Our day of feasting with family and friends is almost here. So why not get in the mood with your Avatar too?
Head over to Yahoo! Avatars and change into a t-shirt or costume for the Thanksgiving holiday. Dress up as Pilgrim Paul or Paula, or try on a goofy turkey costume (I hear it’s all the rage this year). On the Avatars site, click on the “Extras” tab, then “Holidays & Events”, and finally, click on “Thanksgiving”.
We’ve also got a host of t-shirts to help you express your love of the holiday (“I love eating!”), and an assortment of accessories like carving knives and turkey themed hats to help you celebrate.
Lots of backgrounds too so even if you can’t scoot up to the dinner table with family this year, at least your Avatar can.
And if you’re looking for other Thanksgiving treats, tips and tricks, check out Yahoo!’s Thanksgiving Guide, full of recipes, Turkey Day ecards and more.
On a normal day, we double click on the Yahoo! Messenger icon to sign in, the yellow smiley wakes up, and our contact list loads. Then we’re off and chatting with friends.
But sometimes, not everything works perfectly. Sign in issues can sometimes be attributed to problems with an internet connection. This is why we added a new Connection Troubleshooter tool to the latest version of Yahoo! Messenger 10.
If Yahoo! Messenger has problems connecting during the sign-in process, a small window will appear alerting you that there may be a problem with your internet connection. From there, you can click the Troubleshoot button to let it run some connection diagnostics on your machine. After some quick analysis, it will recommend some next steps for resolving the issue.
The wizard also records all the steps it took while diagnosing the problem. Click the “Show Details” button on the final screen to view the details (sometimes it’s helpful to copy and paste those details when working with customer care on an issue).
The connection wizard is only available in the latest version of Yahoo! Messenger 10 (10.0.0.1102 or later) which works on Windows XP, Vista and 7. You’ll only see this wizard when there is a problem with your internet connection, such as a missing connection or problems with your internet proxy.
Thanks to all of you who tried out Yahoo! Messenger 10 during the Beta period and provided feedback about your experience.
As of today, Yahoo! Messenger 10 is no longer in Beta. You can download the final version from our website. This latest version (10.0.0.1102) incorporates many bug fixes, including some related to our new video call feature. We’ve also improved the overall stability of the product.
If you’re a Windows 7 user, you’ll be glad to know this version is compatible with the new operating system.
Below is a summary of the features that are in Yahoo! Messenger 10. Be sure to watch the demo video at the end of this article for a quick tour.
High-quality video calls
We’ve completely redesigned our 1:1 webcam feature (under the hood too). Now you can make a high-quality video call to a friend with synched audio, right in the IM window. Features include the ability to swap video windows, position the video windows side-by-side, mute the call or place it on hold. You can even go full-screen with your video call. To get started, click the new “Video Call” button in the IM window (your friend also needs to be on Yahoo! Messenger 10). Tips for making video calls | Having fun with video effects
New “Y! Updates” view of your contact list
People are busy these days, doing all sorts of interesting things online. To help you keep up with your friends, we added an alternate view of your contact list that shows a real-time stream of their updates, including Messenger status message changes. If they’ve opted-in to share their updates via Yahoo!, you’ll be able to see what they’re saying on Twitter, reading on Yahoo! Buzz, listening to on last.fm, and more.
We also added additional features for how and when you see your friends’ updates. When a new update comes in, a “toast” alert will pop up in the lower right corner of your screen. If you want to disable these, go to Messenger > Preferences > Yahoo! Updates. You can turn alerts on and off and even update preferences by contact or by type of update.
Find more to chat about
Within the new “Yahoo! Updates” view, you’re sure to find more to talk about with your friends. To make it easy, we added a hover menu that lets you quickly IM a friend about their update. When you do, the update appears inline in the conversation window, so when you start your IM with “I can’t believe you like this song!”, your friend will know what you’re talking about. Note that your friend needs to also be on Yahoo! Messenger 10 to see the update inline.
Change your language easily
If you use the U.S. version but wish it could be in your local language, you’re in luck. When you start up Yahoo! Messenger 10, you’ll notice a new language menu on the sign-in screen. Choose from 16 different languages and the buttons, menus and various parts of the interface will change to that language. If you’re already signed in, you can also change your language under Messenger > Preferences > Language (you’ll have to restart Yahoo! Messenger for it to take effect).
As with any new release, we welcome your feedback about what’s working well for you and what’s not. After using Yahoo! Messenger 10 for a bit, go to the Help menu and select “Send Feedback” to get started.
While the new video calling feature in Yahoo! Messenger 10 is great all on its own, you can liven up your video calls even more with special effects.
Many of the popular webcams come bundled with free software that lets you add effects, backgrounds, or accessories to your video calls.
Imagine talking to a friend and all of a sudden you grow a goatee and moustache. Or perhaps you feel more comfortable talking as a cat. Pick an Avatar from your webcam software and start meowing.
Some webcams also offer filters that change the color of your window, distort your face in hilarious ways, or make you look like you’re in a vintage movie.
Here are the basic steps for how to add special effects to your video calls:
1) Make sure that you have installed the manufacturer’s software that came with your webcam. It should be on the CD that came with your webcam. Or visit the webcam manufacturer’s website.
3) Bring up the control panel for your webcam. On the panel there should be a section or icons for the special effects. Select the one you want and start goofing!
What video effects are available with a webcam varies by type of camera and the manufacturer. But here are a few links from some top webcam makers that detail how to use their video effects:
Our day of feasting with family and friends is almost here. So why not get in the mood with your Avatar too?
On a normal day, we double click on the Yahoo! Messenger icon to sign in, the yellow smiley wakes up, and our contact list loads. Then we’re off and chatting with friends. 
While the new video calling feature in 
