science

Microsoft Messenger service

Microsoft Messenger service is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Microsoft Messenger service rather than just read about it. In short: Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger Service, .NET Messenger Service and Windows Live Messenger Service) was an instant messaging and presence system developed by Microsoft in 1999 for use with its MSN Messenger software. It was used by instant messaging clients including Windows 8, Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft Messenger for Mac, Outlook.com and Xbox Live.

Key takeaways

Microsoft Messenger service belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Microsoft Messenger service to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Microsoft Messenger service from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger Service, .NET Messenger Service and Windows Live Messenger Service) was an instant messaging and presence system developed by Microsoft in 1999 for use with its MSN Messenger software. It was used by instant messaging clients including Windows 8, Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft Messenger for Mac, Outlook.com and Xbox Live. Third-party clients also connected to the service. It communicated using the Microsoft Notification Protocol, a proprietary instant messaging protocol. The service allowed anyone with a Microsoft account to sign in and communicate in real time with other people who were signed in as well. On January 11, 2013, Microsoft announced that they were retiring the existing Messenger service globally (except for mainland China where Messenger will continue to be available) and replacing it with Skype. In April 2013, Microsoft merged the service into Skype; existing users were able to sign into Skype with their existing accounts and access their contact list. As part of the merger, Skype's instant messaging functionality is now running on the backbone of the former Messenger service.

Background Despite multiple name changes to the service and its client software over the years, the Messenger service is often referred to colloquially as "MSN", due to the history of MSN Messenger. The service itself was known as MSN Messenger Service from 1999 to 2001, at which time, Microsoft changed its name to .NET Messenger Service and began offering clients that no longer carried the "MSN" name, such as the Windows Messenger client included with Windows XP, which was originally intended to be a streamlined version of MSN Messenger, free of advertisements and integrated into Windows. Nevertheless, the company continued to offer more upgrades to MSN Messenger until the end of 2005, when all previous versions of MSN Messenger and Windows Messenger were superseded by a new program, Windows Live Messenger, as part of Microsoft's launch of its Windows Live online services. For several years, the official name for the service remained .NET Messenger Service, as indicated on its official network status web page, though Microsoft rarely used the name to promote the service. Because the main client used to access the service became known as Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft started referring to the entire service as the Windows Live Messenger Service in its support documentation in the mid-2000s. The service can integrate with the Windows operating system, automatically and simultaneously signing into the network as the user logs into their Windows account. Organizations can also integrate their Microsoft Office Communications Server and Active Directory with the service. In December 2011, Microsoft released an XMPP interface to the Messenger service. As part of a larger effort to rebrand many of its Windows Live services, Microsoft began referring to the service as simply Messenger in 2012.

Software

Official clients Microsoft offered the following instant messaging clients that connected to the Messenger service:

Windows Live Messenger, for users of Windows 7 and previous versions MSN Messenger was the former name of the client from 1999 to 2006 Windows Messenger is a scaled-down client that was included with Windows XP in 2001 Microsoft Messenger for Mac, for users of Mac OS X Outlook.com includes web browser-based functionality for instant messaging Hotmail, the predecessor to Outlook.com, includes similar functionality for Messenger Windows Live Web Messenger was a web-based program for use through Internet Explorer MSN Web Messenger was the former name of the web-based client Windows 8, includes a built-in Messaging client Xbox Live includes access to the Messenger service from within the Xbox Dashboard MSN TV (formerly WebTV) had a built-in messaging client available on the original WebTV/MSN TV and MSN TV 2 devices, which was originally introduced via a Summer 2000 software update Messenger on Windows Phone includes access to the Messenger service from within a phone running Windows Phone Windows Live Messenger for iPhone and iPod Touch includes access to the Messenger service from within an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad Windows Live Messenger for Nokia includes access to the Messenger service from within a Nokia phone Messenger Play! includes access to the Messenger service from within an Android phone or tablet Windows Live Messenger for BlackBerry includes access to the Messenger service from within a BlackBerry

Security concerns A 2007 analysis of Messenger's Microsoft Notification Protocol, which is unencrypted, concluded that its design "did not follow several principles of designing secure systems", resulting in a "plethora of security vulnerabilities"; these vulnerabilities were demonstrated by successfully spoofing a user's identity.

See also Microsoft Notification Protocol Comparison of instant messaging protocols Comparison of cross-platform instant messaging clients

References

External links MSN Messenger protocol documentation MSNPiki (protocol wiki) Skype replaces Microsoft Messenger for online calls

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Microsoft Messenger service

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Microsoft Messenger service claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Microsoft Messenger service before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Microsoft Messenger service ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Microsoft Messenger service

In research: Microsoft Messenger service appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Microsoft Messenger service in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Microsoft Messenger service is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics .NET, Instant messaging protocols, Windows communication and services, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Microsoft Messenger service outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Microsoft Messenger service in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Microsoft Messenger service means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Microsoft Messenger service out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Microsoft Messenger service in simple terms?

Why does Microsoft Messenger service matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Microsoft Messenger service?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Microsoft Messenger service.