While we’ve known this has been in the pipeline for some time now, we’ve finally got a final date: The Next Web is reporting that Microsoft Messenger users are receiving e-mails informing them that they have until March 15 to finish using the program. The above banner also now resides on Microsoft’s Messenger web site, signalling that the end will be coming for a platform than many Canadians have used for over a decade.
For Canadians, this also has a special significance, as Microsoft Messenger (also known by Windows Messenger , or just simply “MSN”) seemed to have a much higher adoption among young people than competing software, like AIM or ICQ. This could have been to a number of factors, including AOL’s relatively small service provider penetration north of the border.
As someone who used MSN Messenger daily during his early days on the Internet, it feels like an old friend is leaving for a better place. However, Microsoft devoting its efforts towards Skype, which has a massive install base of its own, is a logical step towards consolidation, and to the future.
Source: The Next Web
Via: Engadget
