# Threedegrees

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{{For|the soul and disco group|The Three Degrees}} 
{{Lowercase title}}
{{refimprove|date=July 2015}}

'''threedegrees''' or '''3°''' (frequently referred to as '''Three Degrees''') was a communication and [P2P](/source/Peer-to-peer) application produced by [Microsoft](/source/Microsoft). It allowed the user to sign in using a [.NET Passport](/source/Windows_Live_ID) and integrated into [MSN Messenger](/source/MSN_Messenger). It sorted buddies into groups, and allowed initiating [group chat](/source/group_chat)s in [MSN Messenger](/source/MSN_Messenger), and sharing of pictures, listening to a shared playlist and sending animated [winks](/source/wink_(animated_file)).

threedegrees is now discontinued and certain features provided by the software have been partially integrated into [MSN Messenger 7](/source/MSN_Messenger). threedegrees used to only run under [Windows XP](/source/Windows_XP) [Service Packs 1 and 2](/source/Windows_XP), with a custom [IPv6](/source/IPv6) [stack](/source/protocol_stack) installed.

threedegrees had a concept of being able to [stream](/source/Streaming_media) music between multiple users like a miniature [radio station](/source/radio_station). However, despite other new features being included in MSN Messenger 7, this feature was never released due to large copyright issues that would be faced by Microsoft.{{Citation needed|date=July 2015}} MSN Messenger does, however, now enable other users to see what their buddy is listening to and is linked to a website providing this music if needed, a concept spurred by this idea.

The threedegrees product was conceived and produced by an [internal startup](/source/Startup_company) at Microsoft called the Netgen team.  The team was unique in that it was an internal startup inside of Microsoft, set away from the software giant's [Redmond](/source/Redmond%2C_Washington) campus in separate offices in downtown [Seattle](/source/Seattle) and staffed mostly with college graduates tasked to create a product "for themselves". The team was chronicled in ''[Newsweek](/source/Newsweek)'' on February 24, 2003 by writer [Steven Levy](/source/Steven_Levy) in his article ''"Microsoft Gets A Clue From Its Kiddie Corps"''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/63212/page/1 |title=Microsoft Gets A Clue From Its Kiddie Corps |author=Levy, Steven |date=24 February 2003 |periodical=Newsweek |accessdate=27 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203151501/http://www.newsweek.com/id/63212/page/1 |archivedate=December 3, 2008 }}</ref>  While the threedegrees product never reached mass adoption,  it represented one of Microsoft's early attempts to revitalize its MSN division through the creation of an [incubator](/source/business_incubator) team outside of the company's main [R&D](/source/R%26D) structure.

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040103063458/http://threedegrees.com/ 3° site] (via the [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive); accessed September 25, 2005)

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

{{File sharing}}

Category:Discontinued Microsoft software
Category:File sharing software
Category:Windows-only instant messaging clients

{{network-software-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Threedegrees](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threedegrees) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threedegrees?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.