Microsoft to retire Windows Live Messenger in favor of Skype

[gerardwil]

Microsoft is working towards retiring its Windows Live Messenger client in favor of Skype.The Verge has learned through several sources that Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger service will be retired in the coming months and integrated into Skype. Microsoft has slowly been moving people over to the Messenger backend for Skype over the past few months, with around 80 percent of all IMs sent on Skype being handled by Messenger.

The company will announce the retirement of Windows Live Messenger soon, possibly as early as this week according to sources. The move follows efforts by Skype to link Microsoft accounts to Skype login names ahead of its global retirement plan for Windows Live Messenger. Users of Skype 6.0 for Mac and Windows are now greeted with options to log in using a Microsoft or Facebook account.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/5/3603014/windows-live-messenger-retirement-skype

[Firefox]

Intresting move, now sure I want to start using skype myself....

[DarkSnakeKobra]

MS just made it easier for me to kick out Windows completely.

[noknojon]

Microsoft is working towards retiring its Windows Live Messenger client in favor of Skype.

Always makes you wonder about what is going on behind the scenes !! (Take-overs / mergers, etc)

I hope that Skype still / always provides a free version like they do now -

"and integrated into Skype." An interesting turn of phrase in these words ??