Comments on: Microsoft looks to give MSN fresh wings

The software maker plans to overhaul its decade-old portal this fall, but must strike a balance between modernizing the site and not alienating its core fans.

[MadLyb]

Follow the Bing model, as it was pretty succesful...but move a little quicker.

[mailbox001]

The one for Brazil looks cool! Hopefully they can make that an option here in the US.

[BogusBasin]

It's got wings! The darn thing's got wings!

[mjconver]

As an IT pro, I've always hated MSN. I do remote support for hundreds of clients via Webex, GotoMeeting, RDC, you name it. You have no idea how annoying it is when you're trying to get work done, and you have to wait. And wait. And wait for the MSN page to load all those images and ads and spam. Too many of my clients have heard me curse "Oh @#$#, not MSN again! Stop-stop-stop-stop-stop" as I multi-click the stop button.

[adhetola]

cursing at your clients, cmon? i'm sure u have a mute button, so they shouldn't have to hear your opinion :). mind u too, you're sharing the band with the webpages you're trying to load with your remote sessions, and more often than now, one or two seconds lag shouldn't be a biggy; you better hope they have 1+ Mbps speeds.

i don't use MSN, but when i have to work with people who do, i keep my opinion to myself, but not without a wry smile ;)

[wolivere]

People choose there home pages that is there choice. Some people like all they get on MSN, some like just nothing. But that said, my home page is msn, and it sure don't take a long time to load.

But I have to ask what is an IT Pro these days? Post 2k sure there where IT pro's. Today? minimum wage tech support ranks in around the level of MC D's.

[dwinks]

@Wolivere

Seriously, learn the difference between "there, their, they're" and "where, were", it's not that hard.

[GajaKannan]

brazil site looks really awesome...

[myles taylor]

Core fans? What...all 6 of them? :P

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Don't bash me guys; it was a joke.

[make_or_break]

Yahoo fanboy...hasn't your company gone into receivership yet?

Sorry, *I* couldn't resist. (sound familiar?)

[Mr. Dee]

The Brazilian version looks like something from 2002. What MSN needs to focus on is localized content, which Yahoo! has committed to.

[scottbordenborden]

That's what I was thinking. looks dated already.

[Uilleam]

The Brazilian page looks cute, but not too functional. I agree with Mr. Dee that MSN should focus on local content, like Yahoo has committed to for years but can't seem to deliver. I think we've reached the point where localized start pages/portals are doable.

I've used MSN exclusively since 2002 as my portal, over Yahoo and others. They don't monkey with the design constantly, and when the do it is concise and functional, unlike Yahoo who changes every pixel every time, and slows its load time more and more.

That said, this is shaping up to be a very busy year for Microsoft. If they get all this onboard before the end of Q4, 2010 might actually be a year we see MSFT growth. Dare I say?

[ArsFragica]

One website.

www.m.yahoo.com <----- FTW

[empirestatebuddy]

I was using Yahoo as my homepage for a couple years, but recently switched to Live.com (over MSN)... because I can customize Live more (I guess that makes me a "niche" person). The reason I dumped Yahoo is because their email doesn't work with Windows Live Mail (unless you pay them), so I just scrapped my Yahoo email accounts and turned them into Hotmail or Gmail accounts.

[dennisl59]

MSN still exists? Idea: Partner with AOL!

[enoch861]

AOL really?
dude, we are in a new century, not 1998!

[empirestatebuddy]

AOL still has about 8 million active members and controls about 2% of the "search" market, so a collaboration (at the right price) might actually work. Not everyone on the internet cares about "the cloud" or "firefox" or "open source" software. Many just want to check their email and read the news. Nothing wrong with that.

[ncalishome]

LOL not a bad idea... My mother has been an AOL user for years and it suits her fine as far as I know.

[jmcintire]

Talk about the blind leading the blind ;-)

[jmcintire]

Anyone remember when Firefox was a cool fighter jet movie starring Clint Eastwood?

[make_or_break]

AOL still has one thing going for it: tons of content, even if most of it seems like it was snatched from the pages of The National Enquirer. But hey, it's great for all of those folk who covertly lust after the supermarket checkout line magazine trash (yeah, you know who you are...yeah, you...I saw you sneaking a peek at those tawdry covers...we have you on video to prove it).

Sounds like THE perfect match for Redmond.

[anonymuos]

As a consumer, MSN is incredibly valuable to me. It lets me write small opinion articles on in-the-news topics too. The only thing I hate is all videos autoplay eating up my precious bandwidth.

[esiders]

MSN could do a lot better if they would drop NBC off their site altogether.

[hassan_bin_sober]

New drapes and getting the carpet cleaned ain't gonna do it!

[rdarylh]

I say, forget about Windows Live. Microsoft should get back to MSN!

[blackcoffeenosugar]

"Modernize the site without alienating core fans" as if there is any. A lot of people probably end up on MSN because it is the default homepage of Internet Explorer. Good that the EU has allowed more choice (or less choice, yes) for comsumers in Europe.

[monkeyfun14]

Oh yes cause defaulting it to Google is better right?

Your comment is purely idiotic.

[make_or_break]

And your inept inability to take personal charge and manually make a CHANGE from of Internet Exploder is...what? Apparently I must've missed that part.

I do despise it so when these sorts of weak-kneed types continue to rely on demonstrative, central regulatory agencies to take over their lives and thus provide the regulators' own edited version of rose-colored glasses...all in the name of "freedom" from a company whose glory days are already confined in its past.

[blackcoffeenosugar]

To "monkeyfun14" For your information: Yes, my default search engine is Google, so what? It is genuinely better than MSN, so what? There are (a lot) more people using Google than MSN, so what? And if you don't like either of them. You don't have to set a default search engine, you know?

[monkeyfun14]

@blackcoffee

Why is it okay for every other browser to default their homepages to their respective websites besides MS?

Maybe regulators should take a look at Apple and them defaulting it to their website?

[jmcintire]

I like the Brazil version much more than the French version.

[jmcintire]

Unfortunately, as is the case with many large corporations, Microsoft will probably go with the conservative layout being showcased in France. Hyundai, for example, had a truly revolutionary design for its Genesis concept, but the final product turned out to be the safe, no-frills, no-risk, and no-excitement design.

[jmcintire]

Microsoft tried to update Live Mail to a "modern" look, but I guess most users couldn't handle the change, so Microsoft went back and buried its collective head in the sand. For this reason, among others, it seems likely that MS will go with the safe, conservative, incremental and barely perceptible revamp seen in France. They don't want to stick their heads out and risk another Live Mail experience.

[timster799]

The portal for Brazil does NOT look cool. It looks crowded and busy. The portal used in France looks great. Always avoid web sites that lend too heavily towards video. I access my favorite sites from work, which blocks any site with streaming video, thus a simple portal works best for me. Even if I could access video-heavy sites at work, I wouldn't. Am I the only one that only clicks on exceptional videos and skips 99% of the rest?