Microsoft, Yahoo connect IM services

Microsoft, Yahoo connect IM services

Hurmoth on 13 July 2006 - 02:11 · 29 comments & 16284 views

Advertisement (Why?)

Nine months after announcing they would make their instant messaging services interoperate, Yahoo and Microsoft have done it.

The companies are set to release on Thursday a limited beta test of aservice that will enable users of Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger with Voice to connectwith each other.

The service will allow people to sign into both services using one userID, and to see the status of connections of friends from both networks.

The companies announced plans last October to make their IM services interoperable, in what analysts said was a shot to market leader AOL Instant Messenger and a defensive jab at Google Talk.

News source: CNET News.com

About the Author

Full name: Unknown
User name: Hurmoth
Contact: via forum PM
Submissions: View All
More: View Profile

Post a comment · Send to friend Comments · There are 29 additional comments

(4 replies) #1 Andy-Roo on 13 Jul 2006 - 02:14

It's about time! I hope it supports voice and video conversations, too. *crosses fingers*

#1.1 MrCobra on 13 Jul 2006 - 02:16

I agree. I think all IM applications should be cross compatable for the basics.

#1.2 Martin Blank on 13 Jul 2006 - 02:25

Find and install some old versions of YIM, prior to 7, or maybe 6. Check out the Registry keys installed, as well as opening the binary itself. You will find references to AIM (including the Oscar protocol), MSN, and ICQ in both places.

#1.3 sub999 on 13 Jul 2006 - 03:27

Yahoo needs to change it webcam feature. Compare to MSN, Yahoo webcam feature is suckass

#1.4 xMorpheousx416 on 13 Jul 2006 - 14:34

Maybe so, but MSN's webcam window is so tiny you can't tell half the time who's in the window even if you know the person.

Yahoo's cam window is at least large enough to get a decent view.

#2 slimy on 13 Jul 2006 - 02:18

Good stuff! Props to both companies

(5 replies) #3 viserov on 13 Jul 2006 - 02:21

Although I use neither of those services, I applaud this upcoming feature. Didn't Google Talk and AOL promise the same thing around the same time? Speaking of Google Talk, I wonder what's up with it; it's been relatively quiet in terms of software updates or development news.

#3.1 Hurmoth on 13 Jul 2006 - 02:38

AOL and Google are working on the samething, but no word on when it is suppose to be released.

#3.2 sanawar on 13 Jul 2006 - 02:41

I am using Google Talk too. I think it is an ultimate IM which is lean and mean with awesome, awesome voice quality. Simple and straight forward! The way it should be! I just wish they could implement some much needed features like file transfer, offline message delivery and video conferencing. I am sure many would like features conferencing voice calling and calls to landlines as well.

Google Talk Guys: Give us some new features!!!!

#3.3 sub999 on 13 Jul 2006 - 03:26

Quote - sanawar said @ #3.2

Skype is the best I think.

#3.4 The_Decryptor on 13 Jul 2006 - 07:55

Quote - sanawar said @ #3.2

...
I just wish they could implement some much needed features like file transfer, offline message delivery and video conferencing.
...

Well, you can use file transfer if you use another client that supports it, like Psi, and you can place call's to land lines if you have a Asterisk server with the Jabber extensions installed, and Jabber supports offline mesages.

But by that stage, your not even using the gtalk client any more, your using a plain Jabber client.

#3.5 john fru on 13 Jul 2006 - 18:06

you can do file transfers with the extended talk plugin. i dont know wether it does it the normal way (ie it will work with other clients as well as with other people using extended talk) but i suspect it does. http://www.customizetalk.com/ is a good site for finding out this kind of stuff.

you can also do calls to landlines through a service called gtalk2voip.com which just requires adding a contact, the adress of which is linked to the phone number you require through the service

so you can use gtalk for both. i still think google should be doing this stuff themselves, and calls to lindlines through them should be free. i also really miss group conversation functionality

#4 techdude5875 on 13 Jul 2006 - 02:58

Quote -

The companies are set to release on Thursday a limited beta test of aservice that will enable users of Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger with Voice to connectwith each other.

Huh? I thought it was tonight not tomarrow?...

#5 sub999 on 13 Jul 2006 - 03:25

hehe u can use AOL IM from many different clients like Trillian. Honestly, Who care about AOL IM anyway. Most of my friends use 3 types of IM at the same time, and AOL is lessly being used.

#6 Xerxes on 13 Jul 2006 - 03:55

Yay, I've been waiting a while for them to implement this

#7 em_te on 13 Jul 2006 - 04:59

No wonder I've been getting twice the amount of spam IMs these past few weeks.

#8 Lexcyn on 13 Jul 2006 - 05:03

Is this going to be a patch for WLM or something?

#9 jafoman on 13 Jul 2006 - 05:31

Kinda sucks that even if you have both updated clients, you have to "enroll" in a beta program...

#10 b0m8er on 13 Jul 2006 - 05:53

Ok! I'm of that beta now

If you still aren't go to ideas.live.com and enroll

Pretty easy, eh? =)

#11 Nexx295 on 13 Jul 2006 - 06:45

If I add a Yahoo! contact to my WLM list, it requires the Yahoo! user to join the Yahoo! beta program. In other words... I can almost forget about this feature, as most of my Yahoo! contacts are too lazy to make a few clicks and join the beta program.

I hope this feature will be ready soon... I hate to ask my friends thousand times to join the beta program.

Also, there are no features available while conversating with a Yahoo!/WLM contact, except sending IMs. I hope they'll make important features available, like sending files, viewing the webcam, etc.

Last edited by Nexx295 on 13 Jul 2006 - 06:51

#12 Unimatrix Xero on 13 Jul 2006 - 08:26

yay, inrolled.....
thanx for the headsup

#13 styn...big wlmesser P on 13 Jul 2006 - 08:35

soon you cant just enroll in the betafrom WLMesseger, the first few(dunno how many) can just sign up, but after a while it'll be invite based on the WLMessenger end.... dunno how its goin to be on the Yahoo end. I think it'll just be enroll and done, no invite there.

anyway, tested it, and it works fine, a tiny delay compared to WLM to WLM but at least PM's work, IM's, Smileys, Nudges work too.

#14 Webgraph on 13 Jul 2006 - 10:46

Kind of too late for me. But anyway, I hope MS works on a new version of the Mac messenger in order to handle this switch.

#15 Lexcyn on 13 Jul 2006 - 12:56

All you gotta do is go to ideas.live.com and click "Try it" under the Yahoo! Messenger and WLM thing. It works for me.

What sucks (from what I can tell) is you can't really distinguish Yahoo! contacts from MSN contacts on your list. They use the same icons.

#16 phantom76 on 13 Jul 2006 - 15:15

looks promissing, only problem I see is that right now at least you can't send offline messages to your yahoo contacts

Edit: Nevermind, yes you can you just have to wait for them to accept you

Last edited by phantom76 on 13 Jul 2006 - 15:34

#17 Tomi on 13 Jul 2006 - 18:06

http://ideas.live.com/programPage.aspx?ver...cc-685ee3e858fe

#18 teka on 13 Jul 2006 - 19:22

Umm.. I have a friend with two IM IDs using the same user@yahoo.com email address, but one is WLM Messenger (via passport registration) and other is Yahoo! Messenger.

What happens in that case, how can I do to add both accounts?

(1 reply) #19 chulomixed on 13 Jul 2006 - 22:20

For some reason I can't get it to work where I can talk to someone from Yahoo on MSN or from MSN to Yahoo. I added them to the list but they don't even show up as being online.

#19.1 amanechoir on 14 Jul 2006 - 02:53

First, you need to sign-up at http://ideas.live.com

Read here for more details.

Commenting has either been disabled on this article or you are not logged in. Click here to login or register, its free!

Note: Anonymous commenting is disabled in order to keep the quality of responses to a high standard.

Advertisement (Why?)

Neowin.net

Microsoft, Yahoo connect IM services

Share this Article

About the Author

Related news