MSN Messenger on Blackberry? (long and angst-ridden)

(Please excuse the rash of posts on or around this topic, here,
in uk.telecom.broadband, and in alt.consumers.uk.discounts-and-
bargains, but I'm being subjected to a relentless daily barrage
of pestering, which makes rational thought almost impossible.)

My <expletive deleted> teenage daughter now says that what her
rich kid friends do, and what she therefore wants to do, is to
use MSN Messenger on a Blackberry Pearl.

She is under the impression that MSN Messenger is "e-mail", and
she pours scorn on me when I tell her that e-mail is a term for
a different Internet protocol, and that MSN Messenger is an
instant messaging service (or a client for such a service).

A quick Google search seems to show that there are several ways
of getting something like MSN Messenger service on a Blackberry.

Some of them look very complicated, and there seem to be several
competing shareware solutions. It would take a long time for me
to find my way through the thicket of technical and commercial
details, especially as I know very little about mobile phone
technology in general, and Blackberries in particular. I don't
even know what a "smartphone" is, or whether /any/ smartphone
(and not just a Blackberry) would do what my daughter wants her
phone to do.

What I would like to know (I think - as I said, it's being made
almost impossible for me to think at all!) is (a) whether there
is some canonical, "official" or semi-official (e.g. approved
both by M$ and by Blackberry) way of her using a Hotmail account
in something like MSN Messenger running on a Blackberry, and (b)
if so, whether it is necessary to pay £10/month, or whatever it
costs, to Blackberry (RIM?) for an e-mail contract - also (c)
whether what you actually pay for is not specifically an e-mail
contract at all, but some kind of generalised Internet access.

(I'm sorry if these questions are not clear. Normally if I have
a technical purchasing decision to make, I do a little research,
ask some questions of informed people, and make up my mind. But
in this instance, this process is being made almost impossible,
and this flurry of half-thought-out posts is the sad result. My
daughter will not answer my questions on the subject in anything
other than a whining and demanding and impatient tone, so it is
almost impossible to get from her a clear statement of what she
actually needs, only that whatever it is, she wants in NOW! And
she really does need a new mobile phone, so I can't just tell
her, as I would like to, to go and get <expletive deleted>.) :-)

(I asked her to research mobile phones weeks ago, but she appears
to have done nothing; and she now expects instant action because
her old phone is broken - probably by her own fault. Excuse the
stressed single-parent rant, but I'm being driven nuts over this.)

The O2 site says that Yahoo! Messenger comes as standard with
the "Individual users - BlackBerry Internet Solution". I have
no idea whether this is of any use to her (and I bet she can't
tell me).

There's a Blackberry Pearl 8100 and a Blackberry Pearl 8120.
Which one does she want/need? Search me (and I bet she can't
tell me).

The "official" UK website for Blackberry stalls on something
like 75% when loading over my slow dial-up connection.

(She has just come into my room for the umpteenth time to
pester me contemptuously some more and specifically to tell
me not even to try to inform myself about the financial and
technical implications. It has now reached the point where
I literally can't think about this any more, so I'll just
have to post this message, in its current unsatisfactory
state ... She wouldn't even let me do that, but stood in
my doorway and harangued me literally for a whole hour,
insisting again and again and again that there was no point
in my trying to discuss this with anyone on the Internet ...
Are there any family therapists out there? Help!) :-)
--
Angus Rodgers
(twirlip@ eats spam; reply to angusrod@)
Contains mild peril

In message pmpgj31n4suuim7nmlg5ep9pmaqb8e5iuf@4ax.com,
Angus Rodgers <twirlip@bigfoot.com> Proclaimed from the tallest tower:

> (Please excuse the rash of posts on or around this topic, here,
> in uk.telecom.broadband, and in alt.consumers.uk.discounts-and-
> bargains, but I'm being subjected to a relentless daily barrage
> of pestering, which makes rational thought almost impossible.)
>
> My <expletive deleted> teenage daughter now says that what her
> rich kid friends do, and what she therefore wants to do, is to
> use MSN Messenger on a Blackberry Pearl.
>
> She is under the impression that MSN Messenger is "e-mail", and
> she pours scorn on me when I tell her that e-mail is a term for
> a different Internet protocol, and that MSN Messenger is an
> instant messaging service (or a client for such a service).
>
> A quick Google search seems to show that there are several ways
> of getting something like MSN Messenger service on a Blackberry.
>
> Some of them look very complicated, and there seem to be several
> competing shareware solutions. It would take a long time for me
> to find my way through the thicket of technical and commercial
> details, especially as I know very little about mobile phone
> technology in general, and Blackberries in particular. I don't
> even know what a "smartphone" is, or whether /any/ smartphone
> (and not just a Blackberry) would do what my daughter wants her
> phone to do.
>
> What I would like to know (I think - as I said, it's being made
> almost impossible for me to think at all!) is (a) whether there
> is some canonical, "official" or semi-official (e.g. approved
> both by M$ and by Blackberry) way of her using a Hotmail account
> in something like MSN Messenger running on a Blackberry, and (b)
> if so, whether it is necessary to pay £10/month, or whatever it
> costs, to Blackberry (RIM?) for an e-mail contract - also (c)
> whether what you actually pay for is not specifically an e-mail
> contract at all, but some kind of generalised Internet access.
>
> (I'm sorry if these questions are not clear. Normally if I have
> a technical purchasing decision to make, I do a little research,
> ask some questions of informed people, and make up my mind. But
> in this instance, this process is being made almost impossible,
> and this flurry of half-thought-out posts is the sad result. My
> daughter will not answer my questions on the subject in anything
> other than a whining and demanding and impatient tone, so it is
> almost impossible to get from her a clear statement of what she
> actually needs, only that whatever it is, she wants in NOW! And
> she really does need a new mobile phone, so I can't just tell
> her, as I would like to, to go and get <expletive deleted>.) :-)
>
> (I asked her to research mobile phones weeks ago, but she appears
> to have done nothing; and she now expects instant action because
> her old phone is broken - probably by her own fault. Excuse the
> stressed single-parent rant, but I'm being driven nuts over this.)
>
> The O2 site says that Yahoo! Messenger comes as standard with
> the "Individual users - BlackBerry Internet Solution". I have
> no idea whether this is of any use to her (and I bet she can't
> tell me).
>
> There's a Blackberry Pearl 8100 and a Blackberry Pearl 8120.
> Which one does she want/need? Search me (and I bet she can't
> tell me).
>
> The "official" UK website for Blackberry stalls on something
> like 75% when loading over my slow dial-up connection.
>
> (She has just come into my room for the umpteenth time to
> pester me contemptuously some more and specifically to tell
> me not even to try to inform myself about the financial and
> technical implications. It has now reached the point where
> I literally can't think about this any more, so I'll just
> have to post this message, in its current unsatisfactory
> state ... She wouldn't even let me do that, but stood in
> my doorway and harangued me literally for a whole hour,
> insisting again and again and again that there was no point
> in my trying to discuss this with anyone on the Internet ...
> Are there any family therapists out there? Help!) :-)

'Spect you've already read this if you've done any Googling at all (which it
sounds like you have), but your post seemed like such a cry for help that I
felt I had to do something, no matter how small...

http://www.blackberryforums.com/afte...e-updated.html

HTH and good luck!!

--
Regards,
Chris.
(Remove Elvis's shoes to email me)

In article <pmpgj31n4suuim7nmlg5ep9pmaqb8e5iuf@4ax.com>,
twirlip@bigfoot.com says...
> She has just come into my room for the umpteenth time to
> pester me contemptuously some more and specifically to tell
> me not even to try to inform myself about the financial and
> technical implications. It has now reached the point where
> I literally can't think about this any more, so I'll just
> have to post this message, in its current unsatisfactory
> state ... She wouldn't even let me do that, but stood in
> my doorway and harangued me literally for a whole hour,
> insisting again and again and again that there was no point
> in my trying to discuss this with anyone on the Internet ...

Suggestion:
"If you allow me the time and space to research this, the decision could
go either way. If you continue to harangue me and talk to me with such
disrespect and contempt, you can have an answer now, and it will be no."

--
KVL

On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:40:41 -0000, "ChrisM"
<chris_mayersblue@suedeyahoo.com> wrote:

>'Spect you've already read this if you've done any Googling
>at all (which it sounds like you have),

Wonderful! No, this page didn't come up (or else my glazed
eyes just didn't see it).

>but your post seemed like such a cry for help that I
>felt I had to do something, no matter how small...

Thank you! I was expecting to be flamed for being such a
wimpy parent, and certainly wasn't expecting such a quick
and full answer to my major question.

>http://www.blackberryforums.com/afte...e-updated.html
>
>HTH and good luck!!

Thanks! Now I will attempt to read it, although I will no
doubt be loudly sneered at and told not to bother ... :-)
--
Angus Rodgers
(twirlip@ eats spam; reply to angusrod@)
Contains mild peril

In message 9t0hj319jt2uhc0ec7q63ae01pk7oiukob@4ax.com,
Angus Rodgers <twirlip@bigfoot.com> Proclaimed from the tallest tower:

> On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:40:41 -0000, "ChrisM"
> <chris_mayersblue@suedeyahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> 'Spect you've already read this if you've done any Googling
>> at all (which it sounds like you have),
>
> Wonderful! No, this page didn't come up (or else my glazed
> eyes just didn't see it).
>
>> but your post seemed like such a cry for help that I
>> felt I had to do something, no matter how small...
>
> Thank you! I was expecting to be flamed for being such a
> wimpy parent, and certainly wasn't expecting such a quick
> and full answer to my major question.
>
>> http://www.blackberryforums.com/afte...e-updated.html
>>
>> HTH and good luck!!
>
> Thanks! Now I will attempt to read it, although I will no
> doubt be loudly sneered at and told not to bother ... :-)

Well, the quick and 'easy' solution would seem to be to download the trial
version of BeeJive's JiveTalk and see if it does the trick... (Disclaimer:
I know only a little about IM, less about Blackberries, and nothing at all
about JiveTalk!)

:-)


--
Regards,
Chris.
(Remove Elvis's shoes to email me)

On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:52:22 -0000, K <mek@privacy.net> wrote:

>In article <pmpgj31n4suuim7nmlg5ep9pmaqb8e5iuf@4ax.com>,
>twirlip@bigfoot.com says...
>> She has just come into my room for the umpteenth time to
>> pester me contemptuously some more and specifically to tell
>> me not even to try to inform myself about the financial and
>> technical implications. It has now reached the point where
>> I literally can't think about this any more, so I'll just
>> have to post this message, in its current unsatisfactory
>> state ... She wouldn't even let me do that, but stood in
>> my doorway and harangued me literally for a whole hour,
>> insisting again and again and again that there was no point
>> in my trying to discuss this with anyone on the Internet ...
>
>Suggestion:
>"If you allow me the time and space to research this, the decision could
>go either way. If you continue to harangue me and talk to me with such
>disrespect and contempt, you can have an answer now, and it will be no."

I tried a slightly weaker variant of that, roughly ten minutes
into her rant (so my dazed memory tells me). It was something
along the lines that it was still quite possible that she would
get what she wants, but if she went on in her current vein, the
only result would be that she would get nothing at all from me,
either for her birthday or for Christmas.

I didn't go so far as to say that I would make such a negative
decision right now; and indeed I'd rather not do so. Instead,
I'm lashing myself to the mast and trying to weather the storm
of her contempt - sort of like resisting the voice of a siren,
only in reverse - but I fear this metaphor and/or simile has
gone to pieces! :-)

Neither of us actually lost our temper, which I suppose is
progress. I think I do just have to ride this thing out, and
not be pushed into making a bad decision either way. I'm not
reluctant even to give her exactly what she is asking for (no
doubt provoking further contempt for causing an "unnecessary"
delay!), just so long as I have had time (and, as you rightly
say, space) to make a considered decision.

My ex-wife is willing to help with the cost of the e-mail/
Internet contract (if it is really needed), so we're almost
cooperating as a family, in a strange and difficult way.
--
Angus Rodgers
(twirlip@ eats spam; reply to angusrod@)
Contains mild peril

twirlip@bigfoot.com declared for all the world to hear...
> (I asked her to research mobile phones weeks ago, but she appears
> to have done nothing; and she now expects instant action because
> her old phone is broken - probably by her own fault. Excuse the
> stressed single-parent rant, but I'm being driven nuts over this.)

I think your daughter just needs to buy herself a PAYG phone and look
after herself.

> The O2 site says that Yahoo! Messenger comes as standard with
> the "Individual users - BlackBerry Internet Solution". I have
> no idea whether this is of any use to her (and I bet she can't
> tell me).

"Blackberry Internet Solution" is the name of the add-on product that
you have to pay for when purchasing a RIM device. It's typically around
£7-12 per month on top of the normal line rental.

> There's a Blackberry Pearl 8100 and a Blackberry Pearl 8120.
> Which one does she want/need? Search me (and I bet she can't
> tell me).

Either will do, the 8120 is a new version, the 8100 is about 9 months
old.

> Are there any family therapists out there? Help!) :-)

Dude, you need supernanny, or to grow some balls!
--
Regards
Jon

Help!) :-)

I wouldn't have been able to sit down for a week if I'd ever
spoken to either of my parents like that.

You certainly do need help, and don't give in to the selfish
little bitch.

Blackberries aren't cheap, they, have to be got on contract
because there is no pay as you go solution either, I wouldn't
let a brat like that loose with 2 bean cans and a piece of
string, let alone a contract mobile.


--
xCx
*Disclaimer* My opinions are mine and I do not represent
anyone or any company.

"Angus Rodgers" <twirlip@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
newsmpgj31n4suuim7nmlg5ep9pmaqb8e5iuf@4ax.com...

Whining crap removed.

I'm not sure if this was a post about a mobile phone problem or a parenting
problem. I suspect the latter.

In message 473980d9_1@glkas0286.greenlnk.net,
Jack Torrence <room217[at]overlook.freeserve.co.uk> Proclaimed from the
tallest tower:

> "Angus Rodgers" <twirlip@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
> newsmpgj31n4suuim7nmlg5ep9pmaqb8e5iuf@4ax.com...
>
> Whining crap removed.
>
> I'm not sure if this was a post about a mobile phone problem or a
> parenting problem. I suspect the latter.

I think it was both....
I answered the phone bit (because I could help)
and ignored the parenting bit (because I could not help)

:-)


--
Regards,
Chris.
(Remove Elvis's shoes to email me)

On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 11:03:49 -0000, "Jack Torrence"
<room217[at]overlook.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:

>"Angus Rodgers" <twirlip@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
>newsmpgj31n4suuim7nmlg5ep9pmaqb8e5iuf@4ax.com.. .
>
>Whining crap removed.

Now there speaks somebody with balls. :-)

>I'm not sure if this was a post about a mobile phone problem
>or a parenting problem. I suspect the latter.

To put your mind at rest: it was definitely the former, but
unavoidably polluted by the latter.

(Since I could barely think straight enough to ask a sensible
question, of course I considered not posting at all, to avoid
embarrassment and annoyance, but that wouldn't solve anything.)
--
Angus Rodgers
(twirlip@ eats spam; reply to angusrod@)
Contains mild peril