Yahoo Finally Unveils Its Showcase Vista App
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They say late is better than never. But is late worth the wait? That's the question for Yahoo, which late last night released a preview of its instant messaging client for Windows Vista. |
The wait has been a long one. Yahoo showed off the IM client back in January during the Consumer Electronics Show.
Yahoo's belated IM client taps into Windows Vista technologies, including WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation). Yahoo Messenger for Vista is a real showcase of WPF capabilities. The visuals are stunning, with elements resizing and repositioning smoothly and beautifully. Finally, from seeing Yahoo Messenger for Vista in action, I can see some of the vector-based benefits promised for the operating system.

End users can drag and drop conversations to consolidate them into single views or even place buddy windows onto the Vista Sidebar, to keep watch over conversations. End users also can drag and drop files up to 2GB and send them via IM.
The IM client is a preview, and it's not feature complete. I downloaded the software around 11:15 pm EST last night. There are definitely rough edges and not as many features as I had hoped for. But the visuals are slick for sure.
Federation disappoints. While users can send IMs between the Windows Live and Yahoo networks, basics like buddy icons and many emoticons aren't supported. Also, the preview client lacks features regular Yahoo IM users would come to expect in the standard 8.1 version for Windows.
Yahoo still has work yet to do, but at least the developer is doing the work. I can't say the same for Microsoft.
Microsoft already is testing Windows Messenger 9, which by all indications won't tap into WPF, at least not anything like what Yahoo's Messenger does. The question: Why the hell not? If anybody should be developing showcase Windows Vista applications, it should be Microsoft. If WPF is so great, then show us the money, Microsoft.
Microsoft would do better for itself and its developers by setting an example. There should be at least a dozen Microsoft applications that really tap into Vista capabilities, starting with WPF. Yahoo shouldn't be the development leader here.
Yahoo is a slow leader at that. I asked for clarification on what took so long from the January announcement to the December preview and got an e-mail response from Josh Jacobson, senior product manger for Yahoo Messenger for Vista. "We've spent a lot of time optimizing WPF as it continues to evolve," he said.

Jacobson is right when he says that, "Our engineers and developers are pioneers in this area, and are pushing the technology in new directions and sharing best practices that others in the industry can learn from."
But shouldn't that be Microsoft's role, on its own freakin' operating system?


Comments (7)
"Our engineers and developers are pioneers in this area, and are pushing the technology in new directions and sharing best practices that others in the industry can learn from."
Best practices like do not try to be the first to use a new microsoft technology... If you do your product may be seriously late.
Posted by bob | December 6, 2007 9:33 AM
I agree, where is Microsoft with these showcase apps or applets.
When Leopard and Cover Flow came out I searched for similar apps for Vista and found bits and pieces out there using parts of Expression Suite, Silverlight, and WPF. But no one has a clear idea or direction of how to put them all together. Cover Flow could be created in Vista and to your point many innovative and creative apps could be created using the Vista Technologies. Who would have thought that Microsoft would be absent from their own party.
Jon
Posted by Jon | December 6, 2007 11:37 AM
It is not available for 64 bit vista systems only 32 i already left feed back to yahoo and told them the app needs to be fixed and it is bad.
Posted by PJ | December 6, 2007 12:38 PM
opps, this goes here.
I know this is going to twist some titties... BUT
Way back in 2000, VCSY and Apollo Industries joined forces to produce something or other.
You can look it up. Apparently all my speculations upset original_crispy_al and hawcreek aka vcsy_stock_scam so I don't want to burden them with any more references. They do get quite upset when I cut and paste articles and references so take it up with them.
Well, back in 2001 VCSY had a particular person perform some specific services for them. It's in one of their filings. You can look that up as well.
Now, when you do some more searching, it turns out this particular person shows up as an expert in electronics and optics at a famous Georgia institute of learning. In fact, he built a method of testing multiple laser frequencies in a single optical fiber.
If it's not the same guy the coincidental accident is quite amazing.
Well, odd thing about it, Apollo Industries (Apollo is actually a large entity that buys up downtrodden companies and rebuilds them - you should check into it) has an electronics packaging facility only twenty or so miles away in nearby Smyrna, Georgia. "Over yonder" as they say.
And all this happened around the time just before Apollo Industries did a joint venture with VCSY for VCSY to build a distributed smartcard platform for Apollo.
It's all there in the search box anytime you want to look it up. But, you won't because you think I'm deluded. Fine with me, frogleg.
Well, anyway, it strikes me as odd that the first university to begin building a virtual copy of itself on the virtual world web system Second Life is in Georgia. "Yonder" down the road from Smyrna.
Weird, isn't it?
And by the way; Apollo Industries? They originated in Hong Kong right alongside Feeney and Li Ka-Shing organizations.
Weird coincidences, aren't they? I have some powerful delusions to make so many coincidences happen, don't I? Wow.
Now, if we can just figure out what Adobe is doing with all their visual stuff that would work beautifully on a virtual world system along with the interactive automation capabilities in Adobe Apollo.
Then we can figure out what the Siteflash patent inventor had to do with Raydream way back when before Eovia picked that 3D modeling company up and slapped that freaking orange eclipse logo that we've seen on RCA, Orange and Octilla.
Maybe then we can get some sleep.
(more at url)
http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_%28A_to_Z%29/Stocks_M/threadview?m=tm&bn=12004&tid=1321025&mid=1321025&tof=9&frt=1
Posted by I-Man | December 6, 2007 1:31 PM
Why is the VCSY shareprice under 2 cents?
So what do you think, neoware? Since we know IBM has known about VCSY for a long long time, would IBM be interested in VCSY's fiber optic patent 6718103?
VCSY's CEO is working an excellent stealth campaign to catch the entire industry unaware. Folks need to be aware those who post here and on other boards attempting to detour the conversation about VCSY all have an agenda to protect their own interests against a technological change that is going to raise small companies up to giant status and bring giants down to the grave.
It's been a classic story of hiding your treasure until all the pieces to your empire are in place. Protecting VCSY from wolves and vultures has been the CEO's prime imperative all along, especially since Arglen (aka Thurn und Taxis) and Ross Systems and Chinadotcom began the overt attempt to bankrupt and destroy VCSY.
Microsoft is the VCSY CEO's target and his tactic of attacking on 744 and with-holding 521 while allowing Adobe to take Microsoft's market with Apollo is blind-siding Steve Ballmer and his band of legal weasels.
They won't listen to Ozzie when he tells them what he needs. Ballmeer is playing chicken like he would have in high school and the entire corporation and their shareholders are speeding toward a confrontation with the entire industry that can put Microsoft in the ditch.
(much more at url)
http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_%28A_to_Z%29/Stocks_V/threadview?m=tm&bn=33693&tid=1091&mid=1092&tof=1&rt=1&frt=1&off=1
Posted by I-Man | December 6, 2007 2:52 PM
Okay, does anyone else just want to beat the living hell out of I-Man?
Posted by Josh | December 7, 2007 11:53 AM
Josh;
Paint me in!!!
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Looking at the screenshots, I have to give a one-handed golf clap in the middle of a cold winter's night to the crew at Yahoo that makes this service and software specifically for Vista. Yippie!
Okay, so I am synical about this one. Hey, I use MS Live stuff anyway, who knows maybe this will push Microsoft in designing the next version of Messanger specifically for Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Hey how about fusing the Vista speech stuff with the next version. It reads whatever back that someone is typing and you have the option of selecting voices -- I know, why not use video and and audio that we can already do now. Hey that would make it fun though...
Posted by Douglas S. Taylor | December 8, 2007 4:34 AM