Yahoo Messenger for
LAS VEGAS--On one score, Yahoo has been extremely receptive to an offer from Microsoft.
With its Yahoo Messenger for Vista, the Internet company has been one of the few consumer software companies to come out with a Windows Vista-specific product.
The instant messenger program doesn't have a lot of extra features (in some cases it has fewer than the generic Windows version). What it does have is an extremely pleasant look and feel. Using the Windows Presentation Foundation graphics engine built into Vista, the program smoothly resizes Windows and moves buddy icons around based on the screen real estate available.
The product, which has taken longer than expected, has been available in a text messaging-only "preview" version since December. Yahoo plans to announce on Friday that a beta version, due out sometime in the second quarter, will add voice messaging (PC-to-PC and PC-to-phone) as well as the ability to send SMS messages.
I had a chance to check out the software on Thursday thanks to product manager Josh Jacobson, who is attending the Mix 08 trade show here. Among the eye candy added to the latest version is something Yahoo calls "voice visualizations." Think of the visualizations in iTunes or another jukebox and you have the basic idea.
The instant messenger program doesn't have a lot of extra features (in some cases it has fewer than the generic Windows version). What it does have is an extremely pleasant look and feel. Using the Windows Presentation Foundation graphics engine built into Vista, the program smoothly resizes Windows and moves buddy icons around based on the screen real estate available.
The product, which has taken longer than expected, has been available in a text messaging-only "preview" version since December. Yahoo plans to announce on Friday that a beta version, due out sometime in the second quarter, will add voice messaging (PC-to-PC and PC-to-phone) as well as the ability to send SMS messages.
I had a chance to check out the software on Thursday thanks to product manager Josh Jacobson, who is attending the Mix 08 trade show here. Among the eye candy added to the latest version is something Yahoo calls "voice visualizations." Think of the visualizations in iTunes or another jukebox and you have the basic idea.
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