Today, Yahoo! opened a public beta for the new, rebuilt from the ground up, version of Y! Messenger for Apple Mac users. It requires OS X and includes many things the Windows version has had for some time such as Avatars/display images (not just smilies anymore), new sounds, webcam support and changeable status messages. It is equipped to be interoperable with Microsoft Live (MSN) Messenger when it and Y! Messenger open the gates (no pun intended).
I recently found myself with a Mac with OS X on my desk and have been using both Y! Messenger and iChat. The older Mac Y! Messenger was really crippled compared to what I was accustomed to on my WinXP machines. After all, it hadn't been updated in a long, long time. This new beta version addresses all of that.
My office mate is a die-hard Apple fan(atic). He hungrily downloaded and installed the new Y! Messenger for Mac. Upon launching it, he exclaimed, "Oh man, it's a complete knock-off of iChat!" He then listed off several new features as evidence. I pointed out that all these features have been available in the Y! Messenger for Windows for some time. That seemed to dissuade his concern about Yahoo! ripping off dear old mother Apple.
One item that made me go "Oh!" is the mail alert that appears on the desktop momentarily. It is semi-translucent black like a Widget. Very slick indeed. Yes, I guess I am easily amused.
1. After 3 years Yahoo has finally choosen to update Yahoo IM for Mac! IT'S ABOUT FREAKIN' TIME! But I'm sure that many Mac users will hardly be excited about this, having found alternatives for this outdated bit of software. Unless it can allow users to sign-in to multiple accounts, and allow for 3rd party plugins for the other IM services most people will check it out but stick with the software that's working for them (and that gets updated on a regular basis). Just my 2¢.
Posted at 2:35AM on Jun 29th 2006 by RB