Member Avatar for happygeek

Microsoft has, at last, shown its hand when it comes to answering the online services challenge from the likes of Google and Yahoo!; both of whom currently trounce the Seattle OS champions in both audience reach and earnings in the online sphere. Windows Live is moving out of Beta at long last (although not as long as Google services which traditionally remain in Beta, well, pretty much forever – or it often feels like they do anyway.)

With a big huzzah, MSN Messenger has re-emerged with voice and video integration, and one click access to email, blogging and other Windows Live services. MSN Messenger is dead: long live . Unfortunately for Microsoft, Skype is still very much alive however. But with 240 million IM users, compared to 100 million Skype users, Microsoft is hoping to carve its own niche amongst the PC to PC and PC to telephone voice market. It is also in the perfect position to leverage this user base and build a new brand based upon online services: the 20+ Windows Live online services that will launch across 60 markets during the course of the next year to be precise. How long, I wonder, before we see the removal of the brand altogether?

Let’s hope Microsoft can overcome sign-in problems, as it certainly won’t make much of an impact if users are met with the “we're unable to complete your request - the Passport Network is experiencing technical difficulties - please try again later” I’ve been looking at for much of the day. I can’t recall the last time Google wouldn’t log me in to use its services, or Yahoo! for that matter.

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A short, practical primer for the thread. Microsoft has repositioned the IM client as part of a wider Windows Live services strategy rather than as a standalone MSN product. That choice explains the longer, descriptive name and the push toward integrated identity, contacts and web services. Short, punchy names (AIM, Yahoo) are easier to say, so the old “MSN” label will probably stick in everyday use even after the formal change.

The sign-in failures reported by are a common symptom of staged rollouts or local client/network issues. Common causes divide into server-side rollouts and client-side configuration problems. A concise troubleshooting checklist that covers the typical fixes:

  • Confirm credentials by signing in to a Windows Live web service to isolate account vs client problems.
  • Test from a different network (tether or public Wi‑Fi) to rule out ISP/proxy interference.
  • Temporarily disable or add an exception for the messenger client in firewall and antivirus software.
  • Check system date/time and any proxy settings that could affect authentication.
  • Update or reinstall the Messenger client and any Windows Live components; a clean install often clears corrupted caches.
  • Flush DNS and reboot the router; if problems persist consider a fresh Windows user profile before a full reinstall.

On branding: is right that shorter names are more memorable, and ’s unease about change is typical. Microsoft’s choice reflects a strategic link to the Windows platform rather than a simple renaming. In practice, adoption will be driven more by feature parity, reliability and interoperability than by the new name alone.

Practical takeaway: rollout hiccups are common and usually transient. For critical use, keep fallback contact methods and older client installers until the new service stabilizes, and preserve exact error messages and timestamps for faster diagnosis.

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Member Avatar for vtechno42

What I don't understand is, what was wrong with the MSN brend from a common sensical stance?

Let's examine the names of the other popular IM mediums.

AIM
Yahoo
Google

Very short, very easy to remember names. And MSN had that too, I'll be damned if Imma stop saying MSN and use Windows Live Messenger in it's stead...

Member Avatar for happygeek

My theory is:

Windows Live Messenger
WLM
Said out loud is wer-lum
Werlum = William

Gates has named it after himself as a parting shot. Everything is going to end up branded as Microsoft Bill...

Member Avatar for vtechno42

Windows Live Messenger
WLM
Said out loud is wer-lum

I dig Werlum, ahaha... is that kinda like a half-man, half-Lum that only comes out on the full moon? :lol:

Member Avatar for goldeagle2005

I hope not. That's be a disaster

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