windows vs. msn messenger - whats the difference

[hamish bell]

help - have latest versions of both installed on my PC,
buyt not sure what differences between the two and which
is the best to use?
Any suggestions

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Greetings Hamish,


There are several differences between the two. Most notably, MSN Messenger 6 has support for
display pictures, custom emoticons, has a different interface, etc. whereas Windows Messenger
supports SIP-based communications services, Exchange IM Server, etc. Which one you use is up
to you, and a matter of personal choice (and based upon your needs and likes), however one
thing to keep in mind, Windows Messenger must still be installed on Windows XP in order for
MSN Messenger to retain full functionality (Remote Assistance, Whiteboard, Application
Sharing, etc.).

MSN Messenger is centered around MSN technologies (Hotmail, MSN Member Profiles, MSN Mobile,
etc.) whereas Windows Messenger is centered around Windows technologies (Exchange Server,
Office Live Communications Server, Windows Netmeeting, etc.).

Both clients however can make use of Microsoft technologies, like the .NET Messenger service,
..NET Passport and .NET Alerts.

Windows Messenger and MSN Messenger are *separate* products, as such, there are capabilities
that Windows Messenger has that MSN Messenger does not (and vice versa), one is not "better"
then the other.
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Messenger/MSN Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com

"hamish bell" > wrote in message
...
> help - have latest versions of both installed on my PC,
> buyt not sure what differences between the two and which
> is the best to use?
> Any suggestions

[Thomas Wenzl [MVP]]

Hi Jonathan,

Jonathan Kay [MVP] wrote:
> There are several differences between the two. Most notably, MSN
> Messenger 6 has support for display pictures, custom emoticons, has a
> different interface, etc. whereas Windows Messenger supports
> SIP-based communications services, Exchange IM Server, etc. Which
> one you use is up to you, and a matter of personal choice (and based
> upon your needs and likes), however one thing to keep in mind,
> Windows Messenger must still be installed on Windows XP in order for
> MSN Messenger to retain full functionality (Remote Assistance,
> Whiteboard, Application Sharing, etc.).
[...]

what do you think about an own article about the differences on
your site?

Regards
--
Thomas Wenzl [MVP for Outlook]

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