Tag: MSN

Categories
News

Facebook overtakes MSN and becomes Britain’s Second ‘most used’ website

I think those Facebook days are coming back now! After everyone was disheartened when they listened the news that Facebook has lost 6 million users in US this may come as a breather!

msn_facebook

Credit

According to the famous newspaper “The Telegraph“, Facebook has beaten MSN and is now the second most used website in Britain. Almost 27 million Britons were regular on Facebook in May,2011 according to the research by UKOM/Nielson. Putting back Microsoft’s invention is not so easy, let me tell you!

Okay, so which website was used the most? No points in guessing please, off course it’s Google. So, what do you think, will a time come when Facebook will push back Google too? With more and more people searching their Facebook profiles and pages for suggestions do you think this day is far enough? Let’s just keep our eyes open and wait and watch! Do share your views with me on this.

Categories
Reviews

Send tweets from MSN messenger

I do not use MSN Messenger on a regular basis but I did have a very active Hotmail account before Gmail was avaialble. Some friends even today refuse to use anything but MSN Live messenger and hence I still stay online to chat with them with Live Messenger. A few days ago I came across a great web service called TwitonMSN which allowed me to use Twitter from my MSN Messenger. 😉

Tweets_from_msn1

Use Twitter from MSN

  • You can visit the website TwitonMSN which will prompt you to add a contact name to your MSN Messenger. The contact is an automated bot which when you log in to your MSN messenger will allow you to connect to Twitter.
  • Just type into MSN Messenger’s chat window whatever you want to. A simple message as in the one shown in the image above is posted as a tweet.
  • The bot also keeps sending you every single tweet on to your messenger chat window.
  • It supports following an username, replying to a tweet and also Retweet. If you drag and drop a picture file into the chat the image is then posted along with a tweet. 😉
  • Even sending a direct message is possible by typing it in the following format “d username content” .
  • For a comprehensive command list type in “commands” and for help type in “help”. 🙂

I found this quite handy, even though I do not spend a lot of time on Live messenger. But for our readers who are using Live Messenger this feature will surely be very useful.

Send in your comments and let me know your opinions on TwitonMSN.

Follow us on Twitter: @devils_workshop | @bombaypirate

Categories
News

MSN homepage to undergo a makeover

The MSN homepage will be undergoing some changes very soon. This won’t be just restricted to its style and format but also will have some added functionality. I looked it up on the Bing blog which made the announcement. I used the preview version of MSN homepage which will be available by next year.

The Old and the New

New Version (preview)

msn_homepage_new

  • The new version seems to be distinctly white and a lot less blue which has been the hallmark of the MSN homepage for over 10 years now. Also the logo looks different and minimalistic.
  • The new version looked a lot less customizable but that is probably because it is still in preview mode and hence might not have all the functionalities.
  • From the homepage I can access a feed from Hotmail. That is not a novelty as I can do that with the old version too, but the new one allows me to get feeds from social networks like Windows Live, Facebook and Twitter.
  • I also found that Bing search has been integrated in a more wholesome way. The information with Bing search results will take into account the zip code you are living in. This will be a way to localize search content. MSN has had success with this by localizing weather and news updates by using the zip code of the person logged into the homepage.

Soon to be Old Version

msn_homepage_old

Comparing the two, it is obvious that MSN is trying clean up it’s act and prefers to let people explore the website rather than bombarding them with information.

Categories
Analysis

Why Google likes minimalism?

I recently came across a lot of articles online about how Google has experimented with a minimalist look to its homepage. For people who are not aware of it as yet, the new experimental look has only the search box visible along with the Google image. No links or buttons are visible until you move the mouse. 🙂

Below is a screenshot Google’s new avatar.

google_minimal

This seems to take the concept of keeping things simple to an extreme but if you really went back to the amazing rise of Google Search, keeping it simple has been a long-term tactic for Google.

Simple Vs Complex

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What I did was use the Wayback Machine and check out search websites and how they were back in the year 2000. Below are the screen-shot images of Msn Search, Yahoo Search and Google.

msn.com in Year 2000

msn_2000

Yahoo Search in Year 2000

yahoo_2000

Google beta in Year 2000

google_2000

  • If you notice that Google had the least number of hyperlinks on its homepage even back in the year 2000.
  • Keeping things simple meant Google concentrated on how to improve their search engine mainly, while MSN and Yahoo toyed with various features and indexes.
  • Keeping a simple interface means people using it are not too distracted while using your website. This is not just true for search engines but for any service or product.
  • Google did the right thing back then by keeping its focus on a lean but comprehensive product. Simplicity has helped it become the giant it is now and the latest “Minimalistic Avatar” is a welcome sign.

At the end of the day who does not like a smart and simple interface? 🙂

Categories
News

Indyarocks users can chat with Gtalk, Yahoo, MSN & AIM buddies from one single place

logoGood news for over 3.2 million Indyarocks users… now Indyarocks users can chat with others spread across different IM platforms, from any computer! All they need is a web browser and an Internet connection.

Geodesic and Indyarocks claim that this is the world’s first socially integrated Web based multi-service Instant Messenger.

Says Kiran Kulkarni, managing director, Geodesic Limited:

“We are thrilled to implement world’s first socially integrated web based multi-service IM for Indyarocks. Our IM platform provides Indyarocks users with a comprehensive IM experience, including the ability to login to their Indyarocks, Yahoo, MSN, GTalk, ICQ, AIM, and Jabber networks simultaneously and chat with buddies across all accounts. We continue to see tremendous growth for our IM platform as more and more publishers and web developers are realising the value of integrated real-time social interactions.”

image

Things you could do:

  • Indyarocks users will also be able to share their Indyarocks content like photos, videos, blogs, movies, games, etc., instantly with their friends across the Web.
  • It is a browser based application and will not require any downloads whatsoever.
  • Indyarocks users will be able to browse through Indyarocks without disturbing any chat instances.

Link: indyarocks.com

(Source: Press Release)