Everything that ICQ should be. (Yahoo! Messenger)

Member Name: MichaelR

Product:	Yahoo! Messenger
Date:	20/02/01 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Small, efficient, no added rubbish.

Disadvantages: Can't communicate with other IM software....yet!

Yahoo Messenger is the best IM client available today – No doubt about it.

If you’re one of the millions and millions of ICQ users out there, then you really should visit http://messenger.yahoo.com and at least give Yahoo Messenger a try… Maybe some people are too set in their ways to make the change though... (Not that you have to change, I do use both, I just think that Messenger is a lot better, and I would always use Messenger given the choice)

So, why’s it so good then?

Well, the really great thing about Yahoo Messenger is that it's small but yet still extremely functional. It is also very efficient and reliable.

The download takes no time at all, it installs easily and quickly and it doesn’t take up a lot of resources. (Such as memory and processing power)

The main function of Yahoo Messenger is to send instant messages. That’s why I like it so much. It is first and foremost an instant messaging program. You can send messages to any other Yahoo user, whether they are using messenger or not. IM’s can also be sent to non-messenger users in Yahoo Chat on the web, so they don’t necessarily have to be running the messenger software.

If the user is running messenger and not currently on-line, then they will receive your message the next time they log in.

Yahoo Messenger also allows for real-time voice chat… there’s no delays - it’s just like talking on the telephone, and the quality of the audio is very clean, crisp and clear – provided that the equipment is set up correctly on both sides.

The latest versions also allow you to chat in the Yahoo web based chat rooms without actually being there – it can act as a client to connect you to the Yahoo Chat servers without you actually having to visit the website.

You can also hold conferences with the latest versions – strictly by invite only, so you don&#
8217;t get any unwanted users finding their way in. This is a great way to communicate the same message to multiple users, and have a group chat without having to use any other external software or servers other than the usual messenger server on Yahoo.

There’s also a net-to-phone service on the latest version, which is completely free to use. Unfortunately it currently only works in the USA, and therefore isn’t a lot of use, but plans are afoot to make it work in other countries, including the UK.

You can easily find and compile contact lists of friends on Yahoo, or even search out new friends with the same interests as you – and your contacts can be organised into different groups – so you can keep say friends from the “real world” in one group, and chat friends from the web in another.

Your contact lists are also stored on Yahoo’s secure servers, rather than on your own machine, and are loaded off of the server each time you start your messenger. This has obvious advantages. It’s more secure, it saves disk space, and it means that should you ever have to reformat your hard drive, you will not lose all your contacts.

You can also invite new friends to sign up to Yahoo from within the program, and you can transfer files between yourself and other users.

It is also very, very secure. There are a whole host of easily customisable privacy and security features (including the obligatory ignore function) and the default settings are adequate.

As I’ve already said in part, it is so secure because very little personal data is actually held on your computer.

I’m trying hard to cover everything in the messaging section (because that’s what this program does best!) before I move on… but there’s so much to cover. You really have to just get the program and play with it yourself; it does everything you could ever want.

Oh yes, I
should mention that there are a number of different status options (as is customary) and you can even enter your own customised status descriptions, which the messenger program will remember.

There are also customisable sound options that alert you to various events, such as a friend coming on-line, or a new message being received. You can choose to replace the default sounds with any *.wav file you choose, or you can switch off alerts that you do not wish to receive.

Apart from the chat/IM client, there are a number of other Yahoo-related features rolled into messenger.

Some of them are useless to most people, but the thing is, that unlike some programs these features do not install any extra software, as they merely offer a fast link to other dedicated servers on Yahoo.

You can also easily turn each link on or off with one simple click under the Y! Heading at the top of the messenger.

You can access the following services from Yahoo through the messenger:

Stocks
News
Sports
Weather
Bookmarks
Calendar
Auctions

The latest version also allows you quick links to features such as Yahoo Clubs, and many other parts of the Yahoo Community.

There is also an excellent feature which automatically polls your Yahoo Mail account every couple of minutes (you don’t notice it happening – no external software is used, and there is no visible drop in performance) and informs you if you have any new messages.

I find this feature very useful, but it can be easily disabled if you choose not to use it.

It has extensive and useful online help files, should you ever need them too. (It is very simple and intuitive to use though, so most people should never have a need to consult them)

If all you want to do is chat and message, then there’s no better program out there. If you’re interested in gimmicks, then this is probably not the program for yo
u. If you’re a Yahoo user and member of the Yahoo Community, then you really should not be without it!

It really is excellent. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

For simple, efficient, good old-fashioned chat with no added BS, this really is the best there is.

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