THE WAIT IS FINALLY OVER! Yahoo and Microsoft have finally delivered true IM interoperability. Beginning late on July 12th, Yahoo! Messenger with Voice and Windows Live Messenger beta opened the doors to true interoperability.
What does this mean to you? Simply put, it means that if you already use Yahoo! Messenger, you won't need a Windows Live Messenger (WLM) account to communicate with your friends who prefer WLM. Conversely, if you're an avid Windows Live Messenger fan, you don't need an account on Yahoo! Messenger to keep in touch with your friends who use that IM network. With either instant messaging program, you can add contacts from the other IM network, send and receive instant messages.
I've tested this out and have some screenshots and detailed information on what features are supported.
First, I had to install a new beta version of Windows Live Messenger (8.0.0792.00). The instructions clearly state that it's a beta, but the build of Windows Live Messenger has no beta indicator anywhere to be found.
From the Yahoo! Messenger side, I also installed the latest version of their beta (8.0.0.508). Amazing how close the version and build numbers are, isn't it?
Adding a Contact
This process is really simple in Windows Live Messenger. Just add the [contact-name]@yahoo.com as you would any regular WLM contact.
In Yahoo, it's a little bit different. You type in their WLM name, but you also have to select which IM network from a drop-down list.
Once you've added the contacts, you'll see them in your contact list. You can place them in a group. You can also see any personal display message they've created. You won't, however, see any "now playing" information from iTunes or Windows Media Player.
Initiating a chat works the same as with your regular contacts. The following screenshots show both sides of an interoperable chat session between Yahoo and Windows Live Messenger.
Supported Features- Basic text chat
- 25 basic emoticons
- The Buzz/Nudge function
Not Supported
Pretty much everything else. This interoperability doesn't currently include voice, although there have been rumors that may be coming. It doesn't include webcams. It doesn't include text formatting. It doesn't include avatars, although this also appear eminent.
What does this mean for IM?
It's big news, and something we've been anticipating for a long time. The lack of interoperability spawned a cottage industry of mult-network IM programs like
Trillian and
Adium. This could give many people less reasons to use those alternatives.
It's also big news for AOL and Google, who have previously announced that they also are planning to develop interoperability between
AIM and
Google Talk. Microsoft and Yahoo's combined user base is 300 million users, giving them substantial leverage in the IM market.
Try the interoperability features for yourself and share your comments.