I got a chance to try out SendMSN just a few minutes ago and I wanted to pass along my input.
The binaries are built on .Net 1.1 so I was unable to use it on my work machine since we are stuck on 1.0 Framework for now. I suppose I could have recompiled it on 1.0 but I wanted to give it a spin right from the download.
The configuration is very simple. All you need is your screen name and MSN Messenger login information.
The command line options are easy to use also. /m:"my message" /r:recipient@hotmail.com
You can even use the Emoticons in the message. The recipient must have you on his/her buddy list or else the message will not get to them.
Potential Uses:
- Caller ID notification for Home Automation
- Stock Allerts
- IP Address change notification
- Home Automation Alerts
- The door bell rang. A URL could be sent along in the message that can take me directly to my video camera pointing at the front door.
- The Home Security detected a break in My home
- Video cameras detected motion
- The snail mail arrived
- Build notifications
- Message was left on my answering machine
Since SendMSN needs to log into the Messenger, send the message and log out of Messenger there can be a delay before the message actauly reaches the destination. I might want to create a Windows Service that stays logged into Messenger to speed up the notifications for things like Security alerts.
I noticed that SendMSN can detect if the recipient is online or not. I may want to change the code so that a message can be guaranteed delivery. If the recipient is offline wait for him/her to come online and then send the message. I may also want to email the message if the recipient is offline.