by Ruth Mulvey

Yahoo Messenger

To get

started:

You open a

browser

window

and type in

yahoo

messenger.

Click on

yahoo

messenger

download.

This will

open a

window to

start the

download

process.

This is Yahoo Messenger.

You can download it here for free.

There are so many things you can do with Yahoo messenger besides just sending instant messages to your friends. Microsoft Windows has many features that you can use regarding communications.

You can:Send instant messages to your friendsJoin chat rooms to discuss your favorite topicsShare photos from your desktopMake voice calls to other Yahoo MessengersCall friends on their phones from Yahoo

Messenger

Get a phone in account and receive phone calls in Yahoo Messenger

Send text messages to your friends mobile phones for free

You can plug in a webcam and share live video with your friends

IM conferencing is available to instant message with many friends at one time

You can also send files instantly to a friend while you are chatting with them (this feature has a 2GB limit)

Allow IM Forwarding to send instant messages to your mobile phone as text messages

Use a Contact Search Bar to search for your IM friends

Start a web search right from your Yahoo! Messenger window

View and edit your Yahoo! Address Book information

Make yourself invisible to some friends while appearing visible to others at the same time

Use call forwarding to send incoming calls to another phone number

If you have Windows XP, you can use the following features for productivity:

Use Yahoo! Mail alerts which notify you when you have a new Yahoo! Mail message arrives

Voice mail is available when you are notMessage Archiving to maintain your

communicationsTabbed IM Windows to reduce desktop

clutter by organizing multiple conversations into a single window

Buzz Alert to get your friend’s attention with a click of the Buzz button

Yahoo! Updates to get real-time updates about what your friends are posting online

Plug-ins are available to add content, services, and games to Messenger

Audibles allow you to send an animated, talking character to liven up your IM

Emoticons let you express your feelings with animated, smiling faces

Avatars which represent your style and graphic imageSkins which give your IM world a new lookIMVironments liven things up with interactive, themed

backgrounds in the IM window

You can make your IMs fun and personalized by using:

Yahoo! Games allows you to play games such as pool, backgammon, checkers, and more

Allows you to customize your online status message to let your friends know what you are doing, seeing, or feeling

Assign custom ring tones to different callers or upload your own audio files to use

Customize fonts and colors to suit your personality

During voice calls you can throw in a sound effect or upload a music file to play as a soundtrack in the background

To recap:

Download Yahoo! Messenger:

It’s fun, it’s free, and you can talk to anyone anywhere as long as they have it too