Learn to Use your Computer

When you want to talk with distant friends, you usually call them on the phone and start speaking. A phone conversation is fast, reliable, and efficient. So why do so many people use Windows Messenger, a program that lets people type little messages back and forth to each other? Messenger fans cite several reasons:

• It's free. Built in to Windows XP, Windows Messenger lets you communicate with other Windows Messengers users worldwide, with no long distance charges.

• It's polite. As Windows Messenger sits in your taskbar, it lists your friends' names and whether they're currently available for conversations. That eliminates playing phone tag and keeps you from bothering people who are busy.

• It's convenient. Speaking on the phone requires all your attention. Windows Messenger lets you keep working in the background, simultaneously holding multiple conversations while shuffling papers.

• It's useful. In addition to exchanging text messages, users can send files and photos. Windows Messenger can take advantage of attached cameras and microphones to hold videoconferences with your friends.

Windows Messenger is far from problem-free, however. Its far-reaching features make it somewhat complicated to figure out for the first time. And although several companies (Yahoo! and AOL, for instance) offer instant messaging software, they're not always compatible: Windows Messenger can't send messages to AOL's Instant Messenger, for instance.

Also, because people can swap files as easily as banter, instant messaging software provides yet another roadway for traveling viruses. Many corporations ban them at work, fearing that employees are either revealing trade secrets or talking about last night's Sopranos episode. Finally, instant message conversations aren't as secure as e-mail.

• Windows Messenger and MSN Messenger are two different programs that do pretty much the same thing. Both Messenger programs can talk to each other. However, it's best to install one or the other, but not both. Uninstall MSN Messenger before using Windows Messenger, for instance.

• Microsoft constantly releases new versions of Windows Messenger. To find out which version you're using, choose About from the program's Help menu. Compare that version number with the latest one available from Microsoft by using Windows Update, and download the newer one if necessary.

Getting started with a .NET Passport

To start flinging messages to people around the world, sign up for what Microsoft dubs a .NET Passport. The easiest way is to sign up for a free Hotmail account. Fill out the short questionnaire, and Microsoft assigns you a Hotmail e-mail address. Log in to Windows Messenger using that address, and you're set.

It's completely ethical to lie when filling out Microsoft's .NET Passport questionnaire. Your personal information is none of Microsoft's business. Let Microsoft fill its databases from credit card companies, like everybody else does.

Signing on to Messenger and adding friends

After you have a Hotmail account, you're ready to log on. Windows Messenger almost always sits quietly in your taskbar, next to your clock. (It also tends to pop into action whenever you open Outlook Express.) Can't find it? Then click the Start button, choose All Programs, and click the Windows Messenger icon, shown in the margin, to bring it to life.

When you sign on for the first time, however, there's not much to do. Just as you need a friend's e-mail address in order to send that person an e-mail, you need a friend's Windows Messenger address before you can send him or her an instant message. Ask your friends for their Messenger addresses and then add them as contacts by following these steps:

1. Click Add a Contact from Windows Messenger.

Or you can choose Add a Contact from the Tools menu.

2. Choose to add the contact by e-mail address or sign-in name and then click Next.

Searching by a known e-mail address or sign-in name always works better than searching by name and geographic location. You can also search for strangers to chat with.

3. Type your friend's e-mail address and click Next.

Make sure you're typing in your friend's Windows Messenger e-mail address, which is often different than his or her e-mail address.

If you entered the person's correct e-mail address, Microsoft locates your friend and adds his or her name to your Contact list so you can start sending that person messages.

4. Click Next to add more contacts or click Finish if you're through.

Windows Messenger updates itself to display your newly added contacts.

Don't want to be disturbed? Then tell Windows Messenger to display your status as unavailable by clicking your name and choosing any of the following options from the drop-down list: Online, Busy, Be Right Back, Away, On the Phone, Out to Lunch, or Appear Offline.

• You can make Windows Messenger automatically list your status as Busy when you begin working. Choose Options from the Tools menu and click the Preferences tab. Then make sure a check mark appears in the Block Alerts and Set Status to "Busy" When Running Full-Screen Programs box.

• Whenever one of your contacts signs in to Windows Messenger, a small window known as an alert appears in the bottom-right corner of your screen to let you know they've just fired up Windows Messenger.

Sending and receiving an instant message

If a friend's online, you can contact that person in a variety of ways. Right-click on any contact's name to see your options.

Choose Send an Instant Message, for instance, to make a window appear on your friend's screen and display your message. If your computer has a microphone and video camera, you can hold a voice or video conversation. Windows Messenger lets you swap files, too.

Sending instant messages is probably the most foolproof way to communicate, when you follow these steps:

1. Right-click on your friend's name in Windows Messenger and choose Send an Instant Message.

2. Type your message and click the Send button.

Your words instantly appear on your friend's Windows Messenger.

When your friend responds, those words appear in your Windows Messenger window.

• To add little smiley faces and other symbols (known as emoticons), click the little smiley face. A menu drops down, listing all the available symbols. Click the one you want, and it appears in your message.

As Microsoft says, never give out your password or credit card number in an instant message conversation. Instant messages aren't nearly as secure as e-mail.

• After you've started a conversation, it's easy to send or receive a file. Click Send a File or Photo and choose the file or photo from the window that appears. Your friend sees a message asking whether he or she wants the file. If your friend clicks Yes, the file wends its way to his or her computer. If your friend declines to download the file, Windows Messenger tells you that.

• When somebody sends you a file or photo, you'll find it in the My Received Files folder inside your My Documents folder.