When comparing MSN with current messengers, Facebook Messenger is perhaps the one that comes closest to the functions and tools offered by Brazilians' favorite program in the early 2000s, the exception being "Call attention", a feature still exclusive to the old one PC software.
With the option to send stickers similar to Microsoft's Winks and animations, the Facebook application also allows you to change status, play with friends and send documents and images. Next, remember the functions of MSN, which had its services closed in 2013, and see where the messenger stands out or differs from Messenger.
MSN or Facebook Messenger? See and remember the main functions of each messenger Photo: Divulgao / MSN Messenger
WhatsApp against MSN Messenger: remember the features that marked time
According to data released by Microsoft in 2007, Brazil was the country with the most MSN followers, with around 30 million people. In the world, there were around 250 million accounts, an expressive number considering the incipient spread of the internet at the time. The Facebook platform, according to 2017 surveys, has 1.2 billion active profiles per month and 59% of Brazilian Internet users using the messenger.
Winks are among the most striking features of MSN Messenger. With animated figures jumping on the screen accompanied by the sounds of kisses, a burping man or a woman talking on the phone, the function appeared as soon as the conversation window was opened, which could cause discomfort and frighten the recipient.
The Microsoft service also offered the option of saving animated characters inside the emoticon folder, often letters with different designs, which flickered and shone. Registered with respective codes, it was enough to type inside the text for the items to appear, also causing discomfort in those who received due to the mix of images.
Winks occupied a large part of the computer screen and were sent with sound Photo: Reproduo / MSN
Facebook Messenger is not far behind in the animation category, and today offers three options: stickers, emojis and GIFs. The first ones are available in packages according to themes, such as Marvel, Ninja Turtles, cats or football, and can be downloaded for free in the application and in the desktop version.
GIFs are available as well as on WhatsApp, Instagram or Twitter. Just do a search for a keyword to find what you want or view the animations that are highlighted on the day. The process is done without installing plugins.
Stickers, GIFs and emojis on Facebook Messenger fulfill the function of Winks and emoticons on MSN Photo: Reproduo / Andr Sugai
In addition to nick, space for users to put names or nicknames, MSN Messenger also offered the option to add a subnick, a kind of personal message to complete the profile. When listening to music in Windows Media Player, it was also possible to automatically add the name of the song and the artist so that all friends knew what they were listening to.
Within the account, also a remarkable reminder of the Microsoft program was the address that users put in Hotmail, the main way to access MSN. Many adopted curious nicknames and terms, which currently cause discomfort for those who still use the e-mail service.
Below the nickname it was possible to display music that was listening on the computer Photo: Reproduo / MSN
In the case of Messenger, the service is linked to Facebook (even if you need a separate application to run on Android and iPhone). In this way, all profile information can be checked on the users' own account on the social network, including full name, publications, friends, events and tanned pages.
Another function that misses when the subject MSN is the notification that came up on the screen of friends when the user went online in the messenger. Many people used the resource to spread news, draw attention or even celebrate a soccer team goal.
Getting in and out of MSN to get attention was a common practice Photo: Reproduo / MSN
In order not to be noticed when entering the software, it was necessary to configure the account to enter as absent, busy or invisible. This last option meant that your friends didn’t see you were online, and could chat only if you started the chat.
In a simpler way, Facebook Messenger allows you to see only who is online and who has chat disabled. It is possible to force the configuration to not appear available, as well as the invisible one of MSN, for all friends or only for specific people.
On Facebook Messenger, My Day tool works with Instagram stories or WhatsApp Status Photo: Carolina Ochsendorf / dnetc
In addition, a way to view what the contact is currently doing with the My Day tool, the 24-hour Facebook Messenger stories. Similar to Instagram, WhatsApp and Snapchat, the feature allows you to publish photos and videos with drawings, filters and location tags.
Video calls or calls were only available on Facebook Messenger Photo: Reproduction / Isabela Giantomaso
Even though texts are still the main resource in a messenger, both MSN and Facebook Messenger have released functions to send videos, audio and files to friends within conversations. However, due to the connections that were still moving slowly at the time, in the Microsoft service the sharing processes were always slow and demanded patience.
In the application or on the web version of Facebook Messenger, in addition to being able to exchange files quickly as long as you are on a good 3G or Wi-Fi connection, of course you can also send locations and make video calls and calls with audio only.
You could play online with your MSN Messenger contacts Photo: Reproduo / Microsoft
An interesting similarity between MSN and Facebook Messenger is the possibility to play with friends online. In Microsoft's messenger it was possible to play in pairs or in groups. Among the games available were Minesweeper, Pacincia, Chess, Checkers and Tic Tac Toe.
Already in the Facebook software, users can take advantage of the tool to play both alone and with friends. Instat Games, which is available on smartphone apps and the web version, offers classic games like Pac-Man and Snake, in addition to the latest and most popular games like Cut the Rope and Song Pop Arcade.
On Facebook Messenger, with Instant Games, you can play from classic to new games Photo: Ana Marques / dnetc
To keep users free from hassles, MSN Messenger allowed them to block or exclude people from their contact network. Those who suffered from action no longer had access to status and could not even start a conversation.
In the Facebook messenger, in addition to blocking someone, it is also possible to archive the conversation and mark it as spam, which is useful for profiles that send advertisements or repeated messages. In addition, users can tag unread conversations to organize themselves.
When calling attention on MSN Messenger, the entire screen of the conversation was shaking Photo: Reproduo / MSN
MSN's "Call to attention" feature is still widely remembered by users who have become orphans of the service. When clicking on the button, the conversation automatically appeared on your contact's screen, accompanied by an effect that seemed to rock the chat and also a loud sound to make the alert complete, often scaring those who were not waiting for the notification.
On the other hand, Facebook Messenger brings among its highlights the camera with filters and options for editing images, in addition to extensions for integrating with external applications and Messenger Lite, an Android app that allows you to use most of the program's functions, but spending less internet data.
Messenger Lite allows you to save data with the same functions as the main application Photo: Divulgao / Facebook
