BigBlueBall Staffer Awarded Microsoft MVP
October 4, 2009 by Jeff Hester
Filed under Site News
BigBlueBall staff member Doris Kenney–patndoris in the forums–has been officially recognized as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for Windows Live Messenger (WLM).
The Microsoft MVP Award is an annual award that recognizes exceptional technology community leaders worldwide who actively share their high quality, real world expertise with users and Microsoft.
Rich Kaplan, VP Customer and Partner Advocacy at Microsoft said “It is with great pride we announce that Doris Kenney has been awarded as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP). All of us at Microsoft recognize and appreciate Doris’s extraordinary contributions and want to take this opportunity to share our appreciation with you.
“As a recipient of this year’s Microsoft MVP award, Doris joins an exceptional group of individuals from around the world who have demonstrated a willingness to reach out, share their technical expertise with others and help individuals maximize their use of technology.”
Of course, we at BigBlueBall are especially proud of this honor, but we are not surprised. Doris has been actively involved in our forums for a long time, sharing her expertise and helping people every day.
Congratulations, Doris!
Related Links
Vista + SP2 = WLM FAIL!
June 30, 2009 by Doris Kenney
Filed under Windows Live Messenger
As I originally posted on patndoris.com back on June 1st, there is the distinct possibility Vista users who install Service Pack 2 will experience a problem with Windows Live Messenger (WLM) no longer launching. Since Service Pack 2 is set to start rolling out via automatic updates on June 30th, I thought it might be a good idea to repost this information again.
Problem: After installing SP2 for Vista, there is the possibility WLM will not launch. Clicking on the WLM desktop icon produces no result. No error. No hourglass. No running process in Task Manager. Nothing. Not even an error that the shortcut points to a program that is no longer valid. Nothing.
I ran into this myself when I updated to SP2 for Vista. It affects both 32-bit and 64-bit Vista systems. It apparently occurs when WLM detects the upgrade to the operating system and attempts an automatic repair but uses the incorrect installer package to do so. This should NOT be a reason for you to avoid installing SP2 for Vista. Service Packs include important security and operating system updates, and the WLM issue is easy enough to fix.
The natural thing to want to do is un-install and re-install. DO NOT! If you uninstall first, you will be prevented from doing the fix. Likewise, do not attempt a repair of WLM either.
Solution: Head over to Live Messenger Download site and re-install right over top of the the existing installation. I did not get any warning that WLM was already installed on my system, and it installed flawlessly in just a couple of minutes.
The problem was officially acknowledged on June 16th in the WLM Support Space blog. Their fix and instructions are basically the same as the ones outlined in my original information.
Microsoft Releases Facebook for Windows Mobile
May 9, 2009 by Jeff Hester
Filed under Windows Mobile

Image credit: Mobility Minded
Microsoft has released a free Facebook application that gives Windows Mobile 6 users a way to stay connected on the popular social network.
MobilityMinded has a great walkthrough of all the features, with screens.
The only glaring omissions from this app are the lack of Facebook chat and the ability to view comments to photos.
The Bottom Line
This app isn’t perfect, but it’s good. If you use Facebook and have a Windows Mobile 6 device, it’s worth checking out.
You can download Facebook for Windows Mobile 6 here.
Thanks to jkOnTheRun for the heads up!
Windows Live Messenger (WLM)
March 13, 2008 by Jeff Hester
Filed under Instant Messaging, Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger (WLM; formerly MSN Messenger) is the fastest growing instant messaging program, and currently ranks #2 behind AIM/ICQ. Regardless of what you think of Microsoft, WLM has one the best interfaces and is very easy to use. The design of WLM is clean and extremely functional. No, not perfect, but a very well-designed application.

Useful Links
- Download Windows Live Messenger
- Get help! Windows Live Messenger forums at BigBlueBall
- Express yourself! MessengerMods display picture gallery














