Yahoo! Messenger Blog » Voice

Special integration on Jimmy Kimmel Live episode shows our Yahoo! Messenger Video Calling feature – live!

sherrine — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:40:17 +0000

For those of you who watch The Bachelorette on ABC, you know that Ali Fedotowsky is in the final throws of determining who is going to be her ultimate choice. As the show nears its end, with only 5 bachelors remaining, millions of viewers are tuning in to see the drama unfold – and Jimmy Kimmel Live had an exclusive check-in segment last night – all through Yahoo! Messenger. Ali couldn’t be on the show – but with Yahoo! Messenger video calling – viewers still got to see and hear all the latest.

For those of you who haven’t already done so, download the latest version of Yahoo! Messenger and experience high-quality, full screen video and voice calling today!

Sherrine Tan

Yahoo! Messenger Team

Using Yahoo! Messenger for Mother’s Day

thyaga — Fri, 07 May 2010 21:08:23 +0000

Mother’s Day this year is just around the corner on Sunday, May 9th. I am sure many of you might have planned something special for your moms for this day.

Here are some of the ways Yahoo! Messenger can help to make this day even more special for you especially if you live far away from your mom.

(1). Video Calling – Real-time communication in Yahoo! Messenger took a giant leap last year with the introduction of High Quality Video Calling available in the latest version of Yahoo! Messenger. Our users have taken a liking to this feature and use it especially if they have to talk to friends/families staying far away. So, if you haven’t tried this yet, then this is a perfect time to try out Video Calling with your mom and see her on this special day.

(2). Free PC-2-PC and Paid Calling – As you know, Yahoo! Messenger always had the ability for users to make Free PC-2-PC Calls – so, if your mom is online on Yahoo! Messenger, you could make a free call and talk to her or leave a voicemail if she isn’t online- no matter how large the distance.

If your mom is not online or simply not a Yahoo! Messenger user, then you could also call her on her land-line or mobile using the premium Yahoo! Voice product where you can make local and international calls at great quality for really cheap rates.

(3). Change your Avatar in Yahoo! Messenger to express your love for mom. To do this, simply head over to Yahoo! Avatars and then search for “Mother’s Day” in the “Avatar Search” box. Chose any Avatar from the hundreds of Mother’s Day Avatars and then change your Display Image within Yahoo! Messenger to share this Avatar. Your mom’s joy will know no bounds when she logs into Yahoo! Messenger and sees your Avatar – we guarantee it.

Hope these help you to make the day really special. If you used these or any other products or features from Yahoo! or Yahoo! Messenger on this day, then do drop in a comment – we would love to hear from you.

Happy Mother’s Day.

Thyaga Vasudevan
Product Manager

Setting up voice and video in Yahoo! Messenger 10

Administrator — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:44:48 +0000

If you’ve upgraded to Yahoo! Messenger 10 or got a new webcam recently, chances are you’ll want to try out the high-quality voice and video call features.

As a first step, we recommend that you complete the “Voice and Video Setup” steps to ensure that your microphone, speakers/headphones, and webcam are working properly.

To get started, click on the Messenger menu and select “Preferences”. When the Preferences window opens, click “Video & Voice” on the left hand menu. This will bring up your options on the right hand side:

If you know immediately which devices you want Yahoo! Messenger to use for your camera, microphone etc., just select them in the drop down menu. Depending on your type of computer and other software or hardware you have installed, you may only have one or many options available.

For a guided setup, click the “Open Voice and Video Setup” link in the Preferences window. This will take you through three setup steps where you can select the devices you want to use for your microphone, speakers/headset and webcam. After selecting each one in the setup, you’ll be able to test and confirm they are working.

Once you’ve successfully completed the Voice and Video Setup steps, you’ll be ready to start making free PC-to-PC calls, full-screen video calls and even calls from Messenger to regular and mobile phones (premium account required). You can also click the “Place a free test call” link in the Preferences window to try out the voice feature.

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager

Maintenance scheduled for March 2

Administrator — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:00:30 +0000

We will be performing some server maintenance tomorrow, March 2, from 7pm to 11pm PST (4 hours).

During that time, some of our voice features will be affected. The Call History feature within Yahoo! Messenger for Windows (9.0, 10) will not be available. To view your call history (PC-to-Phone calls only) during the maintenance period, please visit the Yahoo! Voice website.

In addition, any PC-to-PC calls made or received in Yahoo! Messenger during that time will not be added to your Call History. PC-to-Phone calls will be archived normally.

The maintenance work will also affect Yahoo! Messenger for the Web. If you use this version, you will not be able to view your online message archive during this time, nor will conversations during the maintenance period be archived.

Note that IM conversation archiving in our Windows and Mac versions will not be affected during the maintenance period.

We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager

Downtime for premium voice services this Sunday

Administrator — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:30:33 +0000

Our premium PC-to-Phone and Phone In services will be unavailable from Sunday, February 28 at 9pm PST until March 1, 1am (4 hours). This means you will not be able to use Yahoo! Messenger to make or receive phone calls from mobile or landline phones during this time.

We will be making some system upgrades to the services which require us to take them offline for 4 hours.

Please note that PC-to-PC calling and all other Yahoo! Messenger features will be working normally.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thanks for your patience,

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager

Celebrate Diwali with Yahoo! Messenger

Administrator — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:17:56 +0000

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.

We wish all of our Indian users a Happy Diwali!

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager

One billion calls

Administrator — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:49:34 +0000

Last year, we partnered with Jajah to power our paid voice services. Recently, they hit a major milestone that we want to congratulate them on – 1 billion calls connected.

Even more exciting for us is that the customer who placed the billionth call did it while using Yahoo! Messenger.

The historic billionth call on the JAJAH platform was made by Ila Zeff, a 29 year old resident of San Francisco, CA. Mrs Zeff made the call on Yahoo! Messenger using her Phone Out account. She was calling her mother in India, whom she calls at least weekly since moving to the United States from India.

Mrs Zeff said. “I use Yahoo! Voice to call my mother at least once a week. She still can’t believe I’m calling her from America and often says it sounds like I’m just up the road. I haven’t even told her I’m calling from my computer – she wouldn’t believe me.”

Congratulations to Jajah and special thanks to Mrs. Zeff for using Yahoo! Messenger to make her calls. We promise not to tell your mom.

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager

Old-school handset for voice calls

Administrator — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:02:18 +0000

I may be dating myself, but remember using rotary phones as a kid? And how solid (but really heavy) those handsets were?

A company called YUBZ has brought them back to life. For awhile now, they’ve been selling their retro handsets for use with mobile phones. Just plug the adapter in your cellphone and voila, you’re transported back to 1978.

Well they’re about to make it work with voice over IP too with a new product called the YUBZ Talk Jack.

Connect the Talk Jack with the YUBZ handset, plug it into a USB port on your computer, and then use it to make retro calls through Yahoo! Messenger.

YUBZ handsets are $44.95; the Talk Jack accessory, available in pink or black, is $19.50. Head over to the YUBZ website to get your retro groove on. If you’re into bling, be sure check out the limited-edition gold handset.

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager

Start calls from your Mac Address Book

Administrator — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:23:56 +0000

If you’re a Mac user that lives and dies by your Address Book, you’ll love this tool. One of our developers wrote a plug-in for the Mac Address Book application that lets you start a call on Yahoo! Messenger right from your friend’s contact card. Once the script is installed, you can right click on any contact’s phone number and you’ll see an option for “Call with Yahoo! Messenger”.

Here’s how to install the script which will work in conjunction with Yahoo! Messenger for Mac 3.0 Beta 4:

1) Download the zip file and unzip the contents (1 file entitled “Yahoo! Messenger.scpt”)

2) Double click the hard drive icon on your desktop, go to the Library folder, and find the folder entitled “Address Book Plug-ins” (~/Library/Address Book Plug-Ins/)

3) Drag and drop the Yahoo! Messenger.scpt file you downloaded into the Address Book Plug-ins folder. (You may be asked to authenticate the installation)

4) After restarting the Address Book, you will be able to right-click on anyone’s phone number and call them through Yahoo! Messenger.

For more information on making low-costs calls from your Mac to your friend’s mobile or landline phones, please visit our website.

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager

Call history: delete is back!

Administrator — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:40:51 +0000

Well, either our voice users are very organized or they have super secret calls they’re afraid will be discovered. To that end, we added back in the option to delete items from your call history list in Yahoo! Messenger 9.0.

Click a call to highlight it, then click the delete button above. To select multiple calls for deletion, use ctrl + click. To delete all your call history, click to select one in the list, then press ctrl + a on your keyboard to select them all. Note that we only show the one hundred most recent calls in the window. So if you delete them all, the next time you open that window the next hundred will be there.

And we know some users were experiencing a bug where the call history window was popping up every time you signed in (even if you didn’t have missed calls). We’ve fixed this problem so just sign out of Yahoo! Messenger 9.0, quit the application, then start it again and sign in. You’ll see the call history window one more time but on future sign-ins, you’ll only see it when you have missed calls or a voicemail.

Sarah Bacon
Product Manager