The MSN Messenger is incontrovertibly one of the best options available in the satanic lairs of Instant Messaging. Au contraire, there are quite a few things to prove its not so wonderful facets.
Why go for it?
- The Looks:
Looks of a software, you ask? After all, its not of George Clooney I speak, I only speak of a modest software. I like you question Sir, so I shall proceed to answer it.
The looks of this particular chatting heaven can be best summed up as – neat. Neat, clean, and spotless. Easy on eyes and brains. Definitely not like its floral counterparts (ICQ, if I may suggest) which are clogged with too many worthless options on the main layout itself. MSN only has the bare minimum functions in your face – serene, clean and… (damn, I ran out of rhyming words). Compact as it maybe, it also blesses you well by adapting blissfully to your windows colors – so whether you have a gory red horror movie theme, or a chirpy nature scene, your MSN will adapt to it well. If only human beings were so adjusting… sigh.
- Connectivity:
MSN gets good points, although not full for its connectivity. It connects with pretty decent time, and pops up your 185 messages in inbox as soon as it is connected. Also, it not only accepts your hotmail account for chatting, it also lets you use your customized e-mails via passport membership. So that’s one thing that deserves a round of applause. Oh sit down, I didn’t ask for a standing ovation!
- Good Features:
Its easy to change your nickname – which is not in the case of the Shammi Kapoor counterpart (Yahoo! – duh!) and you can also add smilies with your nickname. Reminds me of someone who didn’t have a nickname, only random smilies… yea, you got it – ‘twas a girl! I like the block feature – the good ol’ block feature. Blocks your boyfriend when you’re cheating on him (just an idea, I don’t do that, alright!?), blocks your netpal who keeps asking for your phone no. and blocks everyone else for no special reason. Also the standard modes – online, away, out for lunch… etc. I think MSN also supports SMS, although it doesn’t work here in India. It also has a neat voice conference option. Worth mentioning is the fast file transfer speed.
So when you go basic – MSN rules the show, but the question is – how basic are you willing to get?
Why reconsider?
- Advertisements:
And you thought you had escaped the devil, eh? Well, how do you expect these people to earn a living, eh? So MSN is accompanied with banners – not popups, but otherwise clogging the main interface. Advertising on MSN ends here, thank God which cannot be said of similar options.
- Going Basic:
Like I said, when its basic, MSN is good. But perhaps a few additions could not hurt. MSN is way simple. Barely any font color options, big smilies (should reduce their size) and lacks upgradations on the looks. Also when someone is blocked, you don’t get a notification when they come online – can be considered both a pro and a con.
- No Records:
Of course, it doesn’t have a history option or logs of your chats. Again, might be a pro or a con, who wants to store a chat where you spend three hours just to decide what dress to wear at a party? But what if you got this very juicy gossip with loads of details, and accidently your chat windows shuts down – hurts just to think about it, doesn’t it?
So that’s that, MSN for you. I would highly recommend this software to people who don’t have time to waste because it is fast and efficient – no doubt. The few things it lacks are not very major drawbacks. Nobody’s perfect they say? I say, nothing is either!