Yahoo offers web-based instant messaging

Yahoo offers web-based instant messaging

Slimy on 03 May 2007 - 13:26 · 15 comments & 5734 views

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Yahoo has launched a web-based version of its free instant messaging service, allowing users to access their instant messaging contacts when on a computer with an Internet connection but without the Yahoo! Messenger software. Their slogan is "IM from any browser. Anywhere." implying that the service supports Internet Explorer, Firefox as well as the less popular Opera and Safari. Industry statistics indicate that nearly a quarter of US Internet users go online from places other than home or work. The web-based version still allows users of Yahoo's instant messaging system to converse with people using Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger. The service is initially launching in Brazil, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam and the United States. It is to be made available in other countries through the rest of the year.

Link: Yahoo! Messenger for the Web | Forum Discussion (Thanks Hillsboro_Spartans)

News source: Physorg

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(1 reply) #1 PatrynXX on 03 May 2007 - 13:35

How is this news? Yahoo messenger has always had a web messenger. Only way sometimes I can IM people at college since they usually block installation of programs. Yahoo web messenger is the only one I use then. It's no where near new.

#1.1 NightmarE D on 03 May 2007 - 13:53

Technically it wasn't meant as a web messenger back then. They've just pretty much made it official now.

I know what you're talking about though because I used it a lot back in like 1998 and 1999

(3 replies) #2 Eis on 03 May 2007 - 13:50

I think you may be mistaken. Perhaps you signed into another client that connects to yahoo's database, but as it stands Yahoo has never officially released a webmessenger until now.

#2.1 NightmarE D on 03 May 2007 - 13:54

No he's right. You could do this for years now. It just wasn't really an official web messenger

#2.2 em_te on 03 May 2007 - 16:16

Yes, the old "web messenger" was written as a Java applet, which obviously meant it was web-based only. I used to use it too back in the old days at internet cafes. I had the link bookmarked somewhere on my old computer.

#2.3 PatrynXX on 04 May 2007 - 01:46

Quote - (NightmarE D said @ #2.1)

No he's right. You could do this for years now. It just wasn't really an official web messenger

I can't see how it wasn't official though, it never said Beta web messenger. Just simply said web messenger on the bottom of the Yahoo Messenger site. It certainly was more official than Longhorn was before Vista.

As for the note that nobody uses it. Well I know about the alternates, but I've preferred the emoticons on Yahoo more than the others. I don't have AIM installed much of anywhere, I have MSN installed because I believe remote desktop needs it, but I won't use it. I haven't really had crash issue's with it so it's stayed.

#3 i50000 on 03 May 2007 - 13:54

Google provides similar web-based instant messaging too....

not sure about MSN messenger....

#4 scotters83 on 03 May 2007 - 13:59

*cough* meebo.com *cough*

(1 reply) #5 aldrlandon on 03 May 2007 - 14:00

Its not bad but I still use meebo. Plus, nobody is on yahoo messenger!

#5.1 +Dakkaroth on 03 May 2007 - 20:05

This is true. As I recall, GameFAQs did a poll one day asking "which messenger was used" and I believe Yahoo came out on the bottom.

Me, I use WLM and Skype mostly.

edit - actually, I went and found the poll here:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=2715

It doesn't seem Yahoo is at the lowest, but considering the big 3 messengers, Yahoo is nowhere close to AIM/MSN.

(1 reply) #6 NXTwoThou on 03 May 2007 - 15:51

Uhm, they bothered to release this before the Vista version of Messenger?

#6.1 Ironman2003 on 03 May 2007 - 17:03

I was just thinking the same thing. But perhaps now that this is public, they can finally get the Vista version released.

#7 em_te on 03 May 2007 - 16:17

Doesn't really work in "any browser." It requires Flash 9 to be installed and I only have Flash 8.

#8 NKTPHP on 03 May 2007 - 17:24

To the matter of technology, the interesting thing is that: Yahoo! has jumped to another step. They don't use AJAX to create / receive data packet like others often, since it's really a pain on BW and server resources coz that'll make requests continuously to send / receive msg data to / from servers. Hence they're using Flash 9 as our buddy mentioned above. That's great anyway. In the near future this should be a new standard.

#9 ipodman715 on 03 May 2007 - 21:01

Does this work on the Wii?

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