MSN
Type of site | Web portal |
---|---|
Area served | Worldwide |
Owner | Microsoft |
URL | www |
Commercial | Mixed |
Registration | Optional |
Launched | August 24, 1995 |
Current status | Active |
Written in | ASP.NET[1] |
MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is an American
In addition to its original MSN Dial-up service, Microsoft has used the 'MSN' brand name for
The recent website and suite of apps offered by MSN was first introduced by Microsoft in 2014 as part of a complete redesign and relaunch.[4] MSN is based in the United States and offers international versions of its portal for dozens of countries around the world.[5]
History
Microsoft Internet Start
From 1995 to 1998, the MSN.com domain was used by Microsoft primarily to promote MSN as an online service and Internet service provider. At the time, MSN.com also offered a custom start page and an Internet tutorial, but Microsoft's major web portal was known as "Microsoft Internet Start", and was located at home.microsoft.com.
Internet Start served as the default home page for Internet Explorer and offered basic information such as news, weather, sports, stocks, entertainment reports, links to other websites on the Internet, articles by Microsoft staff members, and software updates for Windows. Microsoft's original news website (now NBCNews.com) which launched in 1996, was also tied closely to the Internet Start portal.
MSN.com
In 1998, the largely underutilized 'MSN.com'
The relaunched MSN.com contained a whole family of sites, including original content, channels that were carried over from 'web shows' that were part of Microsoft's MSN 2.0 experiment with its Internet service provider in 1996–97, and new features that were rapidly added. MSN.com became the successor to the default Internet Explorer start page, as all of the previous 'Microsoft Internet Start' website was merged with MSN.com.[3]
Some of the original websites that Microsoft launched during that era remain active in some form today. Microsoft Investor, a
In the late 1990s, Microsoft collaborated with many other service providers, as well as other Microsoft departments, to expand the range of MSN's services. Some examples include
encyclopedia with various levels of access to information.Since then, MSN.com has remained a popular destination, launching many new services and content sites. MSN's
The sports section of the MSN portal was
As of May 2005, MSN.com was the second most visited portal website in the United States with a share of 23.2 percent, behind Yahoo! which held a majority.[12]
MSN released a preview of an updated home page and logo on November 3, 2009.[13] It was originally expected to be widely available to over 100 million U.S. customers by early 2010.[14][15] MSN rolled out the newer logo, together with a redesign of the overall website, on December 25, 2009.[16][17]
In 2012, MSN announced on its blog that it would be unveiling a new version of the MSN.com home page on October 26, exclusively for Windows 8, saying that the new version would be "clean, simple, and built for touch".[18] Microsoft said it would be more app-like due to the speed of Internet Explorer 10. More new features included 'Flip Ahead', which allowed users to swipe from one article to the next. MSN for Windows 8 also had new deals with the AP and Reuters.[19]
Rebranding of services
Many of MSN's services were reorganized in 2005 and 2006 under a new brand name that Microsoft championed at the time, Windows Live. This move was part of Microsoft's strategy to improve its online offerings using the Windows brand name. The company also overhauled its online software and services due to increasing competition from rivals such as Yahoo! and Google. The new name was introduced one service at a time. The group of Windows Live services used Web 2.0 technology to offer features and functionality through a web browser that were traditionally only available through dedicated software programs.
Some of the MSN services affected by the rebranding included
Following the launch of Windows Live, the MSN brand took on a different focus. MSN became primarily an online content provider of news, entertainment, and common interest topics through its web portal, MSN.com, while Windows Live provided most of Microsoft's online software and services. In 2012, Microsoft began to phase out the Windows Live brand, referring to each service separately by its individual brand name without any 'Windows' prefix or association.[20]
Subsequent redesign
Microsoft launched a completely rewritten and redesigned MSN website, making use of the company's modern design language, on September 30, 2014.[4] The new MSN portal features a new version of the logo that follows a style similar to other current Microsoft products. The website no longer offers original content, instead of employing editors to repurpose existing content from partners at popular and trusted organizations. Much of the existing content on MSN was eliminated as the website was simplified into a new home page and categories, some of which have corresponding apps:[21]
- News: The latest news headlines and articles from a variety of hand-picked sources. Synced with the News app.
- Weather: Current weather conditions, forecasts, maps, news, and traffic. Synced with the Weather app.
- Entertainment: TV, movies, music, and celebrity news, as well as theater showtimes, tickets, and TV listings. Based on the former Bing Entertainment service. Also includes the MSN Gameswebsite for online casual games.
- Sports: Up-to-the-minute scores, standings, and headlines from leagues worldwide. Synced with the Sports app.
- Money: Stock market tickers and watchlists, personal finance, real estate, investments, currency converter, and more. Synced with the Money app.
- Lifestyle: Headlines, features, and other content related to style, home & garden, family, smart living, relationships, and horoscopes.
- Health & Fitness: Tools and information about weight loss, strength, exercise, nutrition, medicine, and more.
- Food & Drink: Recipes, cooking tips, news from chefs, cocktails, and shopping lists.
- Travel: Destinations, trip ideas, hotel search, flight search, flight status, and arrivals and departures. Previously based on Farecast.
- Autos: Research and buying advice, auto-related news, information for enthusiasts, and coverage of auto shows worldwide.[22]
- Video: Trending and viral videos, comedy and pop culture, and videos from other MSN categories. Integrates with video search from Bing Videos.
The top of the home page provides access to Microsoft services
With the 2014 relaunch, MSN now supports
In 2022, Microsoft began phasing out MSN for Microsoft Start, with news pages being moved to Start, and ads for the website appearing on the homepage. The homepage is the only element of the site that is still intact.
Apps
Developer(s) | Microsoft |
---|---|
Initial release | October 26, 2012 |
Operating system | Web platform, iOS, Android |
Type | News aggregator |
Website |
Website |
---|
Website |
---|
Website |
---|
The MSN
Developer(s) | Microsoft |
---|---|
Initial release | October 22, 2020 |
Website |
Microsoft launched these apps along with the 2014 redesign of the MSN web portal, rebranding many of the
The apps allow users a reasonable amount of freedom to decide which sources provide information. Each app has its own color code that is used on the live tile and internally. Originally, each app brought a unified experience with the MSN website and synchronized preferences across devices.
There are currently four apps in the suite: Start (previously News), Weather, Sports, and Money.[31] In July 2015, Microsoft announced the discontinuation of the Food & Drink, Health & Fitness, and Travel apps on all platforms, and that they will not be bundled with Windows 10; those three apps are no longer offered.[32]
After Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's mobile phone division, Microsoft also started bundling MSN services with its Nokia-branded feature phones, though the only supported model was the Nokia 215.[33][34][35] In addition to these apps, Microsoft developed a separate set of mobile apps specifically for MSN China.
Microsoft Start
Microsoft Start (previously named Microsoft News) is a news aggregator and service that features news headlines and articles chosen by editors. The app includes sections for top stories, U.S., world, money, technology, entertainment, opinion, sports, and crime, along with other miscellaneous stories. It allows users to set their own personalized favorite topics and sources, receive notifications of breaking news through alerts, filter preferred news sources, and alter font sizes to make articles easier to read.[36]
Originally, Start included an RSS feed, but that capability was removed; Microsoft currently only allows users to subscribe to specified news sources, thereby curating news.
Weather
MSN Weather (originally named Bing Weather) shows weather from a user's current location or any other location worldwide, and it allows users to define their favorite places, which will synchronize back to the Microsoft Start and across devices. Users can pin Weather tiles to the
Money
MSN Money (originally MoneyCentral, then MSN Moneycentral, before being rebranded as MSN Money in the mid-2000s - prior to being relaunched as a spin-off of Bing Finance) allows users to set up lists of
Esports Hub
MSN Esports (often referred to as MSN Esports Hub[44]) is a Bing intelligence AI curated webpage for the growing esports industry. Users can watch integrated streams from YouTube or Twitch. Microsoft's advanced AI called "Watch For", the algorithm originally made for Microsoft's Mixer is an artificial intelligence that uses computer vision algorithms on livestreams so that it can alert the viewer of significant moments. This algorithm is implemented in the MSN Esports Hub.[45][44] Users can also check the calendar for dates of upcoming e-sport events and tournaments or the news for updates on games and their tournament. After the creation of the MSN Esports Hub, Microsoft acquired Smash.gg; an e-sport tournament platform.[46]
Supported Games |
---|
League of Legends |
Valorant |
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive |
Dota 2 |
Overwatch |
Fortnite Battle Royale |
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
|
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare |
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege |
Rocket League |
FIFA |
Gears of War |
Super Smash Bros. |
Discontinued apps
Food & Drink
MSN Food & Drink (originally named Bing Food & Drink) is a discontinued recipe app that offers news related to foods and drinks, a personal shopping list that synchronizes across devices and the web, and a wine encyclopedia that contains information on over 1.5 million bottles of wine, over 3.3 million tasting notes, and hundreds of cocktail recipes.[47] Users can control the app hands-free, add their own recipes from physical cookbooks or personal recipes by snapping a photo, add notes to recipes, and sort the recipes into collections.[48] The app also collects information from famous chefs and lists them according to their style of cuisine.[49]
Health & Fitness
MSN Health & Fitness (originally named Bing Health & Fitness) allowed users to track their intake of
Sports
MSN Sports (originally named Bing Sports) displayed various
It was discontinued on July 20, 2021, in favor of the web portal.[63]
Travel
MSN Travel (originally named Bing Travel) was a
Previously, Microsoft had acquired Farecast in 2008, a website in the
Older mobile apps
Microsoft first offered content from its MSN web portal on
In the meantime, Microsoft's MSN apps took on a more content-related focus, as did the web portal itself. Previous versions of MSN apps that were bundled with
International
Microsoft's world headquarters is in the United States, so the main MSN website is based there. However, MSN has offered various international versions of its portal since its inception in 1995 for dozens of countries around the world.[5] A list of international MSN affiliates is available at MSN Worldwide.[84]
Following the redesign and relaunch of the MSN web portal in 2014, most international MSN websites share the same layout as the U.S. version and are largely indistinguishable from it, aside from their content. There were two exceptions:
See also
References
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