(some) Dashboard Messenger questions answered

Now that you have had a few hours to play with the new dashboard update, some folks have asked some questions about the new Messenger integration. Let me see if I can help clear a couple of things up:

Q: I don’t want to automatically sign in to Live Messenger on my console…how do I turn it off?
A: Sign in to Xbox LIVE, go to the Xbox LIVE blade, then select your gamercard and press A. Go down to ‘Auto Sign-in’ and press A. You can set your preference for Xbox Live and Windows Live Messenger separately here.

Q: The email address assigned to my Xbox LIVE account is different to the email address I use on my PC for Windows LIVE messenger. Is there a way for me to still access my messenger account?
A: Not at this time. We are working on the ability to allow users to change the email address they originally used when signing up for Xbox Live. The feature will be available in an upcoming release.

Post any other questions you may have and I will try to track down answers. Also, I am in meetings all day, so I will only be able to check in a few times today to see how things are going.

Edit: Here are some keyboard shortcut keys that can be used if you have a USB Keyboard attached to your console:

Going to sign in to Messenger:

• When you are not signed in to Messenger, pressing Windows + M will take you to the sign in screen.

Going to start a conversation:

• When you are signed in but don't have any open conversations, Windows + M will take you to the Messenger screen where you can start new conversations.
  Note: if you have any open conversations, Windows + M will not take you to the Messenger screen. You'll have to bring up the Guide (Windows key) and navigate to Chat->Messenger Tab.

Going into overlay mode:

• When you have any open conversations, Windows + M will bring up the overlay over whatever you are doing. You can see the last few lines of a conversation and enter a message. This is a great way to exchange quick messages while watching a movie or playing a game!

Getting out of overlay mode:

• You can dismiss the overlay the same way you brought it up, with Windows + M.
  Tip: you can always get to the Guide when an overlay is up, by pressing the Guide button on your controller or the Windows key. This will dismiss the overlay and bring up the Guide
  

Switching between conversations in overlay mode:

• You may have more than 1 open conversation. In that case, when you bring up the overlay, you can cycle between the conversations using Ctrl + -> (right arrow key). 
  Tip: if you are in the overlay, exchanging messages with contact1 and you get a new message from contact2, you'll see a blinking icon that will tell you that you should cycle to that conversation to see the new message!

Note: if you are using a Mac keyboard, substitute the Apple key for the Windows key.


I’ll work on the other questions you have and get some answers (like the age issue.)

Edit: Updated article on Xbox.com