Microsoft Messenger 7 ready for Mac

It's still well behind the Windows equivalent in terms of functionality, but Microsoft Messenger for Mac 7.0 has arrived.

While Messenger 7.0 finally delivers video and audio conferencing, this feature is only available when used in conjunction with Office Communications Server 2007. So if you were hoping to make a video call to Aunt Inge in Finlandia, you're out of luck. If you can't talk her into buying a Mac so you both can use iChat, there's always Skype or one of the other IM programs that support cross-platform calls.

Personal audio and video support has been promised for a subsequent version of Messenger for Mac, but it won't happen until after Windows Live Messenger has adopted the audio and video protocol used by Office Communications Server. All Microsoft's saying is "We are making progress".

OCS users will also find they can search the corporate address book.

Ordinary users do get the ability to search the contacts list (useful if you count contacts in hundreds rather than dozens) and to assign nicknames so you don't get confused by people who keep changing their screen name, while OCS users can search the corporate address book from within Messenger.

Both groups can take advantage of Bonjour support to see if any other Messenger for Mac 7 users are active on the same LAN. Excited by that? Me neither.

Messenger for Mac 7 requires Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later and either a Windows Live ID or an OCS 2007 account.

Source: http://www.itwire.com/content/view/17959/1151/

By Stephen Withers