September 18, 2009 on 11:00 am | In 10 version, 9.0 version, News | 33 Comments
Just another reminder that in twelve days, we will be retiring Yahoo! Messenger versions 6.0 through 7.5.
This means that if you are currently using a version of Yahoo! Messenger that is below 8.0, you will no longer be able to sign in and use it after September 30.
If you are using a version that is set to retire, you have several options for continuing to use Yahoo! Messenger:
Option 1: Download the latest version for Windows
You can use Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 which offers enhanced security as well as better protection from spam (info | video demo | download).
We also have a new Beta available, Yahoo! Messenger 10. This latest version offers enhanced video calling features, more ways to keep up with your friends, and a new menu that makes it easy to switch languages. (info | video demo | download)
Option 2: Use Yahoo! Messenger for the Web
If you can’t use the latest version mentioned above, you can always sign in to Yahoo! Messenger for the Web from any web browser. No extra download or installation is required. With our web version, you can send IM’s as well as SMS text messages to your friend’s mobile phones for free. Our web version also includes anywhere archiving, allowing you to access your message history from any computer or browser. Try it now at http://webmessenger.yahoo.com.
Option 3: Use the built-in IM feature in Yahoo! Mail
Both versions of Yahoo! Mail offer a built-in feature that lets you send and receive IMs. If you’re using the all-new Yahoo! Mail, just click the status menu next to your name in the upper header and change your status to “Available”. This will sign you into Yahoo! Messenger (you also have the option of staying invisible). IM conversations occur in separate tabs within your Mail page.
In Yahoo! Mail Classic, you’ll see a module on the left hand side of the page labeled “Chat & Mobile Text”. Click on the status menu in that module to change to “Available” (or Invisible). IM conversations will show up in a small box in the lower right corner of your Yahoo! Mail Classic page (but it won’t interfere with your Mail messages or using Mail).
As an alternative, there are also solutions available for your mobile phone. We recently launched Yahoo! Messenger for the iPhone and additionals versions are available for other mobile devices.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
September 1, 2009 on 3:49 pm | In 10 version, 9.0 version, Features | 13 Comments
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”.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
August 18, 2009 on 4:23 pm | In 9.0 version | 28 Comments
As more of you are upgrading to Yahoo! Messenger 9.0, I see periodic comments on the blog about sign-in issues.
I’ve listed some recommend steps for troubleshooting sign-in issues on Yahoo! Messenger 9.0. If you are having problems, please read through them and follow the instructions to try and resolve your sign-in issues.
1) Be sure you have the latest version of 9.0 (ver. 9.0.0.2162). If you’re not sure what version you have, go to the Help menu in Messenger and select “About Yahoo! Messenger”. Note the version number, and if it’s earlier than the version number above, download and install the latest at http://messenger.yahoo.com/download/win.
2) IMPORTANT: Visit the sign-in troubleshooting help page and read each section. Follow directions where needed.
3) If you do continue to have trouble signing in after trying the steps above, contact customer care and provide them with answers to the following questions:
a. Indicate what steps you have taken so far when troubleshooting the issue. What settings you’ve changed etc. This will help prevent customer care from asking you to try things that you may have already.
b. What error message are you receiving, if any? Please provide the error message text, as well as any error codes.
c. Using Internet Explorer on your computer, can you successfully sign in to any or all of the following websites? [Note: be sure you use IE, not Firefox]
https://login.yahoo.com/ (Yes/No)
http://mail.yahoo.com/ (Yes/No)
http://webmessenger.yahoo.com/ (Yes/No)
d. On your computer, are you able to sign in to Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 with any other Yahoo! ID? (Yes/No)
e. On a different computer, are you able to sign in to Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 with your Yahoo! ID? (Yes/No)
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
August 13, 2009 on 1:36 pm | In 9.0 version, Other services | 6 Comments
Did you know that you can easily share your Twitter updates with your Yahoo! Messenger friends, even if they aren’t following you?
The updates feature in Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 allows you to share updates from a variety of outside sites and services with your Yahoo! friends.
When you elect to share your latest Twitter tweets with anyone, friends that have you on their Messenger contact list will be able to see them.
To start sharing your Twitter activity with your Messenger friends, first go to the Share More page on your profile and select Twitter from the list. You’ll be asked to enter your Twitter username. (Note that if you don’t see Twitter in the Share More list, you may already be sharing your updates. In that case, move onto the next step below.)
Then go to the Manage My Updates page. Find Twitter in the list and choose one of three options from the drop-down menu:
Anyone – Your latest tweets will be shared with anyone who is connected to you on Yahoo!. That means friends on Yahoo! Messenger or friends that you’ve connected with on your Yahoo! profile.
My Connections – Your tweets are only shared with people you have explicitly connected with via your Yahoo! Profile.
No one – Your tweets will not be shared with any Yahoo! friends.
To share your tweets with all of your Messenger friends, be sure you select “Anyone” from the menu. Your latest tweet will appear under your name in their Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 contact list or on your contact card.
Happy tweeting!
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
August 4, 2009 on 3:48 pm | In 9.0 version | 21 Comments
You all liked the addition of support for videos from trilulilu.ro so much that we decided to add more.
Based on your suggestions in the comments of that earlier post, we added support for the following video and photo sites to the inline media player in Yahoo! Messenger 9.0:
5min.com
collegehumor.com
facebook.com (public videos only)
funnyordie.com
hulu.com
en.netlog.com
qik.com
thewb.com
twitpic.com
viddler.com
vimeo.com
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. If you’ve got another video or photo site you’d like to see supported, leave us a comment.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager
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