I have been using the latest version of Yahoo! Messenger for over two weeks now and I would like to give a quick review of it. Overall this is not a major change from what I know as Messenger. As it has been said before, this is evolutionary not revolutionary. From what I can see there are no new features (at least none that I would use), the user interface (UI) is prettier, and it looks like there have been some bug fixes; that’s it.

Under the hood there are some things to note. The current version of the YSMG protocol with version 8 is 15 and Messenger 9 has been upped it to YMSG 16. I’m not sure what this means because it looks like it behaves the exact same way as 15, 14, and even 13. Most likely they have added some new phone features that require a new revision number (once I take a more in depth look I will get back to you). I also see that some of the auxiliary components such as the webcam view have a new version number.

Here is a quick list of my findings thus far. In general I will have to recommend the upgrade. Although there are not an overwhelming number of positive reasons to upgrade, there are virtually no negatives.

Good
• Appears that the stability is better. I kept getting kicked off every 15 minutes or so which was annoying. I am now getting consistently long times without having to reconnect.
• Better (prettier) user interface. This is not a big one for me but it might be great for some.
• Some bug fixes. In Messenger 8 you can hover over a contact’s name and a quick profile window pops up. Many times the quick profile window would hang and not disappear even if Messenger was minimized. Messenger 9 has somewhat fixed this and a few other similar bugs. Nothing major, just some minor headaches.

Bad
• I didn’t really see anything that I would call a negative.

In the Middle
• This is not a major update. It looks like they could have done much more with their time.
• The protocol version has been revised to YMSG 16.
• The GUI is different. The default setting has an expanded contact list with more information present. This annoyed me quickly and soon changed it. Not necessarily a negative as user tastes are different.

Nice!

But I want to add this in "In the Middle" Spot:

Some features in YM! 9 you cannot do if the other contacts are in YM! 8 lower or YM! On the Web.

I think that the developers need to realize who their users are when trying to upgrade messengers. There are millions out there that are loyal msn and yahoo etc. messanger users. And there will be many users that don't really do a lot of upgrading and they are satisfied with what they are running. Now as a lot of the features aren't used below 9, I think that they should at least be previewed or allowed to be broadcasted.

I have been using Trillian forever and a day because I like all of my contacts will be on one messenger. I really don't do a lot of the emoticons or all of the little addons that the messengers do, but I do realize that there are many more that do. And I know that many of the little plugins add to the messaging experience.

I just think that if there are so much nice features on the newer messengers, that some people should just upgrade.

But I am glad you enjoy it anyways, haha...

I don't use Yahoo! Messenger much, I don't have any friends that use it. Actually I have 1, but I chat with them on Skype instead.
I mainly use Windows Live Messenger, it's what everyone in my school uses. Windows Live Messenger and Facebook, the perfect combination for the majority of people around here.

Developers of such popular applications should ensure backwards compatibility with the software as people will not rush to upgrade stuff. Well, Windows Vista is a different story, but still...

A question that I would like answered:

Is Yahoo! Messenger still that slow and memory-hogging application that Yahoo! Messenger 8.1 is?

The reason I don't use it is because the GUI takes up too much memory. I think this is because it is different than Windows Default (it uses different buttons, it is purple, etc) but I could be wrong.
Is the Windows Live/Yahoo! inter-operability level still improving?

I'm not familiar with Trillian, or GAIM, or anything multi-protocol, I prefer my Windows Live Messenger on Windows and aMSN on Ubuntu.

Well sadly for me some reason yahoo messenger 9 is not working for me which I can glady say this is my first beta software that has not worked for me. I can get it installed if I do it the right way, however, for some reason its not accepting my password. Heck I even tried it on my vista computer and it didn't work, hopefully a stable version comes out and fixes the problems I had.

I made a topic about at trap when I found out about YM9 and when I installed it

Maybe some of hte problems I have listed can be figured out by someone here, the yahoo tech's couldn't figure out what was wrong with it either, and so I have to wait for a stable version to come out. Of course I plan to reinstall my computer laptop so hopefully whatever cause the problem will be fixed when I reinstall it again.

i never use yahoo messenger. i use yahoo for emails cos i love the new webmail design but not messenger.

to talk to people i use habbo and msn messenger. when they are offline then i just message them with my phone.

i mainly dont use yahoo messenger because no one at my school uses it, its unpopular.

Does Yahoo Messenger allow you to sign in with a Live account ? I know you can add Yahoo contacts to your Live Messenger contact list (and vice versa), but I don't know about singing in with a different messenger .

ps. I always use Mercury Messenger for chatting, it's a memory hog, but it certainly kicks every other free live messenger alternative

No it doesn't. You must have a Yahoo! ID, which in itself free too.

I myself have an ID on all the major network ranging from Windows Live ID to Jabber.

xboxrulz

On Windows I've moved to pidgin... which was the old gAIM... but apparently aol got pissed for their name...
however... on KDE I actually use both Kopete (which is QUITE slick) and GAIM...

All in all... the one time yahoo messenger snuck onto my computer when someone installed the DSL apps... it was not a good thing... most of them were just a waste of time and resources...

Performance wise, the skinning engine seems to have improved. I personally, very much like the new look. Its about time they dropped the old colors. Also, the design has improved. The protocol version being upgraded to 16, quite a few of new packets must have been implemented. Like always, the changes to existing packets are minimal. There are six new cool emoticons. The Open Talk status seems to be missing.