Microsoft is
planning to force existing Windows Live Messengers users to upgrade to Skype
from April 8th. In an effort to phase out its Messenger service, Windows Live
Messenger clients will be restricted from signing into the service gradually
starting in early April. Microsoft will be migrating users depending on their
language, starting with English first and ending with Portuguese no sooner than
April 30th.
“FORCED SKYPE UPGRADE STARTS FOR ENGLISH USERS
FIRST”
Contrary to Microsoft's confusing email to some Windows Live Messenger users, and
other reports, Windows Live Messenger will not cease functioning on
March 15th for everyone. Microsoft has been testing its migration plans with a
test cell, so a very small number will move over on March 15th, but 99 percent
of users will start shifting across from April 8th onwards. "The upgrade
process itself has been going really well, we've had millions of customers move
over," says Skype's Parri Munsell.
Existing Windows Live Messenger users will be greeted with an upgrade
notification from April 8th onwards that will prevent them from signing into
the service. Microsoft is pre-caching the Skype installer to existing machines
to allow users to simply accept the notification and switch over to Skype,
while the installer removes Windows Live Messenger.
Munsell says
Microsoft is upgrading other apps that access the Messenger service on a
case-by-case basis, including mobile apps. "On products like Xbox, we'll
make announcements at a later date when we have dates to actually announce to
customers." The software maker has also notified third parties about its
plans to retire the entire Messenger service. "They do have end of life
dates that we've given them privately," says Munsell. The dates vary by
third-party, but official documentation suggests that existing clients using
the XMPP protocol will end in October, while MSP clients will cease functioning
in March 2014.
We reached out
to several popular third-party Messenger apps, but developers seem to be
confused over Microsoft's retirement. Trillian's Scott Werndorfer says "we're not sure how the
shutdown will occur or what additional steps Microsoft has planned." Adium, a popular client
for Mac, says communications have been "pretty fuzzy" and that it
hasn't heard anything directly regarding an official date. Microsoft says only
official licensees of Messenger will get specific end dates.
“WINDOWS 8 AND WINDOWS PHONE UNAFFECTED”
Microsoft's own Windows 8 and Windows Phone clients will continue to
function, and the company says April 8th is strictly focused on phasing out the
Windows Live Messenger desktop client. The switch over to Skype does present a
few issues for Windows 8 and Windows Phone users though. Windows 8 uses a
Messenger Windows Store client that triggers notifications for Messenger
messages. If you install a Skype client then you'll run into an issue with dual
notifications. Munsell admits this is a possibility, but that "the customer
just needs to configure those clients so that they're doing pop-up
notifications on the one that they want to reply on."
It's not an ideal situation, and if you have linked Facebook contacts to
your Skype account then you could end up with three contact entries for the
same person: Messenger, Skype, and Facebook. The company doesn't have any
immediate plans to link these in the client, so it raises questions over an
upgrade that also removes functionality for Windows Live Messenger users. Skype
does not currently support mail notifications, Messenger status updates, and
the ability to add additional Messenger contacts. Microsoft is helping users
transition with a set of online tutorials.
Still, Microsoft is pushing ahead and this marks the first major change
to the Skype and Microsoft relationship since the $8.5 billion acquisition. If this first sign of integration
helps move Microsoft towards Skype in every product to compete against services
like WhatsApp, iMessage, Google Talk, and others then it will benefit all who
rely on Microsoft's ecosystem of software and services in the long run. [TheVerge]
You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your
circles on Google+ or Subscribe to
me on facebook or YouTube. You can also
check my website and blog to keep yourself
updated with what is happening in the ever changing world of technology
