If your a bit of plonker then I'm sure by now you would have grabbed yourself a copy of Microsoft's MSN Messenger v7 (7.0.0425 beta) and if you're a "two tin can n a piece of string" (dialup) user i'm sure you too groaned at the little over 10mb download... but a couple of coffees later who can remember it's akin to watching ice cubes melt in an empty glass...but that aside.. :)

It's always cool to leap in feet first with any beta (and those of us who don't mind some of the expected buggy burps do quite enjoy the experience) but a word of caution, make sure when your feet travel that your brain isn't too far behind. Take your time as you go through the install process especially if you don't wish to acquire the MSN ToolBar, find MSN Search as your default IE engine and have MSN.com as your home page. Go slow, stop, read and breathe.. it'll always pay off in the long run :) First impression...

...thumbs up :) Well done M$ and bless your wee cotton socks for the ability to select a status (woohoo! for "appear offline") prior to logging on, haven't nudged or winked a soul (not big on either) but the very first thing I did do once online was to disable the MSN Today popup which greeted me (Tools > Options > General, then uncheck "Display MSN Today when Messenger signs in" )

If you want to have a wee chat about v7 then you can join in our forum thread MSN Messenger 7.0.0425 and if you're a huge fan of Patchou's MsgPlus! then you'll be thrilled to know he has a beta version out (compatible with MSN Messenger v7) which you can read all about at MsgPlus! for Messenger 7 - 3.40.110 BETA - Updated!.. but a double caution.. you'll be running MSN Messenger BETA and MsgPlus! BETA so expect some problems... if you're not up for the challenge and / or tend to get a bit twitchy when things don't go as expected then dont touch either :)

If you're yet to download MSN Mess v7 you can nab it directly from the link posted in our forum thread MSN Messenger 7.0.0425 or from Softpedia MSN Messenger 7 beta build 0425 which has a summary of new (and cool!) features available in this version.

btw...
if you're after some smileys for MSN Messenger v7...
Exclusive NEW animated emoticons from MyEmoticons
Hundreds of high quality and really cool animated emoticons for use in MSN Messenger V7 coming soon.
Want to really impress your friends? Keep a close eye on MyEmoticons.com for the latest releases of cool emoticons.
free sample pack available @...http://www.wackyb.co.nz/downloads/MyEmoticonsAnimated.zip (78kb)
Use these emoticons and you'll really stand out in the crowd.
To install emoticons, follow these steps;
1. Open the main Messenger window.
2. Click the ?Tools' menu and select ?My Emoticons'
3. Click ?Create' in the My Emoticons dialogue box
4. Click ?Find image' and select the emoticon you want to add
5. Type a shortcut key to assign to this emoticon
6. Type a name for your emoticon
7. Click ?ok'

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