Microsoft has announced that the Yammer Desktop AIR App is getting a permanent spot in the old App-retirement home. Come mid-april it’s Lights Out for the Yammer App.

This is set to happen on April 15, 2014. Not only are the App being retired, the users ability to access Yammer via the App is being removed also. So all in all, it’s bye-bye AIR App. If one was the thinking type, one cloud speculate that since it’s an AIR App (read Adobe technology), Microsoft is discontinuing the development. But that is just pure speculating and most likely not the case. I just had to get it out there.

Microsoft is not going to leave all the Yammer folks out to dry. Well you will get a little wet, i guess. To replace the Yammer App, Microsoft is battering up with a brand the and streamlined “Windows Desktop Notifier app“. “Great… Another App for notifications”. I wish some smart Microsoft employee would come up with the idea to centralize all notifications in one app. I know that Growl for windows, is out there but I really don’t like the look of that.

What now?

Microsoft claims that people was using the App for alerts but using the website for posting messages and sharing content. I can only agree that I have been using it the same way. The plan is this:

• Use the notifier app for notifications
• Use the website for anything else

Why Microsoft want it’s users to move towards a website, when all other companies are desperate to get their users to use the apps, is beyond me. I would love to see a killer App for Yammer. With the same capabilities as the website. It would not surprise me if Microsoft comes out with their own app in a year or so.