14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's instant messaging client turned 10 today, July 22, 2009. It was on July 22, 1999 that the IM client became available to the public, although, at that time, the innovative communication solution was launched under the MSN brand, since Windows Live was yet to go, well, live. 10 years after the launch of MSN Messenger, Microsoft is offering Windows Live Messenger 9.0 (2009) for download. At the same time, in order to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Messenger, the software giant is delivering users of the IM client a free gift pack for download.
Windows Live Messenger started as a project all the way back in 1997, when Danny Glasser (Partner Development Manager, Windows Live) began to work on resolving the shortcomings of Microsoft NetMeeting, an audiovisual communication client designed to streamline collaboration. Glasser built the “Buddy List” project, designed to allow NetMeeting users to find one another by permitting them to create list with their contacts. The “Buddy List” grew beyond NetMeeting and became MSN Messenger.
“It definitely felt like we were working on something special,” Danny Glasser recalled. “I don’t know that I could have predicted accurately the number of people who would use it, but we had a feeling it would be a big thing.”
Within the first 60 days of launch, over 2.5 million people were using MSN Messenger. In the first year on the market, the number of simultaneous online connections exploded from a few thousands to one million. This number evolved over time, and according to statistics provided by Microsoft, now, at any given moment, Windows Live Messenger delivers the infrastructure for approximately 40 million simultaneous conversations. The software giant has noted that there are no less than 330 million Windows Live Messenger users around the world.
“Microsoft is committed to continue investing in Messenger and meeting the demands of our large customer base. In fact, after listening to customer feedback, Windows Live Messenger added new features in the past year that help Messenger customers communicate and stay in touch with the people they care about most, including simple photo sharing, integration of third-party social networks like Facebook and Flickr, groups to organize your contacts, rich voice and video conversations, and more. With the latest generation of Windows Live Messenger, communicating and sharing is easier and more enjoyable than ever,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Softpedia.
Windows Live Messenger 9.0 (2009) version 14.0.8064.0206 is available for download via this link.