Yahoo! Messenger: Encyclopedia - Yahoo! Messenger

Yahoo! Messenger

Yahoo! Messenger is a popular instant messaging client and protocol provided by Yahoo!. Yahoo! Messenger is provided free of charge and can be downloaded and used with a generic "Yahoo! ID" which also allows access to other Yahoo! services, such as Yahoo! Mail, where users can be automatically notified when they receive new email. Yahoo Instant Messenger also includes a security feature which allows the user to be "invisible" to whoever they choose.

In addition to instant messaging features similar to those offered by ICQ and AOL Instant Messenger, it also offers some unique features such as: IMVironments (customizing the look of Instant Message windows) and Custom Status Messages. Another recently added feature is customized avatars.

It's also the only messenger in which compatibility of features across platforms are not diminished as AIM and MSN are, with full webcam and chat support from Mac to PC without any addons needed.

Yahoo! Messenger 2.5.3 for Mac offers drastically fewer features than the Windows release and has not been updated in several years. Yahoo! reports that there is no timeline set for the release of any updates for the Apple Macintosh messenger. There are unconfirmed rumors however that Yahoo! plans to respond to criticism from Mac users with a new client sometime in the near future.

Yahoo! has announced a partnership with Microsoft to join their instant messaging networks. This would make Yahoo! Messenger compatible with Microsoft's .NET Messenger Service. It would also make Microsoft's MSN Messenger compatible with Yahoo!'s Network. This change is expected to take effect in the first half of 2006.

Yahoo! Messenger - Yahoo Rooms

Compared to MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger offers no charge for using Yahoo chatrooms. However, Yahoo has suspended user made rooms until further notice.

Yahoo! Messenger - Latest Releases

Yahoo! Messenger - Windows

7.0.2.120 / December 23, 2005.

Yahoo! Messenger - Mac OS X and Mac OS 8/9

2.5.3

Yahoo! Messenger - Unix

1.0.4

Yahoo! Messenger - Feature & Release History

Yahoo! Messenger - Windows

• Prior Releases — Undocumented
• 7.0.0.426 — August 8, 2005
  • Renamed to "Yahoo! Messenger with Voice"
  • Drag-and-drop photo sharing
  • Drag-and-drop file sharing
  • PC-to-PC calling
  • Voicemail
  • Ringtones
  • Yahoo! 360 integration
  • Pop-up Contact Cards
  • Spam Reporting
  • New tabs
  • New emoticons
  • Archive updates
  • LiveWords (Beta)
• 7.0.0.437 — August 30, 2005

Yahoo! Messenger - Plugins

• Yahoo! Messenger Plus, free plugin project
• Queeeenofspadez, Skins for Yahoo Messenger 7
• Modernmorph.com, Yahoo Messenger Skins and Downloads

See also

• List of instant messengers
• Comparison of instant messengers

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Yahoo! Messenger", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki