Should I upgrade to MSN 8 ?

Should I upgrade to MSN 8? I have MSN 7 and it is working fine. I just received my upgrade CD from MSN for MSN 8. What are the advantages and disadvantages.

Thank you.

Nancy Garrett

This question was answered on November 28, 2002. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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There is an old adage in the technology business "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Having said that, here is what I might do:

Go ahead and look through all the hype and advertisement which has been circulating regarding Microsoft's latest, greatest thing since sliced bread See if you, Nancy, can find anything listed which you feel you simply cannot live without, or would at least really like to have, connected with MSN 8.

Assuming there is, go ahead and find a good two or three word description of that service or feature Try as be as specific as possible to Microsoft's unique description of the feature Enter the description into Google.com, then look for negatives concerning your search You might even add the word "problems" to your search criteria.

Take at least several months before jumping into any upgrades to products Especially ones you are already satisfied with Then, once again do a search as suggested above.

If, after doing the above, you read of few other people who seem to have been traumatized by your contemplated move, and especially since you are going to wind up paying for MSN 8's new features regardless, go ahead and change over.

One more thing, do another search as stated This time, use the word "spyware" in your criteria instead of "problems."

Spyware is marketing software added to many online services and if poorly executed, it can fill your hard drive with junk, slow down your machine, violate privacy, and cause you to be targeted for a lot of advertising I don't know how far MSN intends to employ such tactics, if at all, but it's best to keep an eye on them.

By the way, I have also been an MSN customer, but never employed any special software or interfaces when accessing them I simply logged on as I would any simple internet provider I found their service to be very reliable, and their phone assistance to be excellent

RG

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Posted by Robert of Mesa Community College on November 28, 2002

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