Back in May, 2003 we exclusively revealed MSN Messenger 6.0. This time around it's 6.0's bigger brother, 7.0. MSN Messenger is clearly progressing in this early look at 7.0. You now have the ability to sign in as busy/away/offline etc which will please a lot of people. 3 Degrees is finally encorporated into MSN Messenger (something I had been writing about for more than a year). The interface is cleaner, smarter and the features are great!
Winks: Winks allow you to send kisses, hearts and all sorts of silly cartoons to your contacts.
Nudge: Nudge allows you to send a "shake" to your contact. Both your own and your contacts MSN Messenger window will shake, much like how Internet Explorer windows shake using the correct javascript.
Download packs: Download packs will allow users to grab winks/emoticons/display pictures and backgrounds straight from MSN. As these currently don't work we were unable to test them.
Games: Chess Club, Bankshot Billiards Club are included if you're a Instant Games Clubhouse member. Standard Checkers/Solitaire Showdown/Bejeweled/Minesweeper Flags and Tic Tac Toe are still included.
Activities: Activities allow you to share files, calendars, photos and perform tasks such as remote assistance.
Deluxe Display Pictures: Although these are unavailable it seems like MSN are going to supply animated display pictures.
The build in question is 7.0.0205 and carries the beta tag throughout. The main MSN Messenger window is redesigned to show your display picture and includes the ability to scroll through tabs. There's no new options in the main options menu but you can change the position of the tab icons. When a contact signs in using MSN Messenger 6 or above you get the contacts display picture on the sign in toast. Custom emoticons are still the same, they still do not animate or allow animated GIFs etc. Check out the screenshots below for more features and the general user interface. MSN Messenger 7.0 is expected to be released into beta on November 11 with a general "MSN Messenger Wave 10" release as late as February 2005. We'll keep you updated but for now enjoy the screenshots.
Screenshots removed at the request of Microsoft
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