Microsoft to End Messenger in 2013 and Skype Will Take Over
I have been a MSN Messenger user for as long as it has been out and just recently my account got hacked and I lost all my contacts. But I guess now that doesn’t really matter since it is going away in less than 6 months. Unfortunately I will not be able to transfer my contacts, but sometimes you just need to clean house anyways.
From the Skype Blog…
We’ve got good news to share! Skype and Messenger are coming together. Millions of Messenger users will be able to reach their Messenger friends on Skype. By updating to Skype, Messenger users can instant message and video call their Messenger friends.
This effort started with the release of Skype 6.0 for Mac and Windows a few weeks ago, which allows you to sign into Skype using a Microsoft account. Now Messenger users just need to update to the latest version of Skype, sign in using a Microsoft account, and their Messenger contacts will be there.
Our goal remains to deliver the best communications experience for everyone, everywhere. We want to focus our efforts on making things simpler for our users while continuously improving the overall experience. We will retire Messenger in all countries worldwide in the first quarter of 2013 (with the exception of mainland China where Messenger will continue to be available).
Read the full blog post here.
So how will this effect your IM usage? My guess is that most people today are using some sort of Facebook messenger and won’t even miss it or will the trouble of having to install, import and learn a new push you to leave Instant Messaging and go straight to Facebook?
Tell us what you think.
