Personalised emoticons for Windows Live Messenger

Can’t find the right image to use for your Live Messenger character? Help is at hand from the new minimise me website. This has an online designer for creating a new avatar for Live Messenger software. Once installed they will appear as the character picture in conversations and also as four different emoticons to use in conversations.

It is simple to use although it is sometimes a little slow to respond when clicking on some of the icons, but this is common complaint with web based editors and it is a limitation with the technology as a whole.

Once the emoticon has been finished, minimise me creates a custom installer program to add the emoticon to Live Messenger. It would be nice to have the image itself but the installer is at least easy to use. Do run through the website in Internet Explorer. I tried Firefox first and it didn’t work. Internet Explorer worked with no problems.

However, there is my regular complaint with downloads like this. They insist on trying to change the browser homepage and default search engine. I wish people would stop doing this, I know what the stakes are, but I’m happy with my home page options (SpeedDial in Opera) and don’t want them changed.

Frankly I don’t think the world needs an emoticon of me; it seems to reflect my need for more sleep just a little bit to much for my liking. I’m going to stick with my favourite, and often justified, rant icon.