Microsoft Messaging Technologies

David BamberGemma Bone

Peter BuckinghamKate Fleetwood

Introduction

• Brief History of Communication

• Current Microsoft Messaging Technologies

• Social issues with Messaging Technologies

• Future Directions at Microsoft • Questions?

History of Communication

• Development of Language

• Letters– Postal Service

• Telephone– Mobile Phone

• Text/Photo Messaging

• Email– Instant Messaging

Microsoft’s Current Communication Tools

• Supported by Passport

• Instant Messaging systems (Windows Messenger and MSN Messenger)

• Chat rooms

• Groups

• Net Meetings

Current issues with Messaging Technologies

• Focus on:– Chat – Instant Messenger – Online Communities

Microsoft’s research groups Community Technologies and Social Computing – principally concerned with how people use this software and how effective they are

2 Domains

• Business– Desire for quick, direct communication

• Social– Conversing with friends– Meeting new friends

Covered Microsoft Research Areas

• Instant Messaging Extensions– Media Centre– Three Degrees

• Video Messaging– Microsoft Portrait

• Social Computing

Instant Messaging around a Media Centre

• Messenger on your TV

• Shared viewing– Privacy– Distraction

• Replies– Input– Manual/autogenerated

Three Degrees .

• Uses peer-to-peer technology to connect a small group of friends or family– Throw animations onto other group members’

desktops– Listen to shared play lists simultaneously– Easily send photos or files– Initiate group chat with MSN Messenger

Video Messaging

• Current– IM applications & Netmeeting– Work on fast networks– Advanced video codecs (MPEG & H.263)

• Problems– Network bandwidths vary– Mobile devices limited

Microsoft Portrait

• Microsoft Portrait - Basics

– Bi-level video– Reduces each pixel to 1bit– Thresholding– Maintains outline features– Very low bitrate– But poor quality

Microsoft Portrait - Colour

• Watercolour Video

– Image split into blocks– Rounds colour information– Selects most frequent

colours– Sets each block to closest

selected colour