Microsoft Messenger Architect On The Future Of IM

CowboyRobot writes "ACM Queue has an interview with Peter Ford, chief architect for MSN Messenger, by Eric Allman, CTO of Sendmail. They discuss the present and future states of IM, the current big players as industry shuffles toward standardization, some of the social implications of IM versus email or telephone, and technical issues such as using SIP as opposed to XMPP (Microsoft is pushing for SIP, everyone else seems to favor XMPP). They don't bring up Wallop, Microsoft's community application that will be built into Longhorn, but that's surely part of the long-term discussion."

Comments

Re:Am I the only one who doesn't use IM?

[Anonymous Coward]

No. I have always thought of it as a stupid fad. It really isn't that much faster than email and if you absolutely have to communicate with some one right this second, USE THE BLOODY PHONE!

Re:Kind of a side question

[curious.corn]

So Mr. I Know it All... explain to me why where I live (Italy) the average iLliterate user started using en-masse Messenger with the coming of XP. I've tried for years to convince people that IM was cool and better thatn email for this kind of comms but NADA, ZILCH, NO! But now everybody uses MSN and the only ones I can iChat with are those I evangelized appropriately, for the rest... I'm stuck on that shiteware. Next point: you claim I'm crying foul because Messenger is easily shut up... by who? A geek I suppose. The avg user will (and does) follow the clickety route into MS's embrace: the least resistance wizard. Tell me how does a user behave with a new, unknow UI, in a new unknown OS. Does he/she jump into the mumble jumble preferences or follow the convenient route? Ha! Removing the binary won't help... I'm on a mac but I've read stories of OE not working properly and precise HOWTOs on how to delete the program without damaging the system... (just google for it... or follow the convenient link: uninstall messenger) Can you, in your infinite wisdom explain to me what's a bloody IM got to do with a MUA?! Oh, but now you'll object it's easy to remove on SP1... yeah, that'll make the lawyers happy but the marketshare gulp has been swallowed. Go watch some TV...

Re:Kind of a side question

[curious.corn]

I love picking on budding trolls as you are. I'll put aside the personal attacks as those are points for me anyway. Let me pick on your first remark: lazy users! Oh, so now it's not MS's or any other SW provider's fault: it's the user's fault. Let's see... viruses? Oh, you should keep your AV updated, lazy one! Trojans? Oh, you should have installed and configured correctly your personal firewall? Explorer expolits? What, you haven't downloaded & installed MS's latest cumulative patch (15Mb@4,5kb/s)... uuh bad, bad! The software has a shite UI? Oh, but you haven't put enough effort in understanding the carefully thought control metaphor! Lazy! Again... the tickbox... is it hidden under layers of complex ticks, scrollviews, menus, oks (the whole dang UI API thrown at you)... or is it neatly handed over to a clean easy pattern down to your .NET Passport (TM) registration? Umph... that's MS stalinism. Apple is cool because iChat doesn't pop up like a stinkin' porn nag screen spamming my monitor estate to get attention. Is that a good enough reason? Lastly... Ichat doesn't kill Mail usability if you choose to ditch it for MSN od AOL (although I wouldn't do that... they stink!) As far as putting Quartz against Messenger... please troll, next time try and develop a sense for the ridiculous. So why is Messenger crap? Well... it often looses connection but doesn't really know when. It says I'm online when it actually has lost connection... so after some missed incoming IMs it spits out a bunch of notes warning me I've been talking to thin air. That's a feature right? It doesn't relogin on screensaver or suspend exit (did I say that macs wake in less than 5 sec?) Man, you suffer Stockholm Syndrome...