The download website does not work in Chile

http://get.live.com/messenger/overview , http://get.live.com and
http://messener.live.com show the same message "Sorry, the page you're trying
to reach is temporarily unavailable or the page may no longer exist." in a
404 MSN error page. Probed with Windows Internet Explorer 7.0.5730.11 and
Mozilla Firefox 2.0. The same result with both.

I tried something interesting.

In Internet Explorer, I went to Tools > Internet Options > Languages.
My default language, at the top, is Spanish (Chile) [es-cl]. At the bottom
was English (United States) [en-us]. I moved english to the top (default),
and now I can see pages like http://get.live.com and
http://messenger.live.com correctly (in english).

I did a similar process in Mozilla Firefox 2. Tools > Options > Advanced >
Select... to view the list of preferred languages. [es-cl] was at the top;
[en] at the bottom. I put [en] as the default, on top of the list. Now
happens the same: I can see and browse both webpages correctly (in english).

Then, I decided to try something else. What would happen if I choose [es-AR]
(Argentina) or [es-bo] (Bolivia) or [es-ES_tradnl] / [es-es] (Spain)?
I'm surprised. Both webpages show correctly in spanish! Even using countries
close to me, Latin american ones!

Now I am so sad and disappointed. Microsoft hasn't ever done this kind of
discrimination to my country, Chile.
It's rudiculous. If I go to http://www.microsoft.com/chile/ (the official
Microsoft homepage for Chile) and click 'Windows Live Messenger' under
'Descargas', I see a "Sorry, the page you're trying to reach is temporarily
unavailable or the page may no longer exist" (because my preferred language
is [es-cl].

Now you're probably thinking "if everything is OK when you set it to
Argentina or Spain, just let it on those countries". I won't do that. Why
should I 'lie' about my country?

I repeat, I am very, very disappointed because of this.

And this is not the only case of 'country discrimination': since January of
this year, games on MSN Messenger (and then Windows Live Messenger) suddenly
stopped working. The games list is blank. Before that, we had about 5-6 cool
games. I changed my Passport / Windows Live ID to 'Country: United States'
and oh! Guess what? The games are back on my Messenger! I have to lie to
have all the Messenger features.

But we're on Latin America, so who really cares about our software or
Internet services troubles? "We're just a tiny market compared to Europe and
Asia".
We never had our 250 MB Hotmail inbox even more than 2 years since the
announcement!; the only way to get that space, is changing our profile to
Spain or United States!

I just wanted you to know, the Latinamerican market exists, and here in
Chile, my country, Windows Live Messenger is definitely the most used IM
software. I'd say more than 85% percent of teenagers with internet access
use it everyday. MSN and Windows Live products are also very, very popular
with Hotmail, for example. You should take a look at the numbers, the
millions of users of your products in Latin America. We're always wanting to
have the same possibilities of communication like in the US, but you left us
behind.

Please, consider Chile and Latin America the next time.
We exist, and we deserve that quality of service you have.

Thank you very much for reading this.

Sincerely,
Marcelo Avalos Rodas.

Greetings,

It's a locale bug. This isn't the first time and it won't be the last.

Lying to get all the features isn't even limited to the non-English locales, even the
Australians, Canadians, or Britons all have to lie and say they're in the US to get certain
tabs or certain activities that aren't available in their own locale.

To be honest, when I've had the opportunity I've made the various locale issues clear but
there's been no real traction just because the people responsible for these problems aren't
very easy to get to.

I think you're right on the money, it is very insulting to be excluded -- really for no
apparent reason.

--
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger/MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
All posts unless otherwise specified are (c) 2006 Jonathan Kay.
You *must* contact me for redistribution rights.
--



"okeloco" <> wrote in message
news:BE4F2F8B-3C09-411F-AC5B-...
> http://get.live.com/messenger/overview , http://get.live.com and
> http://messener.live.com show the same message "Sorry, the page you're trying
> to reach is temporarily unavailable or the page may no longer exist." in a
> 404 MSN error page. Probed with Windows Internet Explorer 7.0.5730.11 and
> Mozilla Firefox 2.0. The same result with both.
>
> I tried something interesting.
>
> In Internet Explorer, I went to Tools > Internet Options > Languages.
> My default language, at the top, is Spanish (Chile) [es-cl]. At the bottom
> was English (United States) [en-us]. I moved english to the top (default),
> and now I can see pages like http://get.live.com and
> http://messenger.live.com correctly (in english).
>
> I did a similar process in Mozilla Firefox 2. Tools > Options > Advanced >
> Select... to view the list of preferred languages. [es-cl] was at the top;
> [en] at the bottom. I put [en] as the default, on top of the list. Now
> happens the same: I can see and browse both webpages correctly (in english).
>
> Then, I decided to try something else. What would happen if I choose [es-AR]
> (Argentina) or [es-bo] (Bolivia) or [es-ES_tradnl] / [es-es] (Spain)?
> I'm surprised. Both webpages show correctly in spanish! Even using countries
> close to me, Latin american ones!
>
> Now I am so sad and disappointed. Microsoft hasn't ever done this kind of
> discrimination to my country, Chile.
> It's rudiculous. If I go to http://www.microsoft.com/chile/ (the official
> Microsoft homepage for Chile) and click 'Windows Live Messenger' under
> 'Descargas', I see a "Sorry, the page you're trying to reach is temporarily
> unavailable or the page may no longer exist" (because my preferred language
> is [es-cl].
>
> Now you're probably thinking "if everything is OK when you set it to
> Argentina or Spain, just let it on those countries". I won't do that. Why
> should I 'lie' about my country?
>
> I repeat, I am very, very disappointed because of this.
>
> And this is not the only case of 'country discrimination': since January of
> this year, games on MSN Messenger (and then Windows Live Messenger) suddenly
> stopped working. The games list is blank. Before that, we had about 5-6 cool
> games. I changed my Passport / Windows Live ID to 'Country: United States'
> and oh! Guess what? The games are back on my Messenger! I have to lie to
> have all the Messenger features.
>
> But we're on Latin America, so who really cares about our software or
> Internet services troubles? "We're just a tiny market compared to Europe and
> Asia".
> We never had our 250 MB Hotmail inbox even more than 2 years since the
> announcement!; the only way to get that space, is changing our profile to
> Spain or United States!
>
> I just wanted you to know, the Latinamerican market exists, and here in
> Chile, my country, Windows Live Messenger is definitely the most used IM
> software. I'd say more than 85% percent of teenagers with internet access
> use it everyday. MSN and Windows Live products are also very, very popular
> with Hotmail, for example. You should take a look at the numbers, the
> millions of users of your products in Latin America. We're always wanting to
> have the same possibilities of communication like in the US, but you left us
> behind.
>
> Please, consider Chile and Latin America the next time.
> We exist, and we deserve that quality of service you have.
>
> Thank you very much for reading this.
>
> Sincerely,
> Marcelo Avalos Rodas.
>