End Of An Era: Windows Live Messenger To Be Retired, Users Transitioned To Skype
Found on Tech Crunch on Wednesday, 09 January 2013
Confirming earlier reports, Microsoft officially announced today it would be retiring its Windows Live Messenger instant messaging service in favor of Skype.
For those who grew up in the pre-Facebook, pre-smartphone era, the news is bittersweet. Some of our first social activity online took place using instant messaging programs like AIM, ICQ and Windows Live, once known as MSN Messenger.
At least MS should make it easy for 3rd party applications to make the move too. I have no use for Skype itself so if there's no other way I'll have to drop the MSN contacts and move together with them over to other IM systems which are not afraid of Facebook, Twitter & Co. Those antisocial networks might still exist in 10 years, but so does Myspace and Geocities.