Windows Live Messenger 8

In the early hours of this morning, I received an invitation to download the beta version of the new messenger from Microsoft. After 5 or so minutes, I had got it up an running, but it did not run completely smoothly at first. Initially, it included some contacts in my list that I had not used for months, or even years. Apart from that, it looks quite nice, with the main new features being file sharing (an elaborate and easier way to send files) and the ability to write messages to offline contacts so that they receive them when they sign on (basically an answering machine). The main niggles I had with it were;

1. The fact that the interface was bulky and dull, with the room allocated for advertisements taking up more room than in messenger 7(the adverts aren't bigger, it's just that there is a lot of free space around them).
2. A contact expansion thingy which gives more details about the contact you are hovering over. This doubles the space it takes and makes it very dizzy especially when scrolling, as when scrolling, you have to hover over the contact list, thus making it very annoying

Apart from those, it's not too bad. I'd give it a 6/10 at the moment, but I know that one of the niggles mentioned abouve is going to be changed. It's a good program, but I wouldn't rush out to download it just yet. When I receive invitations to send to other people, I will be giving away some here, though currently I have none. You can find out more about Windows Live Messenger and other products here.

David