Microsoft announced today on its web site that it plans to drop support for the Mac OS X client for MSN services. The company will stop supporting the Mac client, after May the 31st.
After May 31, 2005, customers will no longer access MSN service by using the MSN for Mac OS X Internet Software. Instead of accessing MSN services using the MSN for Mac OS X internet software, customers will access MSN services and features with their preferred browser and by setting up a My MSN page as a portal to their favorite online destinations.
If you are a current MSN subscriber and you use MSN for Mac Internet Software, you will maintain your current e-mail address and still have access to your e-mail, contacts, calendar, and most other MSN services through MSN Hotmail and your My MSN page. To create, customize or view your current My MSN page, go to my.msn.com.
Future updates to MSN services for customers on the Mac will be handled by the MSN team.
It continues here.
MacDailyNews Take: Does anyone care? If so, why? Really, we want to know. Mac OS X users who are also MSN subscribers, we’d love to hear from you.
Is that crickets I hear?
Ok.
First post.
I am gonna say what should be said.
iSight and iChat AV should be cross platform. I was hoping that rev c iSight would be with an Apple published iChatAV for Windows. Maybe it is iSight 2 or something next, but Apple NEEDS to do this.
This product should be USB 2.0 and Apple will revolutionize communiaations as we know it . Why is Apple being so slow with this? iSight could be like the next iPod if done right. (Add iPod and iSight for pictures and movie making.)
Maybe this is why Microsoft is abandoning this product. This product also comes with MS Office. Perhaps we will see a change in this product too.
OKOKOK I am rambling….but what do you think?
Johnny Minneosta
I’m a switcher who has been on MSN for a long time. MSN service is included with Verizon DSL. I have an established email address there and used the MSN client software for the parental controls available. The fact that the MSN software was available for the Mac was one of the reasons I didnt have a problem switching. AOL for Mac is another crippled service and the only other way I know to be able to have good and accountable parental controls on the Mac. Yippee, I guess there are a few of us.
God, I love MDN’s commentary.
This would be my favorite Mac website if it WEREN’T FOR THE POP-UPS.
retro cat,
So, turn them off and stop yer whining. More info here:
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/5042/
OK, both of you who use MSN & OSX are going to have to get a real ISP
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Quoting: HossBud
“”I’m a switcher who has been on MSN for a long time. MSN service is included with Verizon DSL. I have an established email address there and used the MSN client software for the parental controls available. The fact that the MSN software was available for the Mac was one of the reasons I didnt have a problem switching. AOL for Mac is another crippled service and the only other way I know to be able to have good and accountable parental controls on the Mac. Yippee, I guess there are a few of us.””
Hello, Parental control starts and ends with the parent. If you rely on your ISP for any of it you are being silly.
MSN hasn’t EVER supported Mac properly. Go to the MSNBC web site and try to play an NBC video feed. If you are using anything other than Windoze and IE you will be blocked. How’s that for arrogance?
No more Mac support from Micro$haft ??
This news really breaks my heart !!…
One of the reasons for being a Mac head is the “Freedom” that comes from using the Macintosh platform…
The freedom from pop-ups …(those who whine about the ones here should read the many posts concerning how to avoid them)… the freedom from virii… adware–trojans and all other malware…
But mostly… the most important freedom which comes from using the Mac platform… is the freedom you get from NOT being forced to run any bloatware/ crapware from Redmond !!
Those who switched and still maintain all their ties to MSN are like junkies on Methadon ….. It must be really difficult to cut the umbilicle cord..isnt it ??
Tell you what… once you do… it will be like the whole world has been lifted off your shoulders…
Cut the fskin cord !! …. You’ll feel better for it… really, you will !
Hossbud. There is always a way with OS X. It just takes a little looking around and creative thought. You could set up a user account for your kids and de-activate use of regular browsers and only let them use:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/11004
or
http://www.freeverse.com/bumpercar/
I think M$ is starting to get scared.
I just switched my brother – he picked up a 14″ iBook, 17″ iMac, Airport Extreme, dot MAC and an iSight – and he has that junk mentioned in the above article. Of course he is having so many problems with it that he is constantly on a three-way with me Apple and MSN. He has yet to realize that the problem is squarely in the hands of MSN. As soon as he gets his dsl up and running – which by the way I was against, its been a month with ma bell in NYC, I say go with cable – he will stop with the dial-up. Wish me luck in smoothing out his transition over to best OS in the galaxy!
Crickets? To be honest, to keep in touch with my friends, I need to use MSN messenger for OS X. It’s a sad thing to admit, I know…
Living in Canada, and in a monoculture of greedy oil capitalists and software idiots, there are many teenagers (myself included) that use MSN. Only problem is, many of these kids only know of MSN, and not AOL, or whatever. I have embraced the power of iChat and the like, but getting these ignorant kids to use something like that (much less use a Mac) is a lost cause.
So for me, I’m sorta pissed… wait – really pissed. One major thing that I’ve told my friends who have considered the switch is that they can use MSN for OS X. And now? What are they gonna say? I know you guys/gals might throw around that the OS X version of MSN is a kick in the teeth (I heartily agree), but for some, this just might be the balance of a Switcher. Sorry, but this is true… sadly.
I prefer iChat, but since none of my friends use it, what’s the point? If I ever needed a reason to hate M$ again, this is the shocker. I know many, if not all will feel different, but I am seriously pissed…
I’m not going to bother to read the article, because I know someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but this is about Microsoft as an ISP, not about Microsoft Messenger, right? From the snippet above, it seems that Messenger will go on, just not mixed in with dial-up service provided by MSN.
So, if you can still use Messenger, and access your MSN email through Hotmail, what are you losing? A crappy dial-up service? Hell, even my DAD has a cable modem now, and he’s still uses a computer that has Win98! (and no, he doesn’t use it to access the internet; he uses his G3 iMac for that…
Dark Side
The problem with most who only “know” MSN is just that…. They think that MSN is the only thing in the universe….
The solution is easy….
Try using your favorite search engine..(google ?) …and search for alternatives !!….. Yep… in just a few short minutes you will find many IM clients “out there” that are compatible with MSN–AO-Hell — Yahoo… whatever….
Not only that…. but you’ll find IM Clients for most all OSs !!
You might even amaze yourself in the process, too !!
Time for Apple to add MSN messenger compatibility to iChat?
DaddySteve.. they’ve talked about it.. seriously, but they don’t want to pay for it.. They want MS to ‘open up’
You know.. ‘we’re all about open standards’…
I don’t have to tell you there are cases where Apple isn’t about open standards
Just so it’s clear, MSN Messenger is NOT going away. Only the MSN Internet Client is. You will still be able to chat with your friends using the MSN protocol.
As far as iChat supporting MSN, I think that has more to do with Microsoft allowing Apple to add that functionality more than anything else.
I have Verizon DSL and had no idea that MSN was offered as part of the service….
However, it would have made no difference, as my feelings toward MS are not good. (Too bad I still have to use Word, it sucks, but no other wp offers .doc compliance and no OOO is just as bad only with a terrible user interface; Excel: well it is buggy and kludgy, but again there are no alternatives that can handle its file format with absolute compatibility. And until Mail matures a bit more, Entourage is still my main email client, which I will give MS is actually a pretty good mail client. )
zac
I used MSN for years and liked it. I tried MSN for OSX for a while and like it also, even though it was watered down. I’m not surprised at the discontinuance. Microsoft no longer wants to romance Mac users. The relationship is becoming more and more adverserial IMHO. The down side is that there is nothing that I’ve found for the Mac that integrates a better group of features like email, calendar, communities, and all the other goodies that MSN has to offer. Yes, MSN will continue to support Macs through the browers, but the Mac community is sorely lacking a tightly integrated Web solution where you can do everything from the Web. Mac’s email client is pathetic. You can’t even insert emoticons into messages without hassle. And iCal does nothing more than publish to the Web and sync to the client back and forth. MSN at least allows you to edit and add calendar and to do list items on the Web from any client. While the writing was on the wall that Microsoft would stop supporting the Mac as far as it’s MSN custom OSX client is concerned, I, for one, am scratching my head what to look for as an alternative. AOL? I think not. I’m not the typical anti-Microsoft Mac enthusiast. Microsoft, frankly, is far ahead in certain areas. Anyone who has used MSN on Windows knows what I mean. A one-button mouse and a bland, featureless email client no longer does it for me. I wish Apple would step up and put a higher priority on Web-based applications. Seems it skipped it over in favor of music and electronics. There are probably 100 iPod/Music ads to 1 computer ad for Apple these days. What up?
MSN sucks.
It’s no loss to the mac community.
Microsoft is still using the same old tricks that it has used since the 1980s.
Block out the mac platform – same old story and a move by a monopolistic and stagnant ‘dinosaur’.
Imaki:
Maybe you should try a .mac account.
I have one and it links to everything, ical, ichav, mail, address book and safari.
.mac is excellent for integrating your apple iapps too.
Wanna email a photo to friends? – open iphoto, select the photo u wanna email then just click on the mail icon at the bottom of the iphoto app window and ‘BAM” – mail is opened with the photo already attached.
easy!
Why do people use the crappy software ISPs give them? You should find an ISP that doesn’t require a special ‘client’ to get online. You shouldn’t be feel locked into an ISP just because you don’t want to lose your me@isp.net email address.
1)Don’t use email service unless it supports POP/IMAP clients.
2)Don’t use your ISP email account.
3)If you have to ‘dial up’ with DSL, don’t install their bloated dialer, rather, use a router and have it maintain a constant PPPOE connection.
4) .Mac gives you all of these for $99/year
An ISP should provide a connection, and nothing more; though they would be more than happy to give you a few ‘value-added’ freebies to make you scared to cancel service
are built into Tiger
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Good riddance!
get a .Mac account if you depend on similar features.
I am all with CampusComputerStoreGuy.
PS
Magic word “three” like: “you three OS X users with MSN subscription: get rid of it already!”
Skype is taking over for cross-platform anyway – you can do text as well as voice btw.