Mess.be hands-on Wave 3 Milestone 1 installer for Windows Live Messenger v9.
Contact List:
- The top of the contact list features the new Windows Live Wave 3 header. Not much else has changed here, with the links to other Windows Live Services still present, along with the colour customisation options.
- Underneath the word wheel (search box) there is a first-run prompt to set up Favourite Contacts. Positioning this special group of contacts at the top gives you at-a-glance information about their status and activities, something we expect to see used throughout other Windows Live services.
- Windows Live Groups. By allowing groups of contacts to communicate with each other through Group IM, this takes the existing multi-party chat functionality to a new level. (As Mess.be mentions, now that Groups is a service in its own right, groups of contacts are now called categories to try and avoid any confusion.)
Chat Window:
- The top of the chat windows features a slim-downed toolbar, offering easy access to the main features you can use in the conversation. The first one, Photos, is new, more on that below.
- The Wave 3 header continues below the toolbar, with the display picture now protruding into this area. The reason for this space-saving move becomes clear when having a group conversation, something that will happen more often in the new version 😉 Note that I haven’t blanked out the email address here; its removal saves yet more screen real-estate.
PhotoShare Application: This is a new application that allows users to transfer photos to their contacts for viewing. The main part of the conversation window shows a large preview for one of the photos, with the right hand side column showing smaller previews for the upcoming photos. [LiveSide]
