MSN?

[Johnny Reefer]

So, I was asked by someone, the other day, if I was on MSN and that if I was that I should add them and they provided an address. The address had the word hotmail in it, which kinda threw me.

I have not kept up with all the technological advances that have and are coming our way, so now I'm wondering what this MSN is all about.

Do you suppose this person was refering to MSN Instant Messaging?
Or just regular ol' Hotmail?
Is there a difference?
What is "Instant Messaging".
Is "Text Messaging" the same thing?
Is it a cellular phone thing? (I don't carry a cell phone...yet).
Is it a good thang?
How many methods of communicating do we need?
Why don't I just ask the person that asked me? (I did and they did not respond).

Any enlightenment, for this Techno Newbie, on Instant Messaging...what it is/how it works...will be appreciated.

Thanx much,

[Beermaster]

MSN is a Instant messaging system brought to us from Micro$oft

It is a neat little lway to communicate instantly while you are online

hotmail addresses are the most comen addresses used on MSN because most people think they need that to use the service, but you can use any email address that you want

messenger.msn.com for more details

With MSN Messenger you can chat online via text, voice, mobile phone or even video conversation -- in real time -- with your friends, family, or colleagues. Express yourself with winks and dynamic display pictures or share photos, files, searches, and more instantly. You can also chat with your contacts to and from a mobile device. Get MSN Messenger now! It's FREE!

[Aquattro]

MSN is a computer based interactive real time chat program. Hotmail is just an email address. Text messaging is sending text between cell phones. There is a slight delay in texting, so it isn't instant, but is still pretty quick.

[OCDP]

lol I'll try to answer your questions the best I can....

Your friend was probably referring to MSN Messenger, a new highly used application that allows users to "chat" online. For instance.. my email could be "john.doe@hotmail.com" and you could be "jow.blow@hotmail.com" So.. if we both have MSN Messenger.. I can add you to my Contact list.. by clicking add it asks you for an e-mail address.. so I would enter in "jow.blow@hotmail.com" then you would get a request saying something like "john.doe@hotmail.com" has added you to his/her contact list... bla bla bla, do you want to accept and add? etc, etc... so once that is done then jow blow is now added to your contact list. Now you can begin to chat together.. text chat if you will... something similar to this, but instead it's active, live chat.. (ie: "hey" ... user responds "hey" .. "hows it going" .. "good") hahaha I am sure you get the jist of things.

The difference between Hotmail and MSN Messenger is that Hotmail is for e-mails.. as MSN Messenger is for live chat between people.

I am pretty sure you understand Instant Messanging now...

Text messaging is used on cell phones, yes... (someone could have been referring to text messaging as in MSN Messenger though) .. you can send Text messages to people on their cell phones.. and now a days you can send a text message to someone using MSN Messenger !

Sure it's a good thing... haha.. I don't use it.. waste of money! (text messaging)

I don't think there is a definite answer as to how many means of communication we need.. I think it's just a good way of showing how technology is advancing these days.

HTH ... !

(haha the whole time it took me to type that up 2 people respond.. go figure )

[Johnny Reefer]

Okay. Thanks for the replies.
I'm pretty sure I get it now.
So it's in real time, right.
Just one more question, does that mean, then, that the person on the other end is going to see what I type as I type it? Keystroke errors and all?

Thanx much,

[muck]

nope. they only will see it after you hit that enter key.

[reeferaddict]

Heya Mark.... sorry if I threw ya there.... & yes I forgot to reply.... I'm sure you have the jist of MSN now.... the only reason I asked is because I saw you cruising forums the other night & thought it would be neat to chat in real time instead of reading each others posts and sending PM through Canreef... In MSN... there is a text box where you type... once you are satisfied with what you type, you then hit "Enter" and the person you type to receives your message in a text box exactly like yours in real time. It's free and you can see which of your "buddies" is online by their status on your list if they choose to allow you to. You can also decide who you want to be able to see your own online status if you wish...

[Matt]

A minor clarification.
<geek>MSN is a brand name, that MicroSoft uses for several products. In this context it is an Instant Messaging (real time) SERVICE offered by MS that relays messages between two computers. Messenger (or MSN Messenger, or Windows Messenger) is a CLIENT, which is a program on your computer that connects to the SERVICE. The email address is used to register and confirm that it is a real user, and subsequently to act as an ID on the SERVICE. No actual email transport is used when using instant messaging. There are a bunch of other Instant Messaging services (that MS Messenger can't access) and a bunch of other Client Programs that can access MSN and other SERVICES.</geek>

[Johnny Reefer]

Okay.
Thanx people.
I think I'll get on that.
First things first, however.
Have a few Buy/Sell posts to do.

Thanx again,