To keep your software something which is seen as modern and ground breaking, companies and often individuals radically change a huge aspect of their program. This is often in terms of design, or more simply a name change. These ideas work, and have brought millions of new users to old programs.
Take Windows Live for example, it's a new line of products, which integrate together from Microsoft, mainly replacing good old MSN. Has it worked? Yes, these products have been heavily followed, and comparing MSN to Windows Live, you can see where MSN has become outdated.
The main point of my story is that a simple change can make a huge difference. Yahoo! Messenger is getting outdated, like MSN Messenger was. New ideas and features don't always gain new users, in fact they can bloat a program and scare them away. Yahoo! Messenger is getting a new design, just for Windows Vista, and well, it's making me want to use it.
The design is a cross between the Yahoo! Widget engine and Windows Vista, taking full advantage of the new visuals the operating system has to offer. I think we can say it's going to get Yahoo! a few extra users when this comes out, probably including myself, for I often hop on the new age program bandwagon.
Check out Yahoo! Messenger's new upcoming design
View the preview website (including a video)
Take Windows Live for example, it's a new line of products, which integrate together from Microsoft, mainly replacing good old MSN. Has it worked? Yes, these products have been heavily followed, and comparing MSN to Windows Live, you can see where MSN has become outdated.
The main point of my story is that a simple change can make a huge difference. Yahoo! Messenger is getting outdated, like MSN Messenger was. New ideas and features don't always gain new users, in fact they can bloat a program and scare them away. Yahoo! Messenger is getting a new design, just for Windows Vista, and well, it's making me want to use it.
The design is a cross between the Yahoo! Widget engine and Windows Vista, taking full advantage of the new visuals the operating system has to offer. I think we can say it's going to get Yahoo! a few extra users when this comes out, probably including myself, for I often hop on the new age program bandwagon.
Check out Yahoo! Messenger's new upcoming design View the preview website (including a video)OK the headline may seem confusing, maybe a bit ambiguous. However, if your messenger account does not have the Yahoo! Messenger integration switched on, you will receive an alert saying how you can sign up for it when you sign into Windows Live Messenger. This probably means the messenger team are seeking a lot of testers for the integration, so it works smoothly and runs perfectly.
The alert comes up in a form of a large toast, hopefully to grab your attention. It leaves a message in your contact list reminding you that you have alerts waiting, just in case you missed the toast. Maybe we can expect updates to Windows Live Messenger to be dished out in the same way? I mean you can hardly miss the message.
The promotion is a good thing really, the more testers, the more chance of bugs being fixed etc. Yahoo! and Microsoft are competing against AOL and Google to come out with the best integration between their instant message clients. All companies are working really hard, but essentially one team will come out better than the other. Yahoo! and Microsoft seem to have won the battle, but who will win the war?
Sign up for the Yahoo! Messenger integration
View the toast popup
The alert comes up in a form of a large toast, hopefully to grab your attention. It leaves a message in your contact list reminding you that you have alerts waiting, just in case you missed the toast. Maybe we can expect updates to Windows Live Messenger to be dished out in the same way? I mean you can hardly miss the message.
The promotion is a good thing really, the more testers, the more chance of bugs being fixed etc. Yahoo! and Microsoft are competing against AOL and Google to come out with the best integration between their instant message clients. All companies are working really hard, but essentially one team will come out better than the other. Yahoo! and Microsoft seem to have won the battle, but who will win the war?
Sign up for the Yahoo! Messenger integration View the toast popupWell it appears that "just days away" was a bit of an over estimate! The integration between Windows Live and Yahoo! Messenger launched in beta last night.
Contacts on the different services are currently able to do things including sending each other messages, emoticons and nudges - and can even see each other's personal messages. The only feature missing at the moment appears to be the ability to share files. Apparently there is no noticeable delay when communicating between Windows Live and Yahoo! Messenger.
As the interoperability is being released in beta it needs to be enabled for your account here, at ideas.live.com. As well as you needing to be on this beta to be able to contact Yahoo! buddies any you do want to chat to must be using the new beta version of "Yahoo! Messenger with Voice", and enable it for their Yahoo! account by joining the beta here.
But if you are wanting it enabled for your Windows Live Messenger account you better hurry: apparently to begin with only 500,000 users will get it enabled. Then more people will be able to use it by recieving invites from existing users, as was done with the Windows Live Messenger beta. This is to make sure that the transition to using MSNP14 will go smoothly, and the number of users should be slowly increased until everyone will have it enabled.
However, beware if you are currently using Messenger Plus! Live - by joining the beta you upgraded your account and enable the new protocol (MSNP14) which conflicts with Messenger Plus! Live. Nicknames become replaced with numbers: Windows Live Messenger contacts' names become a "1" and Yahoo! Messenger names become "32" in things like the event viewer. As we previously announced, Patchou plans to release Messenger Plus! Live 4.01 soon and he has said that this issue will be fixed in it, and that it should be out this weekend.
This is only the first version of the integration and Microsoft and Yahoo! plan to add a few more cross-network features in the future.
Sign up for the beta (with a Windows Live Messenger account)
Sign up for the beta (with a Yahoo! account)
More info at Windows Live Messenger team blog
Info about changes within Messenger by the MSNP14 upgrade
Microsoft press release about the interoperability
Download Windows Live Messenger (version 8)
Download Yahoo! Messenger with Voice beta (version 8)
Info from Patchou about Messenger Plus! Live 4.01
Contacts on the different services are currently able to do things including sending each other messages, emoticons and nudges - and can even see each other's personal messages. The only feature missing at the moment appears to be the ability to share files. Apparently there is no noticeable delay when communicating between Windows Live and Yahoo! Messenger.
As the interoperability is being released in beta it needs to be enabled for your account here, at ideas.live.com. As well as you needing to be on this beta to be able to contact Yahoo! buddies any you do want to chat to must be using the new beta version of "Yahoo! Messenger with Voice", and enable it for their Yahoo! account by joining the beta here.
But if you are wanting it enabled for your Windows Live Messenger account you better hurry: apparently to begin with only 500,000 users will get it enabled. Then more people will be able to use it by recieving invites from existing users, as was done with the Windows Live Messenger beta. This is to make sure that the transition to using MSNP14 will go smoothly, and the number of users should be slowly increased until everyone will have it enabled.
However, beware if you are currently using Messenger Plus! Live - by joining the beta you upgraded your account and enable the new protocol (MSNP14) which conflicts with Messenger Plus! Live. Nicknames become replaced with numbers: Windows Live Messenger contacts' names become a "1" and Yahoo! Messenger names become "32" in things like the event viewer. As we previously announced, Patchou plans to release Messenger Plus! Live 4.01 soon and he has said that this issue will be fixed in it, and that it should be out this weekend.
This is only the first version of the integration and Microsoft and Yahoo! plan to add a few more cross-network features in the future.
Sign up for the beta (with a Windows Live Messenger account) Sign up for the beta (with a Yahoo! account) More info at Windows Live Messenger team blog Info about changes within Messenger by the MSNP14 upgrade Microsoft press release about the interoperability Download Windows Live Messenger (version 8) Download Yahoo! Messenger with Voice beta (version 8) Info from Patchou about Messenger Plus! Live 4.01Steve Makris from the Edmonton Journal had an "interesting chat" on Tuesday with the director of Windows Live, Phil Holden. During this chat some interesting details about Yahoo! and Windows Live Messenger integration emerged:So, it looks like all the hard work behind this integration is practically complete and we can look forward to more Windows Live Messenger betas.
Phil Holden was also asked about integration with other instant messaging clients:... and we wouldn't hold our breaths either.
Source: Steve Makris at The Edmonton Journal
And hot off the press, Holden told me IM interoperability beta trial between Messenger and Yahoo is just days away. Users of either messaging service will be able to see each other with emoticons and text each other directly.
Phil Holden was also asked about integration with other instant messaging clients:
How about more serious IM competitor AOL, which has the biggest chunk of users? "We have been talking with them and have nothing to report, but fundamentally it boils down to a business decision between parties," he said. I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.
Source: Steve Makris at The Edmonton JournalWell the headline is not so shocking, we did expect Yahoo! and Windows Live Messenger buddies to be communicating ages ago now, especially as this has been under development for such a long time. Well it turns out there is more of a problem now:Other reasons could be Microsoft's worse nightmare, Google. Google and AOL are adding integration between their instant message services as well, just something to compete with when it comes to get Yahoo! and Microsoft contacts talking.
Not only is this competition here, there is a competition between the protocols used. Google and AOL support XMPP protocol whilst Yahoo! and Microsoft support SIMPLE protocol. These protocols are rivals and it explains why Microsoft chose Yahoo! to join forces with rather than another instant message client. Still, there is no clear sign of when we can talk to our Yahoo! friends, hopefully more news will arrive soon.
We will continue to jointly innovate and explore the delivery of enhanced services to users, including voice, which we believe is an important component of IM interoperability.
Not only is this competition here, there is a competition between the protocols used. Google and AOL support XMPP protocol whilst Yahoo! and Microsoft support SIMPLE protocol. These protocols are rivals and it explains why Microsoft chose Yahoo! to join forces with rather than another instant message client. Still, there is no clear sign of when we can talk to our Yahoo! friends, hopefully more news will arrive soon.
Yahoo! have released a brand new and stylish beta of Yahoo! Messenger for Mac users. The update includes a nasty teaser for the integration between Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live Messenger.
The 3.0 beta is the first significant update in over three years now coming with a new stylish and clean interface. Support for display pictures has finally been added as well as some other nifty features. Another new feature is one that recently arrived in Windows Live Messenger, being if you talk to a contact and you receive no reply, the messages are automatically grouped instead of saying "contact says:" each time. You can turn on the feature in the options guys for those who have not used it yet.
So about the integration, well it seems as well as stealing ideas from other clients you can finally talk to WLM contacts, although it is not fully finished yet. This is a big step, problem is most of us can't use it because the majority of us don't own a Mac. The update is refreshing for the IM world for Mac users and it may take over Microsoft's place for MSN Messenger for Mac.
Download Yahoo! Messenger 3.0 beta for Mac
Source: BigBlueBall
The 3.0 beta is the first significant update in over three years now coming with a new stylish and clean interface. Support for display pictures has finally been added as well as some other nifty features. Another new feature is one that recently arrived in Windows Live Messenger, being if you talk to a contact and you receive no reply, the messages are automatically grouped instead of saying "contact says:" each time. You can turn on the feature in the options guys for those who have not used it yet.
So about the integration, well it seems as well as stealing ideas from other clients you can finally talk to WLM contacts, although it is not fully finished yet. This is a big step, problem is most of us can't use it because the majority of us don't own a Mac. The update is refreshing for the IM world for Mac users and it may take over Microsoft's place for MSN Messenger for Mac.
Download Yahoo! Messenger 3.0 beta for Mac Source: BigBlueBallWow, that new build reported yesterday is really stirring up something or other, but I will try and sum it all up. Anyway I found an uncorrupted English version of the build, you can download here. Apparently it was never meant to be released to the public and is still beta, silly Microsoft. Over on the private Microsoft newsgroup for Windows Live Messenger Beta John from the development team said what is going on with the new build.
It looks very likely now this build was to do with the recent Yahoo! Messenger integration planned very soon. In the type library of the news build there are some new entries (note: 61143 stands for Windows Live Messenger and 33013 for Yahoo!):
Yesterday the servers went down, as they sometimes do. However, it looks like some maintenance was going on as now MSN14 has appeared. (This has to do with connecting with the servers. You may remember the MSN13 downgrader to allow unofficial testers of Windows Live Messenger to connect to the servers). This update suggests communication to Yahoo! buddies is finally happening. Apparently the new client is capable of adding and sending messages to Yahoo! users but it currently can't as the MSNP14 has not been turned on for the servers yet.
I found some other stuff to do with the Yahoo! Messenger integration around the web. If you talk to a Yahoo buddy a small icon will appear next to their display picture, usually where the small webcam button is (see screenshot). Also on Fanatic Live, they have found a nice message when adding a contact. A yellow bar talking about Yahoo! integration came up and offered a link to become a tester (see banner below), but we don't know if it works yet.
The new build apparently also has some changes to the way offline messages work. Now there is a limit to the amount of messages you can send per minute, probably due to abuse. You need certain permissions to send offline messages (I have no idea what though) and there is a limit of the size of the message you can send. I can see the reasons for this, I bet there has been some serious spimming going around. There are some new entries in the text library about offline messages:
Update: It is thought that there will soon be a new Windows Live Messenger public or managed beta for testing of Yahoo! Messenger contact integration.
Source of screenshot: Fanatic Live
"Add a Contact" window showing Yahoo! integration
More about MSNP14
Is there a build 792?
Yes.
Should you be downloading it?
Not really. To be honest, it's not officially released yet, test isn't done testing it, so you're installing it at your own risk. We don't have a date or time that it will be officially released. And, for what it is worth, you won't see any differences if you do use it.
What changed?
I really want to know! I've really said all I can. Sorry.
It looks very likely now this build was to do with the recent Yahoo! Messenger integration planned very soon. In the type library of the news build there are some new entries (note: 61143 stands for Windows Live Messenger and 33013 for Yahoo!):
33008, "Two accounts were found for %1, so two separate contacts were added for this person."
33010, "Get help"
33013, "Yahoo! Messenger with Voice"
33014, "To add {33013} contacts, sign up for the {61143} Beta"
33015, "To add {33013} contacts, sign up for the {61143} Beta"
33002, "Add {33013} User"
33005, "Example: example@live.com, example@yahoo.com"
33007, "A friend on the {33013} network has added you to their Messenger List. To send instant messages to {33013} contacts, sign up for the {61143} Beta."
45235, "Yahoo! Messenger"
Yesterday the servers went down, as they sometimes do. However, it looks like some maintenance was going on as now MSN14 has appeared. (This has to do with connecting with the servers. You may remember the MSN13 downgrader to allow unofficial testers of Windows Live Messenger to connect to the servers). This update suggests communication to Yahoo! buddies is finally happening. Apparently the new client is capable of adding and sending messages to Yahoo! users but it currently can't as the MSNP14 has not been turned on for the servers yet.
I found some other stuff to do with the Yahoo! Messenger integration around the web. If you talk to a Yahoo buddy a small icon will appear next to their display picture, usually where the small webcam button is (see screenshot). Also on Fanatic Live, they have found a nice message when adding a contact. A yellow bar talking about Yahoo! integration came up and offered a link to become a tester (see banner below), but we don't know if it works yet.
The new build apparently also has some changes to the way offline messages work. Now there is a limit to the amount of messages you can send per minute, probably due to abuse. You need certain permissions to send offline messages (I have no idea what though) and there is a limit of the size of the message you can send. I can see the reasons for this, I bet there has been some serious spimming going around. There are some new entries in the text library about offline messages:
20135, "The following message could not be delivered because you have exceeded the maximum number of messages per minute. Please try again later."
20132, "This message was not sent because you don't have permission to send an offline message."
20131, "This message was not sent because it is too large for the user's offline message store."
20128, "This message was not sent because Offline Instant Messaging is not yet available in your region."
Update: It is thought that there will soon be a new Windows Live Messenger public or managed beta for testing of Yahoo! Messenger contact integration.
Source of screenshot: Fanatic Live "Add a Contact" window showing Yahoo! integration More about MSNP14Well after a few chats on messenger and cross referencing some sources I have some nice new news about Yahoo! Messenger integration. Firstly a new beta for Yahoo! Messenger has been released, surprisingly (not really) on the same day as the official release of Windows Live Messenger. Looks like integration is happening with both of these released versions. In Yahoo! Messenger you can now add MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger contacts, wooohoo. However I am not 100% sure if the feature is working yet or of any limitations.
There was disappointing news when it was revealed the official release of Windows Live Messenger would not have Yahoo! Messenger integration, but it was never meant to happen from the beginning. It originally was said to be released in the 2nd quarter of 2006, which still is possible. Maybe you will be talking to your Yahoo! buddies in just a few months or sooner.
A new load of Windows Live Butterflies have been picked today (luckily swines), who get exclusive news, builds and invitations to join the team every year. Apparently with these new testers a new beta will be starting soon (already, oh my). Hopefully we will see some more updates on Yahoo! Messenger integration, but for now this is all I could dish up.
Meanwhile, over on the "Windows Live Services" website there is a bit more information just saying that it is coming soon, and a screenshot showing that your Yahoo! Messenger contacts will have a little "Y!" icon under their display picture (currently the default one for everyone).
More information about the WLM side of the integration at the official site
There was disappointing news when it was revealed the official release of Windows Live Messenger would not have Yahoo! Messenger integration, but it was never meant to happen from the beginning. It originally was said to be released in the 2nd quarter of 2006, which still is possible. Maybe you will be talking to your Yahoo! buddies in just a few months or sooner.
A new load of Windows Live Butterflies have been picked today (luckily swines), who get exclusive news, builds and invitations to join the team every year. Apparently with these new testers a new beta will be starting soon (already, oh my). Hopefully we will see some more updates on Yahoo! Messenger integration, but for now this is all I could dish up.
Meanwhile, over on the "Windows Live Services" website there is a bit more information just saying that it is coming soon, and a screenshot showing that your Yahoo! Messenger contacts will have a little "Y!" icon under their display picture (currently the default one for everyone).
More information about the WLM side of the integration at the official siteNo Yahoo! Messenger integration for first Windows Live Messenger release
on 17 Jun 2006 (2059 views)
on 17 Jun 2006 (2059 views)
Over at LiveSide, Chris has reported that when Windows Live Messenger goes final (at the beginning of next week?) the first non-beta version will not contain interpolarity with Yahoo! Messenger.Does Chris know something we don't when he says "make sure you return here at the beginning of next week" with an exclamation mark. He also seems confident that Windows Live Messenger will go "final next week". Maybe my two previous predictions, the first one of June and the second of the 20th June, are correct?
Source: LiveSide
News about Yahoo! Messenger integration with WLM
More information about the integration
It seems as though Windows Live Messenger users and Yahoo users will not be able to talk to one another immediately when WL Messenger goes final next week. Unfortunately this feature will still be carrying the "coming soon" branding so familiar with online services and products, despite having been in internal beta for a while now. While this may bring disappointment for some users, it will hopefully be the start of something bigger.
Enjoy this World Cup weekend, but make sure you return here at the beginning of next week!
Source: LiveSide News about Yahoo! Messenger integration with WLM More information about the integrationEarlier this week I posted about the development of how Yahoo! and Windows Live Messenger buddies can communicate together after over 18 months of hard work on the project. I explained how this was a significant change for the IM world, but today I have leant some disheartening news about the new feature. Currently there are some limitations:
Personally, this makes the program seemed rushed, just getting something out there which has not been probably done. I think with more time it could be made a lot better, but this news suggests that the development on this feature will still be occurring after the official release of Windows Live Messenger. More news on this when it comes.
- You can only send text messages, nothing else.
- Different statuses in the programs mean they may display a different status on the other end.
- Group conversations are not supported.
- You will not be able to verify the e-mail address of a Yahoo! contact. This means messenger will not tell you if your address is real or not.
Personally, this makes the program seemed rushed, just getting something out there which has not been probably done. I think with more time it could be made a lot better, but this news suggests that the development on this feature will still be occurring after the official release of Windows Live Messenger. More news on this when it comes.
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