RE: Uniting Skype and Windows Live Messenger: Implications on Messenger Plus!
With all do respect the optimism I have for Plus! for Skype as it tries to move into a new space is very bleak. I do not foresee a new version being produced as feature rich as the current Plus! for Windows Live Messenger.
Plus! for Messenger was sleek, simplistic and most of all user friendly. The scrollable "hooked" tool-bar containing access to the Plus! functionality is atrocious and looks like it was designed by a developer who was just learning to code. Instead of providing access to all features hook a simple Plus! icon that when clicked provides a popup menu to access the features. I don't mean modifying the interface as I know this isn't allowed under the developers API but instead make a boarderless window that looks like it is an extension of Skype itself. There is a lot that can be done. Instead of porting features over make sure you have a usable product. Video recording has never worked on my netbook. This is also another reason why you need to figure a new way to display your content. We are in a world where real estate on your desktop is given up for portability.
In its current state I don't feel that this product will bring you the vast user base you once had with Messenger Plus!.
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