Three options to optimize communication via web

The web communication area is without a doubt, one of the most powerful of all areas; that has advanced lot in short time, thanks to the technology advances and the complex convergence that characterizes the Internet. We can say that there are many ways to communicate as platforms, but only few of them provide accurate solutions. Here are three of the most popular and used: ooVoo, TweetDeck and Windows Live Messenger 2011.

ooVoo is an application that was thought for VoIP clients, being its main competitor Skype. One of the main advantages that ooVoo has is the possibility of having video conference for up to 6 simultaneous users. It also offers the possibility of creating chat channels between ooVoo users and add them to a website. What´s more, with ooVoo you can record and send video messages up to 5 MB. One disadvantage we might find is regarding audio and video quality which depends on the Internet connection the user has, although this is surprisingly good.

To sump up, ooVoo has a nice interface design in 3D format that together with its technical functionality, offers an intuitive user-friendly platform to the user.

On the other hand, TweetDeck, is an application that allows the integration of social networks such as: Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Google Buzz and MySpace, among others. Its creation answered the aim of Twitter users that wanted to read and post tweets in a personalized interface, and even split the screen into as many columns as categories they want. Another feature that stands out in TweetDeck is to shorten the URLs from its interface, with just one click on the link (very useful when tweeting only 140 characters.)

Even thought TweetDeck and ooVoo are two applications for online communications that successfully meet the expectations of their users, without a doubt, Windows Live Messenger 2011, the new version of the popular Microsoft´s messaging client, is the most popular one and stands out for its new functionality. Among them we can find the possibility that users of the new Windows Live Messenger 2011 can synchronize their accounts with social networks (Facebook, MySpace, etc.).

In addition to this, another improvement they have made regarding its interface is that the conversations are no longer in different windows but now the main window includes them, assigning an individual tab for each one. This gives a better control of the conversation organizing them. Another feature we cannot left mentioning is that they added something new to the new format of Windows Live Messenger 2011, the file transfer has come out on top in this new development, as well as the ability to post status updates in different social networks from the same interface.

As we saw before, the options are many and good, but your choice will depend on which is the primary concern you have when communicating over the web, there you will have to choose between: ooVoo, TweetDeck or Windows Live Messenger 2011

Different options we can use to chat with our contacts from Facebook outside the browser

In the past few weeks, Microsoft has announced that Windows Live Messenger’s new version will support Facebook chat. This news has been received with enthusiasm by the fans of this social network. However, the service itself is not a novelty at all. There are client applications, like Digsby, Pidgin and Trillian Astra, just to name a few, that already do this.

One of the most common options when it comes to choosing an alternative messaging client is Digsby. A classic among social network enthusiasts, this application allows simultaneous access to Facebook, Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger chat rooms, among others. In addition, we can change the settings of its interface so that it connects us to other e-mail accounts and even watch the updates of our contacts, friends and followers, depending on the social network. Though not very complete, its interface is very organized and it separates the different services clearly. Its only drawback may be that we must register in order to use its services, although they are free.

Another program with which we can chat in Facebook without using the browser is Pidgin . This multi protocol client app doesn’t offer any functions beyond messaging. This characteristic makes Pidgin simple than the rest of the programs of this kind. Its interface is extremely simple and functional, though it offers different theme options. An advantage of Pidgin over other programs is that it enables us to set different types of commands and notifications according to the contact. For beginners, the fact that Pidgin doesn’t include Facebook chat installed by default can be considered a negative aspect. However, the add-on that enables it gets installed automatically.

Finally, Trillian Astra is a desktop application with which we can not only connect to Facebook chat, but also numerous social networks and messaging services. In addition, we can see the news of our wall and the messages we receive by e-mail. Trillian Astra enables us to carry out statistical studies about our friends’ connection trends and a conversation history. On the other hand, it has a modern interface, it includes numerous skins for us to choose and it organizes the conversations in tabs within the same window. Undoubtedly, the looks is a strong point of this application, although at first it may seem chaotic because of all the information it provides. As Digsby, Trillian Astra requires that you register.

As we have seen in this brief description, there is already more than one program that can do what Windows Live Messenger’s next version will do: chat in Facebook from our desktop. If we focus on managing the contacts only for chat, we will probably choose Pidgin . However, if we want to have extra functionalities and we want to combine the different social networks we may choose Digsby or Trillian Astra.

Now we can chat with our Facebook contacts in Windows Live Messenger

Rumor had it that Windows Live Messenger 2010 version would be more integrated with other social networks, and it has been confirmed by Beta versions recently made available. The news is that now we’ll be able to use the application to chat with our Facebook contacts, which satisfies many users’ needs.

Whether we log in from the website or the application, with the new version we can use Windows Live Messenger as a Facebook client. Another characteristic is that if we have duplicated contacts in both accounts, they will be listed only once, so we will be able to choose through which protocol we want to contact him/her.

Thus, Microsoft, which plans on making the service available by the end of this year, takes action as regards the users’ requests for a greater integration between social networks.

The previous integration between Windows Live Messenger and Facebook and Hotmail’s improvements had got a good reception. By adding the possibility of chatting with our contacts from one single interface, Microsoft’s services will surely be back to the top of the users’ preferences list.

How to remove Windows Live Messenger from Windows 7’s task bar

If you are among the first users who decided to change to Windows 7 you must have noticed that, despite its modern and nice interface, there are some features that are not exactly practical.

One of them is the constant presence of Windows Live Messenger in the task bar as if it was just a window, instead of being located in notification area, as in the previous versions of Microsoft’s operative system.

It is really easy to restore Windows Live Messenger ’s status in Windows 7. First, you must unpin it from the taskbar (if it has been pinned). To do so, right-click its icon in the task bar and select ‘Unpin this program from the taskbar’.

Next, we need to change Windows Live Messenger ’s compatibility options. Go to ‘Start’ menu and look for Windows Live folder in “All programs”. Then right-click on it and select “Properties”.

Go to “Compatibility” tab in the pop-up window and check the option “Run this program in compatibility mode for…”. Once you do this, select “Windows Vista (Service Pack 2)” from the options in the drop-down menu.

From now on, you will have Windows Live Messenger in the notification area and thus more free space in Windows 7’s task bar. To put it in the ‘Show always’ mode, you must use the ‘Preferences’ in notification area.

ICQ 7: now it’s possible to integrate different social networks

After being the first massive program of instant messaging 13 years ago, ICQ disappeared from the spotlight. As a matter of fact, it didn’t disappear, it just lost market to other programs of the same kind as Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger.

Trying to gain prominence again, we find ICQ 7. The program counts with an updated and modern interface. As soon as we enter we find a series of eyelashes from where we can add contacts and do searches, see status updates and send SMS, apart from having on the top part a field to update our status.

This new version of the program not only lets us chat through its own protocol, but also integrates with different social networks like Facebook, Digg, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube, being able to update our status directly from ICQ 7 and simultaneously.

To be able to synchronize with other 2.0 webs, after we registered and got our user on ICQ 7, in the event we didn’t have one before, we go to “Set up your feeds” and on the eyelash “My box” from which we’ll be redirected to a webpage in which we’ll need to enter our username and password. We’ll be able to see our contacts’ updates directly from the ICQ 7 window.

Furthermore, it counts with the traditional contact search that will allow us to locate contacts on the area we want, and start a conversation from the window of the program. ICQ 7 chat window looks very similar to the one of the last Windows Live Messenger versions. It has incorporated buttons for emoticons, to send files, change fonts and more. Moreover, we can also add an image as avatar apart from being able to see our contacts’.

Another remarkable improvement is the incorporation of the possibility to send SMS messaged from the same window of the program in a quick and simple way within a few clicks, being able to store the numbers of our contacts to easily access them again.

This way, ICQ 7, turning into a multiprotocol client, looks for the integration with other social networks, recover territory. If it’s true that there are other applications that perform the same task like Digsby, Pidgin or Miranda IM to name a few, it’s worth it trying the news of this old contender.

Several tricks for your MSN with Messenger Plus! Live

Windows Live Messenger is one of the main instant messaging applications of the moment, through which we have contact with our friends and relatives. Taking into account its extensive use, the creation of Messenger Plus! Live Live was something expected by all the users.

Being essential for the amount of functions that it adds to the application, Messenger Plus! Live Live counts with a great number of features easy to use and that improve notably our experience as users.

One of the things we can do with Messenger Plus! Live Live is adding color to our nicknames. To do that, we need to click on our nickname and select “Change display name”. On the window that pops up, we press the button “Format Codes” that is next to the space where we enter the nickname and right there, we choose the color that we want. If we want to put more than one color, before doing a click on format, we need to select part of the nickname and assign a color to part.

Other feature Messenger Plus! Live Live has is defining a personalized status and sending auto-messages. To do that, once again we need to click on the nickname on the top left part and select “More Status”. Then, on the field “Label” we add what will appear between brackets next to the nickname, and on the field “Auto-message”, what we want the program to answer on our behalf when someone talks to us, being able only to enable this with a particular group.

One of the most interesting functions that this extension has is the “block”. Thanks to that option, our Messenger will literary disappear from our sight. To activate it, we need to select the appropriate option on the Messenger Plus! Live Live menu or use a shortcut with the keys. The predetermined CTRL + Space Bar, that can be changed in “Preferencies and Options”.

Another function that Messenger Plus! Live Live brings is the possibility to add icons of our contacts to the desktop, and even to put them as a floating window always visible, to be able to see at all times, the alternatives of their status. To achieve this, we need to click the contact on the list with the right button, on the fold out menu we need to choose “Messenger Plus! Live Features>Display on the desktop”.

One of the most remarkable functions that this plug-in offers is the multi-session. To be able to log in on more than one account at the same time, we need to click on the plug-in icon that appears on the right top part of the Messenger main window and on the fold out menu select “Perferencies and options…”. Then we go to the eyelash “Personalize” and select the option “Allow me to log in on multiple accounts simultaneously”.

Finally, enumerating the possibilities that open up for us thanks to Messenger Plus! Live Live would be endless. Some things are left out from this guide, like scripts, skin changes, sending sounds, contact administrator, chat window in eyelashes, and many more. Without any doubt, it’s worth to download it and explore its full potential.

Enhance your Windows Live Messenger experience

Windows Live Messenger, developed by Microsoft, is the most popular instant messaging application reaching up to 330 millions users worldwide. There are countless plug-ins, patches and add-ons to enhance your instant messaging experience by adding new, exciting features. Let´s see what they´ve have to offer.

Basically, there are two types of application: those, which serve as specific functions for Messenger (such as MSN Polygamy), and those that add lots of features and tools to improve the user experience.

Messenger Plus! is the most complete add-on for Windows Live Messenger that provides multiple functionalities and features that make your messaging client more useful, complete and fun. Extend the possibilities of Messenger and make your experience a lot more entertaining. Messenger Plus! guarantees to improve your Messenger experience by leaps and bounds. You won’t just get a couple of new options, what you’ll get is a whole new dimension for the Windows Live Messenger software. Moreover, Messenger Plus! now you search straight from the event Viewer, indexing all your conversations automatically, and completely change the look of your Messenger windows with easy-to-install skins.

A-Patch is also one of the patches with most for  Messenger. A-Patch features include removing buttons such as “Activities”, “Windows Live Today”, and dozens of others buttons, multi-msn, show idle status of other users, and so on. A-Patch has over 80 options for you to play with which might seem a bit daunting for new users, which is exactly why it comes with a built-in preview window. Basically, you can preview the changes of nearly every option before actually applying it, it really couldn’t be easier. It may not add as many features as Plus!, but it removes lots of annoying and unnecessary banners and buttons.

As for the other smaller patches, the group comprises utilities like MultiLive and Polygamy, which enable users to open several instances of Windows Live Messenger.

Also in this group, we have Messenger Deluxe, a variant to the classic client Msn Messenger, which has a huge collection of emoticons, avatars, backgrounds. When we use our instant messaging client, we can play around with a series of preset images and that way interpret different situations in each conversation. All these graphics have an excellent design and quality and Messenger Deluxe is very easy to install and use.

In case you need to eliminates viruses from Messenger, you can use MSN Virus Remover, an easy and a fast way to remove MSN worm and virus`s. You just run the App and it well in just a few seconds automatically delete unwanted applications for your pc.

In short, most of these add-ons and patches (with the exception of removing ads) can be found in Messenger Plus! Live. However, so many features and new tools might be confusing for some users and they might prefer modifying just a single aspect of the application by using MultiLive, Polygamy, Messenger Deluxe y MSN Virus Remover –among others.

Enhance your Windows Live Messenger experience

Windows Live Messenger, developed by Microsoft, is the most popular instant messaging application reaching up to 330 millions users worldwide. There are countless plug-ins, patches and add-ons to enhance your instant messaging experience by adding new, exciting features. Let´s see what they´ve have to offer.

Basically, there are two types of application: those, which serve as specific functions for Messenger (such as MSN Polygamy), and those that add lots of features and tools to improve the user experience.

Messenger Plus! is the most complete add-on for Windows Live Messenger that provides multiple functionalities and features that make your messaging client more useful, complete and fun. Extend the possibilities of Messenger and make your experience a lot more entertaining. Plus guarantees to improve your Messenger experience by leaps and bounds. You won’t just get a couple of new options, what you’ll get is a whole new dimension for the Windows Live Messenger software. Moreover, Messenger Plus! now you search straight from the event Viewer, indexing all your conversations automatically, and completely change the look of your Messenger windows with easy-to-install skins.

A-Patch is also one of the patches with most forMessenger. A-Patch features include removing buttons such as “Activities”, “Windows Live Today”, and dozens of others buttons, multi-msn, show idle status of other users, and so on. A-Patch has over 80 options for you to play with which might seem a bit daunting for new users, which is exactly why it comes with a built-in preview window. Basically, you can preview the changes of nearly every option before actually applying it, it really couldn’t be easier. It may not add as many features as Plus!, but it removes lots of annoying and unnecessary banners and buttons.

As for the other smaller patches, the group comprises utilities like MultiLive and Polygamy, which enable users to open several instances of Windows Live Messenger.

Also in this group, we have Messenger Deluxe, a variant to the classic client Msn Messenger, which has a huge collection of emoticons, avatars, backgrounds. When we use our instant messaging client, we can play around with a series of preset images and that way interpret different situations in each conversation. All these graphics have an excellent design and quality and Messenger Deluxe is very easy to install and use.

In case you need to eliminates viruses fromMessenger, you can use MSN Virus Remover, an easy and a fast way to remove MSN worm and virus`s. You just run the App and it well in just a few seconds automatically delete unwanted applications for your pc.

In short, most of these add-ons and patches (with the exception of removing ads) can be found in Messenger Plus! Live. However, so many features and new tools might be confusing for some users and they might prefer modifying just a single aspect of the application by using MultiLive, Polygamy, Messenger Deluxe y MSN Virus Remover –among others.

Having a hard time trying to delete MSN Messenger viruses? Try MSN Cleaner

We often receive messages from our MSN Messenger contacts saying “I hope you enjoy these photos”; they send us virus file or Trojans such as ‘photos-facebook.com.zip’; “Free winks for Messenger” and others, and some of us aren’t aware that they are actually viruses or malwares. To eliminate such viruses, we´ll need MSNCleaner, a tool to remove all those internet threats.

MSNCleaner will remove once for all Trojans and other MSN malwares. No installation is required and the scan is performed in a matter of seconds.

To properly remove all MSN Messenger viruses, it is recommended to start Windows in “Safe Mode” -hit F8 before the Windows logo appears on the screen. Since many drivers, viruses and malwares are loaded in Normal mode, Safe Mode is recommended to properly eliminate them.

Once we logged in, run MSNCleaner and click “Analyze”. The analysis will only take a few seconds and save a detailed report regarding the viruses –in case there is any. Should any virus be found -it will appear on the main window displaying the name of the virus- make sure the options “delete temporary files” and “restore host files” are checked. Finally, click “delete” to erase all viruses –if any threat is found.

Though MSNCleaner will clean most MSN viruses, it´s highly recommended to run Microsoft Update and install all critical and high-priority updates. CCleaner is also recommended to completely remove all cookies, useless registry entries and other data.

Once all viruses were eliminated, we can reboot our PC in Normal Mode and use MSN Messenger without annoying our contacts with spamming messages. Remember to run Microsoft Update from time to time –or go to the automatic “updates” tab in system properties and set them to “automatic”.

Windows Live Messenger 2009 14.0.8089.726 update released

Celebrating its 10th birthday, Microsoft recently launched a new update of the most popular instant messaging client in the world; MSN Windows Live Messenger. Although many users are eager to get their hands on the long-awaited MSN 10, this upgrade doesn’t present any major features, since it was mainly released to fix critical security holes.

The most critical aspect of the Windows Live Messenger 9.0 (2009) 14.0.8089.726 upgrade is the fact that the release is designed to patch a number of vulnerabilities affecting versions 8.1, 8.5 and 14.0. Microsoft has published the Microsoft Security Advisory 973882 detailing the security holes that have been plugged with the 14.0.8089.726 Build.

Starting with August 25th 2009, Microsoft began to serve optional upgrade notifications to Windows Live Messenger clients’ versions 8.1 and 8.5. In mid September, the upgrades will become mandatory. Users are advised to deploy the Windows Live Messenger upgrade as soon as possible and to patch security flaws in Microsoft Active Template Library (ATL), which could allow for remote code execution in the eventuality of a successful attack. This vulnerability was also fixed for Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player as well.

Even though no major updates were release, the latest release of MSN Windows Live Messenger 2009 presents some minor features. Among them: a new interface featuring Aero Windows to match Windows Vista look. Moreover, Windows Live Messenger 2009 is now is fully compatible with Windows 7. On the other hand, our contact´s personal updates known as “What´s New” will be shown on each conversation window. This new version also integrates Bing –Microsoft search engine- into its interface. However, the most important feature is the possibility of importing friends/contacts from Facebook, MySpace, Linked In and Hi5, among others.

According to Microsoft , here is what’s new in Windows Live Messenger 9.0 (2009) 14.0.8089.726:

• Personalization. Add a profile picture or video, display a personal scene in the chat window, update the status message with your news, add a favorite link, or add what song you’re listening to.
• Integration of ‘What’s New’ feed. With the ‘What’s New’ feed in Messenger, you can stay in touch with the latest updates from your circle of friends at a glance, without any need to log in across multiple destinations.
• Photo sharing. Photo sharing lets you share and comment on pictures while you’re chatting.
• Favorites. Identify your most important contacts and they will appear at the top of your Messenger window, for easy access. It’s like speed dial for your Messenger contacts.
• Groups. Create groups on the fly and chat simultaneously with up to 20 members at the same time.

As you can see, the new MSN Windows Live Messenger 2009 update was released to fix critical security issues. Whether users like it or not, they will have to download the new Messenger 2009 in order to keep using the most used and most popular IM client in the world. Only in early October 2009 will version 14.0 of the IM client also receive optional upgrade notifications, which will become mandatory by the end of that month. Users that will not upgrade to Windows Live Messenger 9.0 (2009) 14.0.8089.726 will no longer be able to sign into the IM client.