I hate Windows Messenger. It pisses me off to no end. It runs sometimes and starts up for some reason and doesn't show up in the system tray, so then it starts to connect to the server and boots me out of MSN Messenger to sign into Windows Messenger.
Tools->Options->Preferences. Uncheck "Run when Windows starts" and "Allow to run in the background". Problem solved.
Windows Messenger was an early predecessor of MSN Messenger
The official MSN Messenger v1.0 (which didn't hack AOL) was released in 1999. Windows Messenger didn't ship until late 2001.
i have tried the hardest to find what sets the MSN messenger apart from the windows messenger. to my dissapointment, the only apparant differences are the former's ability to post a custom user avatar, and its hideous memory requirement
Did you try to send a custom emoticon in Windows Messenger? Did you try to put an animated GIF in the main UI of Windows Messenger? Did you try full-screen video conferencing in Windows Messenger? Can you retrieve message history in Windows Messenger? This is the tip of the iceberg...you need to spend more than five minutes to "try your hardest" in order to find the differences in feature set between the two clients.
though i am not a fan of eithe ri auto uninstall windows messenegr and install msn messenger
There are several features in MSN Messenger that require Windows Messenger to be installed in order to work. If you don't use those features, you should be OK.
There should be options to remove all the excess crap and make it look like regular windows messenger, but with some of the extra features
In Tools->Options, remove the tabs, and disable display pictures in both the conversation window and main UI. Then remove the standard menu bar the formatting toolbar in the conversation window...you should be good to go.
Why the hell do microsoft have to advertise through the software anyhow?
It's not Microsoft, per se...it's the MSN division. They provide the service for free to consumers. It costs a lot of money to provide a free service, considering both the development costs of both the client and servers, the world-wide support of different regions and languages, etc...if BillG were to find out that they couldn't even bring in a pitance of income to support this endeavor, he would pull out his Sharpie(TM), and you would be using AIM or Yahoo instead. Viewing ads is a relatively small price for people to pay...it's like asking why you have to watch Bud Light commercials during the Superbowl.
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