Diwali, also known as the “Festival of Lights”, is a very significant Indian festival that symbolizes the victory of good over evil. This year it falls on October 17th.
Many Indians living outside of their home country will be calling home to wish their friends and family a happy Diwali. If you’re one of them, Yahoo! Messenger is a great way to stay connected not only during Diwali, but any time.
If your family and friends are already using Yahoo! Messenger, you can make high-quality PC-to-PC calls for free. And with the new video calling feature in Yahoo! Messenger 10, you’ll feel like you’re right there with them. Get great quality video, synched audio, even a full-screen mode.
If your friends and family aren’t using Yahoo! Messenger, you can still call them using Messenger, and enjoy great savings. Sign up for a Yahoo! Messenger Phone Out account and you can make calls to any landline or mobile phone in India for just 7.9¢ a minute – right from your desktop.
You can also send free SMS text messages from Messenger to your friends and family in India if they are on the following carriers: Vodaphone Essar, Airtel, Spice, Escotel, Reliance. Their replies come right back to you in Yahoo! Messenger. Find out how to SMS from Messenger.
Even if you just plan to IM friends this weekend to celebrate the festival, you can dress up for it. Head over to Yahoo! Avatars and search on “india” to find Indian-themed clothing and backgrounds. Or add a little Diwali with a custom display image. Click on one of the designs below to make it your display image (you need to be signed into Messenger before you click):
From the looks of Diwali pictures I found on Flickr (see slideshow below), the festival is bright, warm and colorful. Lamps (called “diyas”) are lit in homes, fireworks are set off, sparklers color the night air, gifts are exchanged and people eat all kinds of delicious Indian sweets and snacks made specifically for the festival. To learn more about Diwali, head over to diwalifestival.org.
Last week, users on Yahoo! Messenger 10 Beta got an early look at the new Insider, the window that pops up when you first sign into Messenger for the day. Today, we’re also rolling it out to users on the U.S. versions of Yahoo! Messenger 8.1 and 9.0.
Here’s an overview of what you’ll see in the new Insider:
News, news and more news
We’ve pulled in news from the Yahoo! homepage, as well as headlines from Top Stories, World, Sports, Tech, and everyone’s favorite, Odd Stories (and yes, they are truly odd). If you’re in the U.S., you can also get local news from your town or city. The local news location is the same as what you choose for your weather.
We also included Yahoo! Buzz in its own tab in Insider. You’ll see short summaries of the top 10 news stories that have been buzzed up by internet users.
Yahoo! Mail
While Yahoo! Messenger has always had Yahoo! Mail alerts built-in, the new Mail tab in Insider gives you a handy, snapshot view of your Yahoo! Mail inbox. An indicator on the Mail tab will tell you how many unseen messages you have, and clicking on a message will take you right to it in Yahoo! Mail.
Current weather + 5-day forecast
Below your name you’ll find the current weather conditions for your area. Click on the weather display and you’ll see a 5-day forecast. To change your weather location, click on the location listed to the right of the current forecast. Type in any location in the world and click Go.
Search the web, images and video
The new search box at the top of Insider gives you quick access to Yahoo! Search. We’ve also included search assist to help you find the most common search phrases as you enter in your query.
Skins to match
If you’re on Yahoo! Messenger 10, the color of the new Insider will match the skin that you’ve chosen for your main Messenger windows. On versions 8.1 and 9.0, you’ll see a Skins menu in the upper right corner of the Insider window. Just click on it to select a different skin.
Ads, of course
I’m sure you’ll all be thrilled to know that the same 300×250 ad is still available in Insider. And just below it is a smaller ad where you’ll see tips or promotions related to Yahoo! Messenger. Oh and did we mention that we love it when you click on ads?
If it’s been awhile since you’ve looked at Insider, now’s a great time to give it a fresh look. Just click on the Help menu and select “Yahoo! Insider”.
And if you’d like to turn Insider back on so you see it when you sign in to Yahoo! Messenger, go to Messenger > Preferences > General and check the box next to “Show Yahoo! Insider”.
We hope you enjoy the new Insider. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment here on the blog or by going to the Help menu in Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 or 10 and selecting “Send Feedback”.
Have you tried out Yahoo!’s new home page yet? This latest version gives you even more ways to customize the page with your favorite news, sites and services.
For the new Beta page, we worked with the team behind yahoo.com to create a new Yahoo! Messenger module. This new version provides a quick view of which friends are online, plus you can easily IM them right from the page. Here’s a quick look at the features of the new Yahoo! Messenger on yahoo.com:
See all your friends in one place
Like the versions we currently offer in Yahoo! Mail, this Yahoo! Messenger module will show you all the friends you’re used to seeing in your list, plus other online friends that are in your Yahoo! Address Book. These are grouped under “Your Yahoo! Contacts”. You may see friends in there you didn’t even know were on Yahoo! Messenger so drop them a line to say hi!
Instant message or send a SMS text message
You can start a conversation with a friend right from the home page. Find them in your list and then click the IM or SMS icon to the right. This will launch a new IM window in Yahoo! Messenger where you can start chatting. Note that the SMS icon only shows up when you have a mobile number in your address book for a friend.
Search to find a contact
This one’s handy for those of you with a lot of friends. Use the search box at the top of the module to quickly find a friend in your list. Once you do, click the IM or SMS icon to start a conversation.
Collapse/expand groups
Click the arrows at the right of a group header to expand or collapse a group.
Change how your list is sorted
Click the Settings icon near the top of the module to sort your list alphabetically or in reverse alphabetical order.
Related links
Looking for more information on Yahoo! Messenger and its features? Check out the links to the right for help with finding the latest version, using a webcam, or getting to know emoticons.
We hope you enjoy the new homepage and find the Yahoo! Messenger module useful. Are there other features you’d like to see incorporated into Yahoo! Messenger on yahoo.com? Leave a comment to let us know.
With the closure of Yahoo! 360°, its plug-in for Yahoo! Messenger 8.1 and 9.0 will be changing as well. Starting tonight, the 360° plug-in will automatically update to the “Your Profile on Yahoo!” plug-in.
In addition to a new name, the revamped plug-in will include different content. You’ll notice buttons that link to the blog feature, as well as buttons to view updates and edit your profile.
If you currently use the Yahoo! 360° plug-in in Yahoo! Messenger 8.1 or 9.0, you don’t need to do anything to get this updated plug-in. The 360° plug-in will automatically change to become the “Your Profile on Yahoo!” plug-in over the next couple of days.
If you have not been using the Yahoo! 360° plug-in but would like to use this new updated version, click the “Add Plug-ins” button in your main Yahoo! Messenger window and look for “Your Profile on Yahoo!”. Then click the Start button next to it to add it back to your Messenger.
The Yahoo! Music LAUNCHcast plug-in is one of our more popular features, so I wanted to make sure everyone gets the news on upcoming changes to the service, brought to you by our “Rock On!” emoticon .
Starting February 16, CBS Radio will power LAUNCHcast Radio. LAUNCHcast Radio will still be accessible from the Yahoo! Messenger plug-in (as well as the Yahoo! Music website). However, it will be hosted and operated by CBS Radio rather than by Yahoo!.
With this change in service, you’ll still be able to listen to most of your favorite pre-programmed LAUNCHcast stations plus you’ll get access to CBS Radio’s wide variety of local music, news, talk, and sports programming.
Unfortunately, some features will be discontinued. Any custom “My Station” and “Moods” Stations you created will no longer be available. I love the “My Station” I’ve created so I’m really sorry to see this feature go.
If you are currently a LAUNCHcast Plus subscriber, please note that this service and its benefits will also be discontinued a few days earlier on February 12. While you will still have access to LAUNCHcast and CBS stations, all radio stations will be supported by advertising and there will no longer be a commercial-free option. Note that stations that were exclusive to LAUNCHcast Plus users will be made available to all users after the transition.
If you are a Yahoo! user through your internet provider like AT&T or Verizon, you may have been enjoying LAUNCHcast Plus as part of your account without realizing it. So don’t be alarmed if you start hearing commercials after the switch.
As a Yahoo! Messenger user, you don’t need to do anything to your plug-in or to Messenger to continue enjoying LAUNCHcast Radio powered by CBS Radio. The transition will be automatic and is scheduled to occur on February 16. In addition, if you have experienced any bugs with the current LAUNCHcast plug-in, those should go away when the plug-in is updated for the switch. Also note that only users in the US and Canada will be able to access the LAUNCHcast plug-in.
Diwali, also known as the “Festival of Lights”, is a very significant Indian festival that symbolizes the victory of good over evil. This year it falls on October 17th. 
With the 
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