Customizing MSN Messenger.

Microsoft has added a lot of new stuff to its instant message service, MSN Messenger. Winks, handwriting, what you’re listening, improved audio and video conversation, personal images in contacts list, search bar, search button in the conversation window, more annoying tabs that I’ve never use, and many more things. Now our, one time light, messenger looks heavier than ever. The old days of friendly and light useful program has ended. Thankfully, there are a bunch of things we can do to take this program to the right path and make it more productive.

What I’m going to describe has to be done carefully. Think first what you are doing and read more about. You can get as a result a not working messenger so don’t start clicking “next” button so quickly.

We can do several things, but these are what I have done.

• Install Messenger Plus!: it improves the “Messenger Experience”, it adds new functionalities. During the installation it will ask you if you want to install advertisement software in your system in order to support this program. Read twice. I always say no to this. It’s your choice.
• Install Stuff-plug: plug-in for Messenger Plus! that allows us to manage the annoying tabs. And more things like support for large personal images.
• Apply Mess Patch: This is the one that helps us a lot to clean up our Messenger. It can remove those things that we don’t like. It’s easy, just run the patch, mark what you want to add/remove, and click next. If you’re going to do this again, be careful, don’t patch over a patched version. Restore the previous unchanged version, the program give us the option to, and after that, patch again.