat.

Looking forward to a beta version so that I can finally get rid of aMSN and Adium. I hope the UI for the new Messenger will be more inline with the overall OSX interface and be more compact - more like iChat.

[Laris]

Laris

Jan 08, 2009

9:48am

Offline Messages

Please please please, all i ask is support for reading offline messages! Its a soooo basic, simple, important and usefull feature (i dont even see it as a "feature" but as the very foundation of messaging itself nowadays) that i cant beleave it is still off messenger-Mac.
Please take a time for including this on the next update, if its a corporative decision not to include it, take a time discussing this with whoever made this missunderstanding of today's messenger usability real.
Thank you very much for your attention, and PLEASE take this in count for this next update!

[dance2noise002]

dance2noise002

Jan 08, 2009

9:48am

Great news!

I think this is great news! Messenger for Mac definitely needs to these enhancements! We need all the features given to Windows users too! I know you guys and gals can deliver!

[willianmaxrf]

willianmaxrf

Jan 08, 2009

9:48am

Re: An Update on Messenger for Mac

This will be available in Portuguese (Brazil) like Windows Live Messenger? The current version of Microsoft Messenger for Mac has serious problems with accented characters.
Thanks!

[JeorgeViratusCastrus]

JeorgeViratusCastrus

Jan 12, 2009

11:34am

Wow Wow Wow

Finally, I really hope that will come alive in early 2009...it would be cool at MacWorld...
MAC&Microsoft the best from the two worlds...
the concept from Apple/MAC -> Microsoft (more and more relly good software from it to MAC users)...

[themaninthesuitcase]

themaninthesuitcase

Jan 12, 2009

11:35am

At last!

Long time coming but a most useful feature.

I have been on the WLM beta and have found 1 or 2 bugs in this which I hope won't be making their way into the new mac version. Mostly to do with the window colour schemes.

Is there currently an ETA for the Mac beta or just "2009"

[ironcase-it]

ironcase-it

Jan 12, 2009

11:39am

Finally

Finally good news for the mac community. I don't want to use these messenger's like Adium, Mercury or aMSN. Is it possible to get a closer look to the new features? Or is there already some BETA out there? I hope there will be many fixes to the previous version, like the "Personal Message Bug". I totally agree to jaimeeee to have some kind of tabs because it is really pain to open some other conversation window if you have already 5 windows open. Hope to hear soon from you.

[MacGizmoGuy]

MacGizmoGuy

Jan 12, 2009

11:39am

Mac Messenger Video Interest VERY High

Of all the Apple friendly video-chat programs, my server logs at: http://www.mac-compatible-web-cam.com/ show EXTREMELY high search interest in the A/V enabled version of Messenger For Mac. So many people, especially Switchers, want to stay with Messenger and do video with their established Pal lists of MSN and Hotmail friends. This upcoming version of Messenger will be HUGELY welcomed by the Macintosh community.

P.S. How did things go at the MacBU booth at MW Expo? Haven't seen any news references -- were you demoing the new version of Messenger there? The world is waiting...

[kirky29]

kirky29

Jan 12, 2009

11:39am

Thank the Lord!

Thank you!
This is a needed feature, I say Needed Again. I would also love to see the interface changed. Looks horrible currently. I don't care about customizing everything, like you can with Adium. I just think it needs a Windows Live look to it.
When will this be out? The Beta aswell?
Don't just say 2009! This month, next, march? Before April? lol!!
Thank you.

[Freshmex]

Freshmex

Jan 12, 2009

11:39am

Awesome

I can't wait to get my hands on it, but for the love of life everywhere in the visible universe I hope there's offline messaging support.

[Mws]

Mws

Jan 12, 2009

11:39am

Functionality

As good as this news is, MFM needs a serious shakeup of functionality, Adium has the functionality to send offline instant messages, nudge people, has a much less ugly interface, tabbed messaging (A god send with the dock) and customisability. Even now theyre working on Implimenting an A/V Protocol

[CHAN]

CHAN

Jan 12, 2009

11:39am

Messenger's skin

Windows live messenger was published 2009.
And I hope the mac version is more likely than wlm.(style and icons)
Also, I hope the login boxes can show the main window, but like now ver. pop-up the small boxes!!!

Hope the teams can listen my comment. Thanks

[Greek_Stallion]

Greek_Stallion

Jan 15, 2009

2:01pm

Video conference/ webcam

I just recently purchased a Macbook Pro and installed messenger, and came to realise i can not change my display picture not even to a default picture from messenger. What can i do to use my webcam or even change my display picture?

[MacWin]

MacWin

Jan 20, 2009

9:05am

Suggestion about conversation history

Currently version of Messenger for Mac has an incompatible "conversation history" file format comparing to Windows Live Messenger.

Can you please make the new version use the same file format as the Windows version of Messenger? So that we will not have problems when switching platforms (for example Windows on work and Mac at home), and keep tracking a same chat history.

Thank you so much.

[jaimeeee]

jaimeeee

Dec 18, 2008

2:11pm

WOW!

This are very good news

I can't wait, the only thing I would really really like is to have tabs... please, it's a pain to have a lot of windows open, we are not in windows, we don't have taskbar, we have exposé and having more than 5 messener windows, plus safari, itunes, etc, it's really a mess, please that would be perfect, it would be the adium killer

[yehohanan]

yehohanan

Dec 18, 2008

2:11pm

Access to beta release

In the second paragraph you mention that the next version of WLM is currently in beta, when can we get access to it?

[Anav]

Anav

Dec 18, 2008

2:17pm

Microsoft reply to yehohanan

@yehohanan - Find more details about Windows Live Messenger here: http://www.windowslive.com/Desktop/messenger

[Defiant]

Defiant

Dec 18, 2008

2:11pm

Plans for Live Meeting?

A/V for personal accounts is certainly great news. Congratulations on your milestone.

I was curious if you have plans to add Live Meeting to the list of features for Corporate accounts using OCS 2007? I'm one of very few Mac users at my company and while I do enjoy A/V and all the other basic functions of Messenger I really do miss out not having access to a Live Meeting client.

Keep up the great work.

[mcic]

mcic

Dec 18, 2008

3:41pm

Yay!

Thanks for this update, this is fabulous news! Now it's to get everyone on Windows to upgrade to WLM 2009 beta so that I can communicate with them once the new Messenger is available!!!

[brandscill]

brandscill

Dec 18, 2008

3:41pm

Yay!

Finally, so glad to here this, just a little update was nice

Hopefully early 2009! Instead of late!

[Drew8585]

Drew8585

Jan 08, 2009

9:48am

Update for messenger

I hope this version will also have an updated look.

[theblarney]

theblarney

Jan 08, 2009

9:48am

Its getting there..

I would also like the ability to be able to make external calls from the client as we have our OCS server connected to our telephone system

[tominic]

tominic

Jan 08, 2009

9:48am

WOOO

Good to hear!

Please also include all the other features we'd like to see too - like nudges, winks, voice clips etc! I reckon it shouldn't be called Messenger for Mac - but Windows Live Messenger - and should be exactly like WLM for PC, but on a Mac. Or at least called Windows Live Messenger: Mac.

And yeah, as someone else said. Please include tabbed chats

GOOD NEWS though

[giancarloromeo]

giancarloromeo

Jan 08, 2009

9:48am

A request...

Thanks for this, but it should be fantastic for all developers to get Messenger:Mac API!

[Copland, JT]

JT Copland

Jan 08, 2009

9:48am

HELP

im not sure if this is the most correct place to ask this but i just bought a macbook and im having trouble getting live messenger to work , i install it but there is only the script page that appears is there a certain way to make the program appear on a mac thats different from a pc or does it just not work to put messenger on a mac. if anyone can help it would be very appreciated. thank you.

[toshy]

toshy

Jan 08, 2009

9:48am

Congrats!

I was so glad when I read this! I had to install Parallels Desktop so I could use WLM on Windows but iChat always interferes with w A/V communication. But now my worries are over! Keep up the good work.

Microsoft Rock!

[valdore]

valdore

Jan 08, 2009

9:48am

Great, but really?

It's taken HOW many years for this?

Can we at least make this update... serious.

Even if you add A/V, that still won't bring it up to even close to what it is for Windows.

So at least also work in producing a better interface... The ability to edit contact information within msn, like you can on a Window's version; the ability to offline message people, and receive offline messages. Those would be two features that I know would benefit us all.

I'm sorry that I'm not as happy as I really should be, but this is far overdue, and is nothing we shouldn't already have had... several years ago, at that.

So please, at least make this update worthwhile, and give us a serious version of Windows Live Messenger.

[MacManX]

MacManX

Jan 12, 2009

11:39am

What version JT?

JT Copland asked about his installation.

Did you download Messenger:Mac 7.0.1 and drag the Messenger icon from the .dmg to your Applications Folder?
That should work. Installing a program on a Mac is usually as easy as that!

Hope this helps!

[MacManX]

MacManX

Jan 12, 2009

11:39am

MacWorld Expo

Does anyone know if the new Beta made it to MacWorld?
What did it look like and what new features (besides A/V support) did it have?

I'm just dying to know...