14 years after it was first brought to life, the glory days of Microsoft’s instant messaging service, MSN Messenger is finally over. The tech giant announced that the chat platform will be terminated around the world except China.
In its most successful period, MSN Messenger which was later renamed to Windows Live Messenger, had about 300 million active users worldwide. It was the service that gained a lot of users from ICQ but soon faced competition with more “mobile” messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and LINE stormed into the market. Facebook Message also had their share of the pie when it was implemented.
Although the days of MSN Messenger were clearly over, Microsoft hasn’t given up on investing in a communication channel for its loyal fans. In 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype for a whopping total of USD8.5 billion. MSN Messenger users can now access Skype with the same user ID.
In the past year, Skype was put through a major overhaul and it has gotten better, with a lot more to offer because it’s more than just instant messaging service alone. For instance, it supports conference calls up to 25 people at a time, plus a video chat function that includes screen sharing. Plus, the new Windows 8 app is showing a lot of potential so we’re not surprised if it easily replaces MSN Messenger with merely a swipe.
(Source)
