Yahoo unveils Messenger 9.0

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Yahoo unveils Messenger 9.0                                                Posted by Jessica Dolcourt                                            1 comment
        

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Yahoo Messenger 9.0 is becoming available on Tuesday--a week afterYahoo's target launch date and interestingly, a week after Microsoftreleased its beta update of Windows Live Messenger.Yahoo Messenger 9.0 as dramatic an update of its instant messenger asWindows Live beta is of Windows Live Messenger 8.5, and it introducessome pleasant improvements over version 8.1 that will satisfy Yahooloyalists. Among them are a redesigned interface with more skins, morespace, and the excellent (but limited) ability to see scaled Flickrimages and videos in the chat window.
If you're familiar with the beta version of Yahoo Messenger 9.0,this final build adds more conspicuous spam alerts and the ability tochat with friends directly from their Web site or online profile page.We'll discuss both later on in this review.
Interface
A bolder, more spread-out display graces Yahoo Messenger 9.0,complete with larger avatar thumbnails and room to read a contact'sstatus message. Also new, Yahoo now updates your status with yourrecent activity on Yahoo's Buzz, Avatars, 360, or MyBlogLog--forexample, when you change your avatar's outfit. Those who can't get usedto the new spacing can revert to the familiar compact view.

                               
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A visual picker makes previewing and switching skins nearly automatic.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
Other changes include new skins, including a dark theme, whichyou'll find by clicking the button to the right of the Messenger logo.Windows Live Messenger beta took skins a step further with themes thatincorporate background images. While some Windows Live scenes are verynice, Yahoo's visual picker saves you an extra step when choosing a newlook.
Like Windows Live Messenger beta, Yahoo Messenger's contact searchbar finds buddies quickly by checking your IM list and your Yahooaddress book. In another similarity, Yahoo Messenger's status fieldsupports emoticons and links. Finally, Yahoo Messenger 9.0 highlightspower users with an icon of a medal or crown placed next to their name(your choice) and rewards them with more avatar accessories andpriority customer care.
  Chat window
The Yahoo Messenger 9.0 chat window looks a little more airbrushedthan in version 8.1, but the biggest difference is also the best--afeature that embeds scaled maps, images, video players, and Flickrphotos when you or a friend drops in a link. (Check out our First Lookvideo for a demo.)
We haven't had any luck posting photos from sites other than Flickr,but being able to watch YouTube videos without leaving the IM window isa treat. It's not clear why Yahoo doesn't reproduce non-Flickr images,but it would be a much more rounded service if it did. Regardless,displaying multimedia is something no other instant messaging clientcurrently offers. While Windows Live Messenger beta can boast about itsfun feature for mapping certain profile pictures to common emoticons(like happy, sad, and winking), being able to reference your IM windowwhen you're writing about a photo or video is more useful overall.

                               
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Yahoo Messenger 9.0 can embed videos and some images directly into the chat window.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
If you're a fan of emoticons, Yahoo's new Messenger 9.0 adds six newexpressions to version 8.1's gallery, including a smiling head giving athumbs-up and a little guy rocking out. Yahoo has heeded the advice ofbeta testers and stopped using dime-size emoticons that, while easierto see, were also less defined around the edges. Although we alsoprefer the traditional smiley faces, as long as Yahoo has that galleryof larger images on hand, the emoticons' display size ought to be theuser's choice.
The behavior of Yahoo Messenger's IM window receives new treatment,one that could prove inconvenient because it forces you to click thewindow of an incoming message before you can type a response. Inprevious versions, the cursor automatically moved to the incomingmessage. It's understandable that some people may not have appreciatedthat kind of cursor-hijacking in the first place, but those who havetrained themselves to immediately respond may find it irritating toretrain themselves to click back to the window before shooting off areply. Most people will accidentally type a message into the window ofwhatever they were working on before realizing their mistake.
Spam control
IMers plagued with spam messages (also called spim) will appreciatesome small alterations in 9.0. The warning message on a conversationwindow is bolder, for one, and Yahoo has added a button to the offlinemessage window that lets you report the impostor message without havingto log on to Yahoo's site.

                               
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Pingbox has its good points, but must have opt-out choices.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
Yahoo Messenger Pingbox
Pingbox is a brand-new feature in Yahoo Messenger that lets Web siteowners and Yahoo visitors chat in real time. Site owners--bloggers,eBay sellers, or social networking buffs, for instance--can embed aPingbox chat window in their site that communicates with your YahooMessenger application and automatically shows up as a (temporary)contact on your buddy list for as long as you're on their site.
If so inclined, you can chat about the site and even save the siteowner as a contact. While Pingbox chatting could be useful forcommunicating with friends or potential buyers or sellers, having thosecontacts bubble up on your buddy list could get annoying. You can blockPingboxes one-at-a-time, but there's no way to opt out of the featureentirely.
While Yahoo Messenger 9.0 has a few rough edges--the change to thecursor position in incoming IMs and in the lack of Pingbox preferences,to name two--most can be smoothed over with a few more customizationoptions. The ability to share multimedia within the chat screen is thebiggest reason to upgrade, as are Yahoo's tasteful visual improvements.
That said, anyone who's tired of Yahoo's style and layout may also want to compare Yahoo Messenger 9.0 with Windows Live Messenger beta, the biggest IM network threat to Yahoo's desktop messenger, or to Trillian, Digsby beta, or Pidgin--all competing desktop apps that also let you chat with friends on other networks.