Microsoft announced last month that Messenger would be merging into Skype on March 15. That’s not exactly the case anymore as Microsoft has extended the deadline by a month. That being said, Microsoft really thinks you should start moving to Skype now.
In a post on the Skype Big Blog today, Microsoft says that it will start to upgrade Messenger to Skype on Windows desktop starting April 8. The extension gives the stragglers a little more time to make their peace with the dying service. The upgrade process will take a few weeks so those using non-English versions will have a few more weeks. The company expects to finish the upgrades on April 30 withe the Brazilian Portugese client being upgraded last.
For those still concerned about the move, Microsoft offers a reason not to be. All the same features you enjoyed in Windows Live Messenger will be in Skype upon your arrival. You will also get the added benefit of many Skype features that were not in Messenger, including:
OK, so that sounds pretty good. You want to migrate to Skype now, but you just don’t know how. Microsoft has cooked up this easy to follow tutorial on how to migrate your Messenger account to Skype. Check it out.
Microsoft is sure to issue more warnings as we move closer to the April 8 migration date so you might as well migrate over now. It’s better than having to receive notifications in your Messenger client every day. Might as well welcome the assimilation instead of fighting it.