Windows Live Messenger Beta
Today I downloaded and installed the Windows Live Messenger Beta and I have to say that I feel the team behind this product is really heading down the wrong road.
It's clear that their INTENT was to make it really easy to use and user-friendly, but in truth the interface is quite clumsy and kind of follows the general "More is Better" motto that I feel exists behind many Microsoft products with the exception of the developer tools. This approach bubbles many of the features to the top in a (hopeful at best) attempt at a user interface, but unfortunately as with Windows Media Player 10 and many other products this new version of Messenger misses the mark.
So awkward and unappealing is the user interface that I actually have no desire to dig deeper and play with any new or improved features in the product.
I generally dislike giving negative reviews. I feel it can be discouraging to those who worked hard on a product and take pride in it. In this case, however, I really feel that instead of keeping up with the Jones', it's time to step out AHEAD of the Jones' - and not just with Messenger.
[12 hours later]
I have uninstalled the Windows Live Messenger Beta and put the latest release version of MSN Messenger back on my system and I'm a lot happier.