News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

June 29, 2006

software

Yahoo Messenger 3.0 beta

Posted Jun. 29, ’06, 6:37 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Software

Yahoo Messenger 3.0 beta Yahoo has always been a little weak with their Mac support. While they’ve had a Yahoo Messenger client, its appearance and functionality was lacking. I never warmed up to the service either and there’s only one person that I’ve really ever talked to on it. Even then, I simply used Adium.

Yahoo is really stepping it up a notch with their 3.0 beta. It’s got a great new look, lets you use your Yahoo Avatar, lets you organize buddies by groups, and even has the dreaded “Buzz” feature. Webcam support is still there and Windows Live Messenger interoperability is planned. The bad news is no sign of voice chat support.

On the other hand, the “new look” is actually really good. It uses the Unified look and has a buddy list very reminiscent of iChat, but in my humble opinion, actually looks better. Yahoo seems to have a better grasp on the Mac look and feel, going so far as to make the webcam icon look like an iSight. If you’re a Yahoo Messenger user, it’s worth a download. If you’re not, well, it’s still not good enough to change service.


4 Comments

Greg said:

I actually boycotted Yahoo until they updated their messenger. Now I've been using their services again

June 29, 2006 9:34 AM
bob said:

Just wondering...

Did Yahoo use the POW/MIA logo (www.vva.org/logos/powmia.jpg) as an avatar for the people in the chat on purpose?

- bob

June 29, 2006 1:47 PM
Mark U. said:

I've had a couple of problems with the beta. It worked fine until I put my computer to sleep and then re-woke it. From that point, I couldn't sign in and the app completely pegged my CPU, almost freezing the entire machine. Killing and restarting it produced the same result. I also linked my Yahoo contacts to their associated cards in Address Book, and the app mangled the cards -- mostly, it just removed each linked person's first and last names, and left them blank. I don't believe it did this until after I woke the computer and the app pegged the CPU trying to sign in.

June 29, 2006 4:24 PM
Mark U. said:

Oh, and Derik: there is a sign of voice support. The "welcome" dialog indicates that the next beta version will include voice.

June 29, 2006 4:25 PM

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