MSN Premium Is Still a Thing in 2021 - Is It a Ripoff?

[@Kifter1983]

There's a great sitcom here, talented young dev with stars in their eyes joins innovation giant Microsoft and is promptly assigned to the MSN Premium dev team....

[@trueneutral3092]

funny that this has to be someone's real life. someone is maintaining it. a dead-end job in a not so dead end field.

[@stevem4391]

I kept thinking of the poor devs that are doomed to toil away on this project.

[@trueneutral3092]

@@stevem4391 they'll move up, but only after pledging allegiance to the woke mob.

[@xxx_ray]

Hopefully it’s just their legacy employees who aren’t quite retirement age yet, but are still devs.

[@msthalamus2172]

I remember when MSN Explorer was the Hot New Thing in the company. A group of IE 5 devs moved over to MSN to take this on. I stayed on to do IE 6. That was the dead-end route as it turns out, since IE went into a dormant state after IE 6 shipped.

[@TokyoXtreme]

I realized that I have been unknowingly paying for MSN for years! Fortunately for me, when I mentioned this fact to Microsoft tech support, they offered to refund me completely - only they accidentally sent me $5000 instead of the $500 I was supposed to get! Seems it was actually my fault though, because I typed in an extra 0 on accident. It’s OK though; nobody lost their job, but I did have to run down to Walmart and buy a bunch of Google Play gift cards and read the numbers to the Microsoft rep over the phone.

[@JohnDoe-sw2nc]

lol

[@verifeli]

LOL

[@YZhou-g5q]

LMAO

[@black7594]

The fucking whiplash I got oh my god

[@ohgodohfuck7959]

[Kitboga has entered the chat]

[@mayatflyt]

when u said "what other installers have background music" i thought of piracy lol

[@JMNTLRDRX]

Keygen music is lit

[@TRLTheRandomLab]

I remember being scared shitless when i'd open up a keygen with music in the background :)

[@iGamezRo]

Me too like i did not really pirate in some time and when i did to a game only on epic games store (shitty games which i hate) i was scared first. I tought russian (or chinese who tf knows) repackers hacked me. lol.

[@bandvitromaniaios1307]

Same. CODEX pirate music

[@glitchy_weasel]

lol the ones by fitgirls use to have bg music

[@henrickbull]

The weird mishmash of icons and design languages. It's like 2004 meets 2017 in 2021

[@marct.g.5468]

You couldn’t have said anything weirder to represent a program right?

[@henrickbull]

@@marct.g.5468 Hey I was trying to be civil to this three ring circus of a program. I’ve seen icons in this interface that go all the way back to XP then there’s some in here that I’ve seen in Windows 7 some I’ve seen in windows eight and some I’ve seen in windows 8.1 and that’s it. Then some of the interface design goes right back to XP. Some of the internal webpages in the browser Remind me of Microsoft’s web 1.5 design language. Sort of like what they had back in the days of XP when you would go and update your computer and it opened up Internet explorer to that weird update website yeah you know the one I’m talking about.

[@marct.g.5468]

@@henrickbull yes I can understand

[@JeanSamyr]

@@henrickbull activeX intensifies

[@TheDolphinTuna]

Yeah, this whole video was a trip

[@doublej42]

I worked for msn premium as a tech support agent when it launched over 12 years ago. I worked there for 5 years. It’s amazing how much it hasn’t changed.

[@DerSchakal523]

Are there still people paying for that in 2022? Why?

[@ZiggyMercury]

It's amazing it still exists. What's the point of paying for things you can get for free? I mean, except for an IE-like browser (I hope Netscape doesn't have paying customers too...).

[@xmine08]

@@ZiggyMercury Really old people I guess, who've been using that thing since the beginning. I'd assume that for many of those, that is "the internet"

[@ZiggyMercury]

@@xmine08 You have a point. On the other hand, it's a bit of a paradox: if they used it back then, that makes them rather early adopters of the internet. If they still use it now, that makes them super-late adopters of the modern-day internet (or, actually, not-yet-adopters of it).

[@Ribeanie]

How many target giftcards did you get?

[@dustojnikhummer]

I feel like Microsoft either forgot to terminate this or they have a very large business clients who rely on this.

[@JoelRiter]

Given that Microsoft has a monopoly on government systems (including being a massive military corporation for this reason), it’s probably a government agency. Because, you know, makes more sense continuing to give the Microsoft monopoly billions in tax dollars instead of just creating an open source OS for government use that would save a lot more money would just make too much sense.

[@adtc]

Definitely there's money involved. There's no way Microsoft wouldn't terminate this if it was a loss. Unless a bunch of guys in the basement are keeping this alive for fun (ala The IT Crowd).

[@RicoCilliers]

Hey maybe bill gates still uses it.

[@miguelelgueta5830]

They wouldn't need support if it was an open source OS maintained by the government though

[@dustojnikhummer]

@@miguelelgueta5830 Remember when Munich went back to Windows and Office? Yeah, FOSS is not always the solution, especially with governments.

[@technon1]

This kind of stuff is for OLD people, like someone's Grandmother who is used to the interface and doesn't want to learn how to use another program.

[@JonnyInfinite]

I think it's probably legacy support for some mission critical application that needs a component of this

[@lbsiuk]

My grandma can't live with Gmail, she hates it.

[@cookie1218]

@@lbsiuk my grandmother couldn't live with gmail, that she died.

[@pitaya4151]

@@lbsiuk When gmail is loading, in the bottom right, click "simple html version" and the interface is way more readable

[@EnigmaticLucas]

It could also be for people living in areas without good Internet infrastructure. My neighborhood didn’t have anything better than 700kbps DSL until around 2014, and there are places in my state that still don’t even have anything better than 56kbps dial-up.

[@joshuacampbell17]

"what other installers have background music" *keygen beats intensify*

[@sutibu719]

You forgot the installers for pirated games

[@sutibu719]

@ツSebastian tho the music they use is pretty good

[@weegeenumberone2]

*U N R E G I S T E R E D* *H Y P E R C A M* *2*

[@sutibu719]

Tho, reloaded chose the best music for their installers

[@CreeperPookie]

What about Windows XP?

[@Wapitiii]

Microsoft: Removes old important pages. Microsoft: Still offers MSN Premium.

[@nilswegner2881]

Absolutely true...

[@animatorbruh5113]

this gave me a good chuckle

[@trollsthatlol1]

Also still supports IE under the table.. Which has maybe a 6% market share and that might even be generous... But Windows 7 is old and irrelevant, you don't need it. Lol.

[@KrishnaDasLessons]

@@trollsthatlol1 IE is still used by a decent amount of businesses though, especially for security cameras.

[@kbhasi]

@@KrishnaDasLessons And old software some companies use which use ActiveX plugins.

[@gluttonousmaximus9048]

Old logo and new logo unironically coexisting on the surface of one product is the most hilarious thing I've seen

[@Locutus]

The use of Unironic, is ironic. 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@monikabixho7752]

Same thing with Google Earth Pro (which isn't related to Microsoft in any way, sorry if i am off topic)

[@adianchowdhury9016]

This basically wraps up all the design inconsistencies within Microsoft's products

[@cyschan]

like the windows 3.1 icons in the computer files…..

[@bastoscc]

Nobody gonna talk about how when he signed in his account it litteraly said his name "Good morning, Michael!" 10:07

[@NopWorks]

Wonder how that's possible, that it said his name in human voice. What if I have an uncommon name? I guess it's just pre-recorded audio, and they only record common names.

[@SilentProti]

@@NopWorks I'd say it's the text to speech function

[@deidyomega]

@@SilentProti Yeah thats totally text to speech. Microsoft has an amazing tts software baked into cortona

[@naomibarnes44]

I would've felt like a bad bitch using that ngl

[@bastoscc]

@@deidyomega If You are interested in Microsoft's text to speech voices you should search on google for Microsoft speech studio. They are really good

[@bricklander]

seeing modern microsoft stuff in an xp-like window feels... odd

[@alexander1989x]

Almost like an outdated application still somehow running in Win 10, like Winamp

[@ktb]

ikr. I was just gonna tell him to make a video on this before he did lol

[@worf8964]

its painful looking at it

[@ToxicKlay]

@@alexander1989x meh, Winamp is at least still incredibly useful as an audio player/visualizer even if other software has surpassed it in development, whereas there really is no conceivable reason anyone should be using MSN Explorer in 2021 hahaha

[@ktb]

@@worf8964 painful? not at all

[@askhowiknow5527]

Somebody's job is to write bug fixes for MSN Explorer and they seem to be doing a pretty good job

[@le0t0rr3z]

Dude what bug can you have when 90% of your buttons open another website xD

[@vladimir_k_bestplayerna1217]

@@le0t0rr3z They probably intentionally leave some bug in there so that they have something to do later. lol

[@le0t0rr3z]

@@vladimir_k_bestplayerna1217 ngl I'd do that

[@StarmanDX]

Lol I helped my neighbor set up a new computer a week or 2 ago and he was subscribed to either MSN gold or MSN premium. Was shocked that it was actually still a thing

[@gavinthecrafter]

It's all "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. Nothings really gotten _worse_ with MSN Premium, so people keep buying it unaware that all of these things are now available for free.

[@Johnstone_Studios]

Lol that's why I'm here because I found that out too.

[@ElliLavender]

@@gavinthecrafter I think this is the best explanation for MSN Premium in 2021.

[@AnesuC]

What I gather here is that it's for the older folks that don't know where to get all these things individually. I mean that would be the reason it's not discontinued. Having it all laid out in one program is essentially worth the money to them.

[@ghostface5559]

or to siphon money from people that forget about it

[@tomparis37]

This is exactly what it is for. Im the ITmanager for a law office full of late gen x'ers and boomers and I always have to stop them from signing up or downloading shit like this.

[@reeddeer793]

@@tomparis37might not be a bad idea to just set em up with something like this and block all program execution lol

[@SokolS125]

Students: What will we use for online class? Teachers:

[@samuelhulme8347]

Mine uses teams

[@Ernte-X]

@@Meowzofficial looking at your comment I think that you are really incompetent

[@NEK1911]

@@Meowzofficial actually they are a bit too competent for my taste however I think your a bit incompetent tho

[@NEK1911]

@@Meowzofficial Jo

[@Aluxix]

So thats how the school makes money

[@leetaeryeo5269]

Not gonna lie, I feel really nostalgic about these all-in-one internet suites. Those were the early days of the internet. Things have moved on so far from things like this.

[@anjakellenjeter]

*SeaMonkey has entered the chat*

[@ntekniklaus3710]

My grandfather, since the late 90s had MSN Premium and it was only gotten rid of last year, on his old account that was closed since 2017 after clicking a malicious link to grab his info. I didn't even know they had memberships, let alone still keeping them around. It took us two days to realize how much money he's wasted for about two decades.

[@bluephreakr]

Dang. Maybe once he's acclimated with open-source software for his browsing habits, convince him to try out an open-source OS and move on from Windows? You can make MATE look like a solid representation of old Windows, there's also Ubuntu Kylin UI which _feels_ a bit like WIndows 10, and there's KDE 5 which _looks_ a lot like Windows 10. btw I use -Arch- Manjaro.

[@ntekniklaus3710]

@@bluephreakr as an open source and Linux user myself I myself simply can't recommend it anyway.. it's already bad enough I have to keep going to his house for the stupidest of reasons. honestly OS X would be a better option for him as it's more idiot proof in my experience but then again, "I AIN'T BUYING NO FUCKIN MAC!!".

[@prateekpanwar646]

@@bluephreakr It's pretty difficult for old people to learn too newer something. Like you could learn any language easily when you were kid, Is it as easy today? No Keep windows, He may not understand command line. Just get him an open source browser and if you have any other subscriptions, replace with open source alternatives. Or like he made 1000+ documents with ms office, Buy a perpetual 2019 license.

[@prateekpanwar646]

@@ntekniklaus3710 Yeah mac has easier user interface. You get everything with 1 search

[@bizzzzzzle]

@@bluephreakr your more senile then his grandfather, you really think it’s a good idea to make him switch to Linux after the story he gave?

[@Breeze926]

Skeuomorphic angled icons Skeuomorphic flat icons Windows 8 Metro monochrome icons with colored square Windows 8 Metro colored icons with no square Windows 10 fluent icon when it opens Outlook Windows Vista gradient background My brain can't handle this

[@thatgraysuburban]

Skeuomorphic. I’ve been trying to remember that word for the past 2 years. I just kept thinking “oleophobic”. Thanks!

[@solarstrike33]

And now here comes Windows 11…

[@Breeze926]

@@solarstrike33 Installing MSN on Windows 11 so we can add Windows 11 rounded borders to the list.

[@SirFaceFone]

If I hadn't seen this video I probably would've though it was a parody of Microsoft's design inconsistencies.

[@Big-Chungus21]

The irony that you can experience most of this today in Windows 11 with the start menu and any of the software that hasn’t been updated yet

[@L0PREZ]

Shout out to Felix for sharing that! what a genuinely nice gesture.

[@samuelese22]

I love Felix!!

[@JayarFlores]

I actually had this feature and browser for years until Verizon stopped paying for the premium subscription when they sold their dsl customers to frontier. My dad was actually really upset because he had 20 years worth of bookmarks and emails that didn’t not migrate when frontier took over. Oh the memories.

[@xBananaGamingHD]

Its interesting how the UI, icons and all that is Windows XP style.. but the "msn" logo has been updated to the new flat design.

[@NickDalzell]

Im glad it has something other than boring flat design. Also, flat isn't modern it originally was a thing in the 80s, and the more recent second coming is 9 years old already.

[@kbhasi]

Yep, which led me to suspect that Microsoft's MSN team had just been performing security updates to MSN Explorer X.

[@JuvStudios]

Also some of the icons are from Windows 8 and not the latest ones

[@xxalex423xx]

i hate flat design it's so boring

[@user-10021]

I miss when ui had a soul, I love the old colorful 3d elements

[@ZiggyTheHamster]

The mail UI is exactly the same as it was in the XP MSN Explorer. The swoopy part in the top right is the design language that MSN used for everything until Live became a thing.

[@xero110]

A bunch of modern and totally "legit" game installers have background music. 😉

[@Leurak]

gitfirl perack

[@9911jman]

Lmao

[@vivianciurus5326]

I like the girl with the spoon who gives me free games

[@daemonspudguy]

@@Leurak make moar videos!

[@Chromeno]

toy story 2

[@yoshibros1111]

The design of these old programs is so satisfying and "open", looking at a windows 10 one later (or most modern websites) makes your eyes bleed

[@OliveIsTyping]

I remember using MSN back in the days of windows XP lots of memories

[@DavidPavicic1]

Yeah memories 😌

[@Touhou2006]

WINDOWS XP STARTUP SOUND

[@kevinsahm5577]

watching this on windows xp lol on 360 chrome web browser.

[@platinumxyminecraft7457]

Your have the most harts form him awsome

[@DJGioGio]

You're older than me

[@W3R3W00F]

Apple, Google: *consistently maintains their UI language across all current products* Microsoft:

[@monikabixho7752]

Google Earth (desktop version) left the chat

[@oisinsharkie]

MSN has like a comfortable feeling interface to it, it feels nostalgic

[@KrishnaDasLessons]

That is with a lot of old programs. That was the design language back then, you would make the interface as comfortable as possible to make it easier for users to use a computer. AOL has a similar looking interface.

[@reptilez13]

Thats cuz its 20 years old lol

[@doubtful_seer]

The design language, having grown up using it, was absolutely designed to feel that way. The color choices were very deliberately chosen to evoke calm, the reflection Ed were to evoke water, it was all meant to fade into the background of what you were doing, feel inviting, but could also be customized heavily for those that wanted it and knew how.

[@bengaligangsta]

When in see those interfaces, it raises my heartbeat a little cos all I remember is things breaking and not working lol. Although it seems comfortable, things were really unstable back then. Current interface just works and is comfort for me

[@doubtful_seer]

@@bengaligangsta I actually find current OS less stable comparatively. I have three laptops, one from 2003, one from 2007, and one from 2010. The 2003 laptop, the cheapest of the three (about $300 iirc), has been the most stable through the years and was an absolute workhorse. My current laptop that was made in 2016 and has win 10 is the least stable of them all, to the point I spend 90% if my time on my tablet and $199 phone (this is a relatively new one that I switched to last October. Previously I was using a phone made in 2014 that I only switched from because apps were no longer working on that version of Android).

[@maxamuscrasious3047]

Now that you have a MSN account, time for an attempted sign in with the gold MSN explorer in XP?

[@KrishnaDasLessons]

This comment needs to be up higher.

[@Colorcrayons]

Agreed. Its perfect

[@ThatLinuxDude]

Y'know, that GUI has a lot of Longhorn Pre Reset vibes in it.

[@aviumcaravan]

yes

[@timrutten5990]

I agree. Feels weird

[@patrycjadargacz4909]

@@timrutten5990 I am surprised that they have not updated the ui

[@visualaudio22]

@@aviumcaravan this is exactly like longhorn pre reset

[@CaptainOnoma]

@Dylan Longhorn wasn't even actually released, so you mean... no one?

[@joewell6435]

I do on site tech support from time to time, and it's pretty much exclusively elderly people with varying degrees of technological ineptitude, and I can see the appeal of MSN Premium to those types of people. It has pretty much everything that kind of user would use in one easy to use program. The fact that UI looks so old I think is likely intentional and not just Microsoft not bothering to update it. Any kind of change, no matter how seemingly minor could seriously disrupt someone who is not able to do much on a computer without someone spending time and showing them in detail how everything works (and even then they often need to take extensive notes).

[@drifter402]

They're willing to wreck all their other UIs so it's probably just not popular

[@TheAuzman466]

MSN, aka my front page in 2008 when I got home from school to play Runescape.

[@kbhasi]

@Celly Milton Yep, I remember that! MSN was the default homepage on most versions of Internet Explorer, albeit through a Microsoft redirect link that then redirected to the MSN website for the country the user was connected to the Internet in.

[@NazmusLabs]

@@kbhasi A customized version of MSN still powers Microsoft Edge home & new tab pages

[@xliquidflames]

Oh, wow. I haven't seen MSN in years. I did tech support for them. I worked for Sykes Inc who was/is a tech support outsource company. We did support for Gateway computers and MSN internet. I took 60 calls a day helping people get online through MSN. This was 2002-ish. I remember the timeframe because September 11 happened while I was in training for that job. I was hired for Gateway and did that for over a year. Then I moved over to MSN. I had no idea it was still being sold. I have photos of me inside that call center with MSN logos on the walls. lol man. I haven't thought about that place in so long. These screens look a lot like the version I supported. Of course, it's been 20 years since I've seen it but it looks very similar. There was this key combination you could do on the sign in screen that would take you to a hidden menu with some advanced settings. I think it was something like CTRIL+SHIFT+F12 or something like that. I remember doing that a lot with customers to configure their modem. By the way, I also did tech support for AOL from 1999 to early 2001. Yes. I'm old. I actually worked for AOL, though. That wasn't an outsourced job. I was there for the Time Warner merger. But I was commuting 3 hours a day to get to the AOL building. The Sykes call center opened 15 minutes from my house and I changed jobs. I regretted it but I also couldn't go back to commuting. Anyway, thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[@hipstertey1666]

Sitel acquired Sykes, but you can still see the Sykes "Beer Can" building in Downtown Tampa Florida.

[@hanro50]

They seriously need to update the IE 11 back end or this app will be essentially vapour ware in the future. As IE11's lifespan is well... mainstream support for it ended in 2020 and IE11's methods of handling JavaScript isn't really compatible with modern web browsers. Meaning web designers are looking for any excuse to drop support.

[@SupernovaeTech]

Imagine being told "ok please redesign the site. Make sure not to break MSN Dial Up or MSN Premium"

[@louspowels7120]

CLEARLY the elderly is now the demographic for this "product" and service.

[@maximusg88]

And apparently scammers are targeting them with this as well - as my own web search revealed

[@KrishnaDasLessons]

@@maximusg88 Is there any article about this?

[@HenriqueRJchiki]

@@KrishnaDasLessons article? Lmao who reads articles nowadays. Look up Scambaiting on KZbin

[@plottwist1733]

Yeah. And people in third-world countries with sh!t internet.

[@msthalamus2172]

MSN Explorer was the perfect introduction to computers for my mom, twenty years ago. I didn't know that they'd been updating it at all since then, but I guess they kept pace up through IE 11. I would think adapting it to Edge would exceed its value, though. I doubt this service will continue because of this, but who knows?

[@easyflamer]

It looks like the only market for MSN Premium are the old people who can't learn anything newer

[@Idleshot]

or won't, some individuals are stubborn

[@jackielinde7568]

It's basically MSN's version of AOL's dialup shell. I could see someone getting this for their mother or father who's getting up there in years and not really tech savvy. It keeps them in a very safe sandbox for the most part, and it's nostalgic. Now, would I or any of my tech savvy family or friends use it? Oh, heck no! But as long as it doesn't really run scripts off strange websites, locks the user into a sandbox, and doesn't allow add-ons, I'd say it's perfectly fine for those folks who need a little helping hand.

[@cashnelson2306]

As a "valuable" MSN customer? Did they mean valued? lmao

[@Zuudo]

They absolutely are “valuable” to Microsoft, considering they pay $10/mo for absolutely nothing 😛

[@RaineWilder]

No, considering when it was written, they meant "valuable". This was a common expression back in the day.

[@StevenOBrien]

Freudian slip

[@sciuresci1403]

@@RaineWilder what do you mean back in the day ? It's not acceptable anymore? Lol

[@RaineWilder]

@@sciuresci1403 semantically it doesn't have the same meaning as "valued", so that usage eventually stopped.

[@gameguy73]

AOL still offers their client as well. It's been rebranded as AOL Gold and requires a subscription. It would be interesting to see it. Even though I'm fairly certain it's a ghost town.

[@aaronbrown4275]

Mmm...that late00s/early10s design aesthetic. I miss it.

[@ian_b]

At least you could see the edges of windows in those days. Before Jensen Harris got his hands on it and decided white on white works fine.

[@Saul_Soto82]

That's exactly why i'll be paying for it lol

[@thetelephoneprankster4254]

@@Saul_Soto82 Have you subscribed now then?

[@Saul_Soto82]

@@thetelephoneprankster4254 Not yet, im gonna have to ask my father if i can

[@xxstarbrite02xx30]

@@UltimateGamer-vg3nh take me too

[@dealloc]

15:42 I believe that it just uses the version of IE that is installed on your system, which is IE11 on Windows 10. It's likely using a WebView control (or similar), which is hooked up to the IE engine on the system, rather than having the entire IE engine inside the MSN Explorer program.

[@danl9621]

I still have my msn e mail account, I've had it for like 18 years or so, it's still my main email account and I use it without problems in the windows 11 mail app and even on xbox live, I won't change it ever, it's the mail account that my mom made for me when I was like 5 years old, it means a lot to me.

[@realmichaud]

I've been using my email for a long time

[@Garysmusic1964]

Enjoyed the video for the memories of this.. It does look close to the original. I had this running on a XP machine from the early 2000's.. They offered a service with your ISP back then, where you paid them to provide your internet for you.. DSL over the phone with their own router.. I still have the router and the msn e-mail, although they only had the service for a limited time. I enjoy all the modern advances of this time, but nice to look back on old tech and software... You have a new sub from me.. G

[@MichaelMJD]

Thanks for subscribing!

[@Locutus]

2000s, not 2000's. 🙂

[@Faith-Trust-Pixie-Dust]

My dad was on the team that built MSN Explorer! So we had it on my computer and I was IN LOVE with it as a kid.

[@MQZ17]

I imagine the people that still work on this are in an old office with tubing sticking out of the walls, a bit of mold on some corners, furniture that doesnt match, fluorescent lighting that buzzes, in the basement of one of the Microsoft buildings

[@alexisnik19911]

The mail inbox ui is based on the old msn Hotmail domain. Thanks for the upload!!!!

[@akpokemon]

this feels like malware/bloatware. i can't believe it's an official MS product. On the other hand, I think it's so cute and cool. I love all the widgets and fun tab things. I kind of want to try it

[@MarcosRobertoDosSantosJF]

Well, windows is bloatware, so everything is normal.

[@opalpersonal]

there is absolutely no way that this isn’t purely fleecing old people or those who don’t know any better out of as much money as they can get before this obsolete package goes bust. just like how cable TV companies are purely subsisting off of people 40 or older by now.

[@Jdbye]

The design seems to be from the time when Windows Live Messenger was still a thing, and has remained largely unchanged since. It reminds me a lot of that. If this was something a significant amount of people still used they would have updated the design to match new Windows versions. There's probably less than 100 people still paying for it it which pays for keeping the servers running, but doesn't justify spending any significant amount of resources on improving it.

[@multiverseone8115]

"There's music!" *Flash backs to the old Sky EPG music on Sky Digital.*

Remember when they used to put Christmas music in December

[@multiverseone8115]

@ oh boy, those were the days.

[@MultiYippee]

@@CantPayEpisodes I heard they've stopped playing music altogether on the old Sky box EPG, and did so as of a while ago. It's just silent now.

[@multiverseone8115]

@@mrgklnds We have Sky Q now.

[@xkleeborp465]

I work for a bank and I still get calls from older card members that are paying for MSM Premium and AOL. I go out of my way to let people know that they’re still paying for these things and I have never had someone told me that they still use either service. I hate it when companies take advantage of old people.

[@Mattfromthepast]

So $10 to browse the web the way I did circa 2003? It's fun but I wouldn't pay money for it.

[@RosaParksShoe]

Watching this is giving me weird nostalgia vibes. I kinda miss that feeling of when the internet was just starting out and exploring everything.

[@griffinlaw9367]

I noticed that a lot of the small icons are taken straight out of Windows XP.

[@thogameskanaal]

This really seems to me like a service that would have been ended with the advent of competitors like Google providing the same functionality for free, promoting companies like Microsoft to do the same to stay competitive, but for some reason, it was just never shut down. I think many Microsoft management people just forgot it existed and there's like one to three fulltime Microsoft employee just keep pushing updates just because the backlogging/Scrum software they're using keeps routinely adding tasks for it (like renewing logos, updating links etc.) and they just finish the assigned tasks without giving it any deep thought...

[@jayzah]

Either they forgot it and it's updates are all automated now or theres enough older people or businesses still paying thier subscriptions keeping the service alive and profitable 😂

[@JeanSamyr]

This interface is basically identical to the XP version, just with a slight improvement.

[@Colorcrayons]

It makes me realize how much I miss xp, and the entire environment that Microsoft created to keep users within that veryenvironment.

[@kantraa]

"So we've got the stock market..." Don't mind me, just checking GME stock in MSN Explorer.

[@obp3ter]

I wonder if there is a dedicated developer working on it or it's just someone's side project.

[@msi4887]

I doubt this even gets enough money in to pay a full-time developer at Mcirosoft

[@Hopgop1]

There's prrobably 1 dude who understands it from when he and 3 other guys developed it in 2003, then he randomly gets called to fix it when a Windows update or something breaks it twice a year.

[@kaasis85]

To be honest, I have no objections to MS offering this to folk who find it daunting to keep up with technology to do the same basic tasks that they've always done. We pay for convenience and familiarity all the time. Charging money for it seems fair enough since it's a niche service at this point that wouldn't be maintained otherwise. The interface actually looks very nostalgic and something I wouldn't mind using. I'm put off by many MS services nowadays because they're "evolving" without much added benefit and updates break stuff in the process. Things like e-mail and browser were pretty much perfected 15 years ago. I can see how it can soon become frustrating that when you open your email one day, MS in their wisdom have decided to show you only email messages that they think are important and called it a focused inbox and for some reason also put skype there that you cannot disable. Yet their calendar app on Windows 10 doesn't have such a basic function like search.

[@PeriodicLaw]

I was thinking just that, thanks for writing this so I didn't have to.

[@vram1974]

I can't believe it still looks late 90's early 00's. Kinda makes me want to use it 😂

[@AJ-po6up]

I know right, my mind says NO don't do it, but my nostalgia is begging me to pay for it and install it lol just to get that early 00's look.

[@panqueque445]

"MSN dial-up: Get it now!" w h y

[@AMalas]

13:07 oh, onedrive. Well, it is being _somewhat_ updated, it doesn't say skydrive!

[@JeyVGaming]

Kudos for bringing up "Command & Conquer Red Alert/YR" here. I'm just happy to hear someone still remembers it. lol

[@geekmystique]

My condolences to the maintenance team for this cash cow, especially considering the user demographic.. Kill it Satya!

[@burakdemirh]

A lot of family computers probably have it lol. I bet they didn’t update the base browser to Edge bc a lot of the userbase is still using xp/vista

[@nayviler]

You just KNOW there's like, one intern at Microsoft and this is his whole job. Maintaining MSN Explorer. No one knows why it still exists. Most people DON'T know that it still exists, and yet, it can't die for some reason

[@wolf3dv]

@@nayviler I really like the Longhorn aesthetics so I would probably find it pretty comfy lol

[@johncate9541]

It doesn't look like it's been maintained in a long time, except just to keep it from breaking on new Windows revisions. It does seem to me that if this program still has a following, why not just offer it as a standalone free download at this point? It's a bit chintzy to charge people $10 a month for something that hasn't had a meaningful update since George W. Bush was President.

[@GiuseppeGaetanoSabatelli]

Better than Google who pit teams against each other like Inbox vs Gmail, then just straight up delete Inbox. Play Music vs KZbin Music, then just straight up delete Play Music. This week they just dropped Google Assistant DRIVING MODE. RIP Android Auto, was nice knowing you.

[@RasAnnunaki]

Hi Michael, at 7:15 when you talk about the downloading speed and the size of the setup, the "33,33 MB" that you highlight is not the size of the setup but the dialup connection downloading speed. Remember the 33K and 56K modems ? Well the "33,33MB" actually refers to a 33K dialup modem speed connection. (Insert MSN Explorer happy emoticon here 😃)

[@kevinportillo1971]

This is definitely targeted for a very narrow scope of users. It seems idead for elder people who dislike post-2010 Outlook client and thr rapid changes, this keeps their primary needs centralized and minimalistic.

[@ACoTam2]

7:09 quick calculation says that "high speed connection" means 512kbit/s

[@AJ-po6up]

Hm interesting, that was pretty high in the early 2000s when this program had any relevance, I would know since I was still using dial-up in 2007 so I can't imagine having that speed in 2002-2003.

[@xenxander]

with 50kbps download speeds for that connection.

[@HumanGamer]

Wait, so you need to access the Microsoft Store using the internet to subscribe to MSN Dial-up? Something doesn't add up there...

[@triptheroad]

I assume this is for people in the midwest that still don't have reliable access to high-speed internet but have a twisted pair copper phone line. When I checked a few years ago the AOL dial-up number still worked

[@_ace55]

I just love these "time traveling" videos. Keep it up man! Have you ever thought about doing an FAQ?

[@GameControlYT]

Yes why it there. A lot of corporation were offered lifetime support for msm premium at a huge price. And a lot of them still use it. By law Microsoft has to provide this service till even the last user of the software exit.

[@novemberbreed4669]

I really miss the days of colourful user interfaces. Just look at those icons!

[@Nostalgia_Realm]

So weird! I noticed before that some legacy MSN pages are still up. But a subscription that you can still buy today to a useless service? That is something xD

[@minscandboo1213]

When you need to change languages in browser for some reason : *MSN* *WORLDWIDE*

[@WestleyWolf]

Unless you want to use the internet like its 2003 i say go for it but at the end of the day all of the features that are on it are free without using it at all.

[@Doggy368]

omg 14:17 one of the emoticons in the list is Rover, the dog from Windows XP and Microsoft BOB

[@etekweb]

Used to use this browser as a kid, MSN Premium used to come included with Qwest internet (now CenturyLink). It has not changed at all lol, other than swapping out some of the buttons for newer Microsoft services and the new logo. Don't like that the butterfly doesn't flap on login anymore though, that was always my favorite part... But yeah most of the time we just used IE even back then because it was more capable and didn't have parental controls (which my parents didn't care much about, but MSN Explorer wouldn't let them turn it off because I was a child account). Still have and use my MSN email though!

[@mossykr0w]

I love how they remove a lot of important stuff from their site that is still needed to be installed today but keep this up

[@Thumper17]

That American Heritage Dictionary they're using as 3rd edition is currently 5th edition published in 2011, however in 2018 they released a 50th anniversary edition making it a sort of 5.5 edition. So they're like 2.5 versions behind.

[@samjohnson9232]

I just checked, and it’s still available right now (it’s 2024).

[@emusunlimited]

What's interesting about the MSN games page is that it may very well be flash games. You were using an embedded IE browser, which to my knowledge, never turned off flash support. Some people at my job still use it occasionally to access some old internal web app that is flash-based. That makes me wonder if the only way to play those MSN games anymore is to either use this explorer program or some browser that allows flash support.

[@Manacho]

19:56 the submenu has translucent effect. That kind of cool

[@pixelsquish]

I worked as a trainer for MSN support staff 20 years ago and spent some time in Microsoft's Issaquah campus. Back in the day, there was real value in MSN Premium - it included things like Encarta (before Wikipedia was big) and the security software was a Big Deal when Windows didn't come with any. By the nature of the service it attracted a lot of older, less tech-savvy people, and they need really good tech support. At least back then, the user support with MSN was great, and for some people, would justify the cost. I imagine in 2021 those people are the ones still using it. They don't like change. They still use a lot of tech support. The actual technical selling points in the product are long gone, but there is still a market of people who want the familiar thing they've always had, and don't mind paying $10/month if it gives them a phone number to call for help when they get an email about owing the IRS a thousand dollars in iTunes gift cards. I doubt there are many new signups these days.

[@sburton015]

Interesting finds. Didn't know the MSN service was still around. I do remember using the dial-up service from MSN for a little while back in 2002 and 2003, or maybe I remember using some of the MSN services like the chat rooms and stuff using a connection from another internet service provider such as AOL dialup. I remember actually trying a several different ISPs back in the day between 2001 to 2004 such as AOL, MSN, Earthlink, People PC, Juno, and maybe some other services. I remember the very last time that I ever used any kind of dial up internet was when I first moved into my first apartment back in February of 2006 when I then discontinued using land line telephone and then just moved on to using internet and phone from a cable company. Now, I just use wireless internet from AT&T.

[@linglin92]

When I was young I found MSN Explorer in XP and I tried create an account(and never remember them) then I found the user experience is way better compare to IE6 these days,and it contains tabs view way before IE7 released.After system being reinstalled (not my computer) I completely forgot about it until your XP MSN Explorer video reminds me about this.

[@ImN0tInsane]

I just discovered this video and this is so nostalgic I want to cry. Everything is here, the UI, the loading bar, the icons, MSN Mail ... Damn. Why would they keep this alive, though? Price of nostalgia?

[@aolmsn]

there is an old advertisement of MSN Explorer from 2004 and the interface you see on PCs is the same as the video (obviously there is no Skype icon but there is that of MSN Messenger). Furthermore, in the setup you can see in one of the images that MSN Messenger is present in the toolbar, so yes, it hasn't been updated for quite a while.

[@minecraze]

25:57 stretched bing logo

[@The-Jax-inator]

I know this entirely exists due to some random businesses and companies still using it somewhere in its systems

[@tailsprower9542]

Hm MSN brings back times of that Windows xp computer in the living room me staring at this screen waiting for my turn to play games on the computer Something like Roblox/Sonic Adventure/Railroad Tycoon/The sims 2 Lol those were games i used to play

[@marct.g.5468]

Yeah, those were some great memories, except for the fact that my brother always got his hands on it. :)

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

Sonic Adventure ♥️♥️♥️♥️🌱🌱

[@tailsprower9542]

@@SproutyPottedPlant Mhm yeah those were good times even though it was the DX version :/ but me back then diden't know better or care i was still playing the game so lol

[@tailsprower9542]

@@marct.g.5468 Hm yeah i never really had the share the computer with anyone else but my parents

[@poisonempress]

my dad used to use msn and it's messenger back in the day along with yahoo, brings back some memories.

[@musicalneptunian]

Somewhere Microsoft executives: "people still *PAY* for this! Hahahahahahaha! Suckers!"

[@jesse7631]

So, this must be for folks still stuck in the late 90s, early 2000s who haven't moved on. Microsoft is probably thinking, 'If someone is dumb enough to think this is still something useful, they deserve to be ripped off for it.' I can understand that.

[@yat_ii]

i actually think its a scummy way to drain money of those who forget to cancel it

[@thezach13]

The interface looks like it was designed during the development of pre-reset WIndows Longhorn

[@zacharyhenderson2902]

That is a really nice and intuitive UI. It feels cozy like 2004

[@ccateni28]

Try putting the old MSN explorer files into the latest version to see if it works.

[@marct.g.5468]

It would just end up with a weird messed up hybrid

[@ordinarryalien]

I never thought I'd be so embarrassed for Microsoft. What a sad company...