Microsoft’s Windows Live Messenger will be switched off in China in October, marking a final end to the 15-year-old service.
Originally known as MSN Messenger, it was launched in 1999 but was switched off for most users last year, after Microsoft bought rival Skype. Users in China continued to use the old service but will now be transferred to Skype by Oct. 31.
Windows Live still had as many as 330 million users as recently as 2009. But those numbers later declined, while users of Skype rose to nearly 300 million by 2012.
Photo: Bloomberg
照片:彭博社
The service came to China in 2005, but later faced stiff competition from domestic rivals such as QQ messenger, built by Chinese firm Tencent.
A number of Chinese Windows Live users received emails from Microsoft, Chinese newspapers reported, informing them of the planned closure.
The e-mails told users they would get free Skype credit when they migrated over to the new service, the newspaper said.
(Courtesy of Liberty Times)
微軟的Windows Live Messenger將於十月份在中國關閉,代表這個已有十五年的服務終將劃下句點。
原本稱為MSN Messenger的Windows Live Messenger是在一九九九年推出,但微軟在去年買下對手Skype後,Windows Live Messenger對多數使用者關閉。中國的使用者繼續使用這項舊服務,但現在這些用戶也將在十月三十一日移轉到Skype。
Windows Live直到二00九年都還有多達三億三千萬用戶。但用戶數後來下滑,二0一二年Skype用戶增至近三億。
這項服務二00五年來到中國,但後來面臨騰訊的QQ messenger等本土對手激烈競爭。
中國報紙報導,許多中國版Windows Live用戶收到微軟的電子郵件,通知他們這項關閉計畫。
電郵告訴用戶,轉移到新服務時,可拿到免費的Skype點數,報紙說。
(自由時報提供/翻譯:自由時報國際新聞中心)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
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