The curse

The curse of Windows Live Messenger: Yes, that is what it is called now - deal with it - stop calling it MSN!

I've said this a number of times while speaking to my friends but I'll repeat it here:

I could be voice chatting with such excellent voice quality that it would seem like a normal telephone call - over Skype, or even Windows Live Messenger (WLM) itself. But when it comes to transmission of text messages (compared to packets of sound data), WLM fails. I mean, it's text! It takes the lowest amount of kilobytes to transfer! What is wrong with Live!

In comparison, Google Talk is excellent. It serves its purpose at least - it transmits text messages whenever you send or receive them, and it is done effortlessly. If it's not delivered, you're informed right away - unlike Live. It doesn't have those corny emoticons or flash animations that make WLM more popular but at least it delivers what it promises - a reliable mode of communication.

So then, why not just switch to Google Talk? In this day and age of 'Web 2.0' - that annoying buzz word - you are still unable to sign on to multiple IMs (that's Instant Message/Messenger you dorks!) using one service. And why I still use WLM is because of my extensive contact list with people I have to or need to stay in touch with. And these people don't recognize the value of a service like Google Talk. At least, not yet.

So I have to keep both services active.

But sometimes WLM's eeriness becomes a blessing in disguise. You might send a stupid message to your contact - an unthought ask-out, an enraged comment, a comment revealing your stupidity, or something of the sort - and then a split second later you would realise you didn't want to send that message - but it's too late then. Your contact would reply back, appearing to ignore your insane comment and you would begin to wonder what you need to do then... Just a few seconds later, your stupid message bounces back. You're saved! Those are the only times you can stop cussing at WLM. (Unfortunately, as per my experience, messages that are not delivered successfully are not always bounced back either, which makes two-way communication nearly impossible.)