Shoutbox

Hi everyone!

After several months of work, Messenger Plus! 3.50 is finally starting to look good! MSN Messenger 7.0 (final) will soon be release to the public by Microsoft and this new version of Messenger Plus! will be 100% compatible with it. Everything has been polished so that you don't see a difference with MSN Messenger 6. The one and only exception is the removal of the "hide banner" option (MSN Messenger 7 only). As it was already said on the forum, I felt this option had not its place anymore with the new Messenger version as Microsoft obviously intends to generate some money with their software now.

Of course, compatibility fixes would be pretty boring on their own. That's why several new stuff have been added. This includes SSL support for POP3 Emails (needed for providers like GMail), less memory and system resources usage, various user interface improvements, and more. But out of everything, two improvements merit some special attention.

The first nice improvement concerns custom contact names. This feature has had several great enhancements compatible with MSN Messenger 7 which are colors, formatting and "real name attach options". All these options are automatically applied in the contact list, toast notifications and the chat windows. Images being better than words, here are two screenshots of those improvements:

Custom Names Improvements - Screenshot 1
Custom Names Improvements - Screenshot 2

The next improvement is a brand new feature that is supposed to re-energize the Messenger Plus! add-on. Messenger Plus! 3.50's big new feature is Custom Emotion Sounds. While some of you may have preferred something more “l33t”, like, let’s say, an embedded Linux shell , this new feature was created for a reason: the current Sound Command feature of Messenger Plus! is the number one used feature of the whole plugin (as you can see, my stats did use some purpose . The Custom Emotion Sound feature brings sound integration in MSN Messenger to the next level and allows you to add and send any sound you want to your contacts. These sounds can be created from existing sound files (like mp3 music), recorded live from your microphone or imported directly from an http link of a previously saved sound pack. Each sound is cut (maximum of 10 seconds, more would just be annoying after a while) and automatically compressed to improve transfer time. The whole interface has been polished, wizards are extremely easy to use, recording and sound edition can be made with a couple of mouse clicks… everything was made to let you forget the technical details and enjoy the feature itself.

Custom Emotion Sounds - Screenshot 1
Custom Emotion Sounds - Screenshot 2
Custom Emotion Sounds - Screenshot 3

In the chat window, a specially designed panel has been created to accommodate the new feature and is accessible from a new Messenger Plus! toolbar (those of you who will miss the 25 pixels of width can disable it and access the feature with a shortcut). The panel gives quick access to the sounds, organized by categories or stats, and also lets you instantly download new sounds at random, from the Messenger Plus! server (which will include all the sounds previously sent by other people, except sounds marked private). This way, if sound creation is not your thing, you’ll still be able to enjoy thousands of sounds with the click of a button. When a sound is received, a special message is displayed in the chat window, similar to the one Messenger displays for some of its features. You get a link to play or stop any of the previously sent sounds at any time. You also have the option to automatically download and automatically play new sounds when they arrive. And to conclude, any sound you receive is automatically added to your own personal sound library so that you can send it back easily to somebody else.

Custom Emotion Sounds - Screenshot 4
Custom Emotion Sounds - Screenshot 5

I’d like to add that all the people who have already tested this feature just love it. I hope you will all feel the same when this version will be finally released in March. It took me two months of work to create the Custom Sounds which is a lot more than the time I spent on anything else in Messenger Plus! since its creation. This feature has been made to be fun, just and only fun, no geeky feature attached.

Many great things will wait for you in Messenger Plus! 3.50, just keep on waiting a little longer, I promise you won't disappointed! And here we go for another year together... .

Patchou