Facebook Messenger Beta For Windows 7 – I *LOVE* It!
I recently read about the release of a special beta of the new Facebook Messenger for Windows. This program for Windows 7 is standalone (it does not require your browser to be open) and yet leaves your Facebook Messenger open. Facebook Messenger aka Facebook Chat is honestly one of the primary reasons I still keep Facebook open on my computer and in my browser and this new little program gave me one less tab open in Chrome which I must say excited me. Immediately I went to https://www.facebook.com/help/messenger-for-windows - the info page about this new tool – and downloaded this application for my computer via the page https://www.facebook.com/about/messenger which is linked on the “Help” page.
One huge thing – which seems simple but this is a program which solves a pure #FirstWorldProblem – is that because the program sits in your Windows 7 taskbar (at the bottom of the screen between the “tray” – where the time and date are – and the Start menu button) it responds like any other opened program or application. It lights up yellow (or whatever color your theme defines) and you can actually really notice it and find it easily. As well, I am a huge fan of Windows shortcuts. One of my main go to Windows shortcuts has always been ALT+TAB to quickly switch between running programs. Because my Facebook Messenger is now an entirely different entity running on my computer in of itself I can now quickly switch between, say, writing a blog post like this one and chatting all without touching the mouse! So much more efficient I love it!!!
If you are running Windows 7 and the messenger/chat is one of the primary reasons you use Facebook I highly recommend downloading this program.
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about.me
Dan Levy
Renaissance Guy
An American-Canadian, I love meeting and getting to know people both online & off. Perpetually connected, I'm a community hub personified.
I'm a cellular and tech aficionado, social media addict, golfer, blogger, bachata dancer, social fusionist, traveler, and event organizer. Some events of mine or which I have been involved in that you've probably attended include Social Media Day Toronto (aka #SMDayTO), any Mashable.com Toronto Meetup, Foursquare Day Toronto, and the #LoveAHeart Bachelor-Bachelorette Charity Auction.
Get in touch via the links below or Dan.E.Levy{at}gmail{dot}com.
My biggest issue with 3rd party running FB chat is that the same chat shows up on the web site itself. I found it infuriating having to close the same chat twice. Does this Beta release only show the chat in the beta or does it still double up on the site?
Hmm. Well part of the reason I’m loving this program is that I don’t leave Facebook open anymore so I haven’t noticed. I will say though that it definitely marks the messages as read and that it does not close the chat sidebar on Facebook.com. I don’t think the messages show up on the bottom corner anymore though but I’ll look when I’m next at a computer & have a conversation going on.
Also, this isn’t a 3rd Party App. It is made by Facebook.
Justin, thought you’d want to see this which I noticed on my FB today.
They fixed the issue which infuriated you
I use basically the same thing at work but for gmail- google talk. It is also in a separate window than gmail and gmail chat, but the problem is that you cannot toggle because when you enter into a chat it opens in a separate window than the Google talk so if you alt tab it will only take you to the main google talk page. I absolutely agree alt tab is the best and I would not be able to do my work without it- without completely losing my mind anyway
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Haha, I don’t know what the specific app you are referring to is but last I checked the official Google Talk standalone program (which you can download via http://www.google.com/talk/) didn’t act that way. To be fair, I haven’t used it in a while since I find myself using Google Talk for IMing less and less and when I do I usually access it via a Gmail window or (sometimes) a GooglePlus tab.
But ya, ALT+TAB = so much WIN. Also, in Windows 7 if you want a cooler looking ALT+TAB try Start+TAB.