November 24, 2008 on 11:43 am | In 9.0 version, Features, Fun Stuff | 5 Comments
In celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday, we’ve got a couple of treats to share with you.
New Flickr IMVironment
Dubbed “the IMV for all seasons”, this new IMV displays Flickr photos in the background of your IM conversation. When you load the IMV, it goes to the current month we’re in. Then it will rotate photos that we’ve found on Flickr that fit with that month or season. Snowy landscapes in the winter months, sunny beaches in the summer – you get the idea.
When you switch to a different month, it switches for your friend too (but you’ll likely see different photos within each month because they rotate randomly), It’s a great IMV to add some color to your IM conversation. Plus when it’s cold and snowy outside, you can just switch to a warmer month to take your mind off things. Tip: You can move and resize the conversation space within the IMV. Try it now with a friend or just preview it yourself (Yahoo! Messenger 8.1 or 9.0 only).
Thanksgiving Audibles
Send some thanksgiving wishes to your IM friends with this trio of audibles. We’ve got a thankful pilgrim and a bloated diner who really know how to show their gratitude for a good meal. And of course we have a talking turkey – how could we not? 
To access them, go to the Audibles menu in your IM window, select “More Audibles”, then “See All Audibles” and click on “Thanksgiving” (U.S. only; Yahoo! Messenger 8.1 or 9.0).
This will be our only post this week and comments will be turned off for a few days until we’re back in the office to keep an eye on things.
We hope everyone has a happy thanksgiving!
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
November 20, 2008 on 1:05 pm | In Fun Stuff | 10 Comments
I saw this on several gadget blogs this week and couldn’t resist posting about it.
A Italian company called andriodesign has created what is most aptly described as an emoticon keyboard. Advertised with the tagline “the new emotional communicator”, the Bajca is a 4×4 grid of emoticon buttons.
Plug Bajca into your computer’s USB port and voila – the bubbly looking device functions as an emoticon keyboard. So if you’re too lazy to type a semi-colon and parentheses for your smiley, or you like to punch out your emotions while you type, Bajca is the answer.
Their press materials also reveal another interesting use for the keyboard: “The keys can also be used to create personal jewelry to wear and show: everyone representing our emotions of everyday life!”. Pluck a button out of the grid and embed it in a ring setting or throw it onto a necklace chain. Now you can wear your emotions on more than just your sleeve!
It’s unclear whether this is just a concept or a product we’ll actually be able to buy. We’ll keep an eye out. In the meantime, you can always refer to our site for the traditional method of typing in the emoticon characters. 
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
November 18, 2008 on 10:41 am | In 9.0 version | 144 Comments
Thanks to everyone for their feedback here on the blog about the issues they were having when trying to run Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 on a Windows Vista PC. With your help, we were able to implement several bug fixes that have significantly reduced the number of crash reports we are seeing from Windows Vista users.
So, if you had trouble getting Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 to run on your Vista PC, please download and install the latest version (9.0.0.2034) that we released last week:
http://messenger.yahoo.com/download/win
If after installing this new version you continue to have problems with launching Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 on your Vista PC, please leave us a comment here on the blog.
Thanks,
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
November 14, 2008 on 10:05 am | In Fun Stuff | 97 Comments
If you use Yahoo! Messenger, you already know that your status message is about more than whether or not you’re available. You can use it to update friends about where you are, what you’re doing, what you’re thinking… You can even use it to share your favorite web links.
Do you have favorite status messages that you’ve used on Yahoo! Messenger? If so, leave it in a comment here on the blog and we may include it an upcoming project we’re working on (sorry, can’t divulge all the details just yet!). It can be a status message you’ve used or that you saw on a friend’s status, or one that you just make up right now.
Check out the image with this post. One of our team members came up with a few to help get your creative juices flowing.
Got a good one? Tell us your favorite status message by leaving it in a comment.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
November 10, 2008 on 3:46 pm | In News | 53 Comments
If you’re using Yahoo! Messenger 8.1 or earlier and you’re accessing Yahoo! Messenger from behind a firewall, you may see an important message pop up the next time you log in.
To help Yahoo! Messenger run more efficiently, we are making some changes to our servers, specifically those that support access for our users that are behind a firewall (typically those that use Yahoo! Messenger in a corporate environment).
The system message will encourage you to upgrade to Yahoo! Messenger 9.0. In about one month, we will be blocking sign in to 8.1 and earlier versions for users that are accessing from behind a firewall. Upgrading to 9.0 will ensure that you can continue to use Yahoo! Messenger.
Yahoo! Messenger for Mac users that are on older versions may also see this warning message. If you do see it, please upgrade to the latest Mac version, available at http://messenger.yahoo.com/download/mac.
Note that we’ll only show the system message to you if you are signing in from behind a firewall. You will continue to see the message until you upgrade to Yahoo! Messenger 9.0.
If you’re not signing in from behind a firewall, you will not see this warning. So if you don’t see the system message pop up, don’t worry – that means you are not affected by the change.
Click here for more information.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
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