It looks like Christmas will be arriving early, especially for frustrated Windows Live Messenger testers. With the closing of the first Windows Live Messenger 9.0 beta program in June, testers were not given much information about what Microsoft was planning to put into version 9.0 (the first beta build showed few changes). The beta testing program officially closed on June 24, 2008, after which testers could still use the 9.0 beta Messenger client, but since the Connect page closed down, the installer was no longer available for download.
According to Messenger Stuff, the developer team has a few surprises up its sleeves. The first and biggest one comes in the form of the Windows Presentation Framework (WPF):
After being tipped off by an unaffiliated yet trustworthy source who – naturally – doesn't want to be identified, Messenger Stuff can now reveal that the new interface will use the graphics effects available through WPF [Windows Presentation Foundation] where supported (i.e. on Vista and with a decent graphics card).
WPF, which comes preinstalled on Windows Vista and is available for download for Windows XP, is a graphical subsystem in .NET Framework 3.0 that many have touted as a very consistent programming model. Unfortunately, few have put it to use, and Microsoft is hardly a leader in the area. The company's decision to use WPF is probably in response to complaints that competitors like Yahoo have already begun testing their own "next-generation" messenger clients, and while Yahoo is using WPF, Microsoft looked like it was quite content just twiddling its thumbs.
After gathering over 1,000 bugs and suggestions, sending testers through three different surveys, and sifting through nearly 5,000 messages in the newsgroup, Microsoft closed off the beta, as it was satisfied with the amount of feedback it had gained from the program. The team was ready to go back to work and hopefully it will implement some of the suggestions (tabbed convos please!). Microsoft is readying another beta of Windows Live Messenger 9.0 "later this year," to which it will invite previous testers.
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