Yahoo! is rolling out an update to Yahoo! Mail Beta that combines Yahoo! Messenger with Yahoo! Mail. While this is a feature that Google's had for a while, I have to say, Yahoo!'s version looks pretty nice.

For example, when you start to write an email, the "To:" box will tell you if the contact you're writing to is online and available for chat. And if you've already started writing an email but have changed your mind and decided to initiate a chat, Yahoo! will automatically copy the text you've written into the chat window.

If you receive an instant message while you're working on an email or participating in a chat with someone else, a tab will pop up in the background, alerting you to an incoming message while letting you work in the current window. Ryan Kennedy of the Yahoo! Mail team has a screencast up demonstrating some of the new features.

Overall it looks pretty nifty. In general I've been pleased with Yahoo! Mail Beta. The interface feels much more like an application than a web page. But there's a price to pay. While the interface is definitely zippier now than when it first rolled out, it's still not as responsive as Gmail. Yahoo!'s in the process of rolling out the Messenger update and my account doesn't have the feature enabled yet, so I can't say whether it's as responsive in real life as it looks in Kennedy's screencast. If you've received the update let us know, and tell us about your experience with it.

The new Yahoo! Messenger version 8 with voice has been brought out of beta to stir the pot with MSN Messenger, and Google Talk.

Besides being able to tie into MSN Messenger contacts, the new Yahoo messenger is loaded with plug-ins and cool new features from both internal developers, and users, by using Yahoo Messengers Plug-in SDK. Top plug-ins for Yahoo Messenger include one for Coupons.com, Newsgator RSS feeds, and one from Jeteye that lets you store and organize your online world. Nothing tops the new Movie Trailer plug-in that allows you to catch the latest movie trailers while IMing though.

It looks like there is a full on IM war out there. And Yahoo!, MSN, and Google are stuffing their messengers with new features like crazy.

[via cnet]

The new beta version of Yahoo! Messenger with Voice (version 8) lets users attach special use plugins. There were several available when the beta version was rolled out and today several more were made available in the Yahoo! Application Gallery.

Yahoo! Scribbler - It does just what the name says, it lets you scribble. When you and you chatting friend launch it, you can collaborate on a whiteboard. It also lets you drop in a photo from Flickr and doodle on it. And, if your work is worth it, you can save and store it to your Flickr account.

iTunes Remote - Erm, it's a remote for iTunes. Requires iTunes.

Yahoo! News - This plugin was one of the initial offerings. Maybe this is a new version? Gallery listing says it's only hours old. Lets you quickly browse news categories and zoom in on stories within Messenger.

Yahoo! Sports Gamechannel - This is my personal favorite. It lets you see the current US Major League Baseball stats and action within a smartly designed space. Cute animation and easy to read text tells you everything about the game being viewed. Also includes current scores and stats around the league. This was released a while back and is presumably an updated version. Lets hope it handle US football just as well.

And, by the way, plugins work in the Windows version of Y! Messenger but not the Mac version... yet.

After nearly three years with no new releases, one can't really blame Mac users for assuming Yahoo! had abandoned development of Yahoo! Messenger for the Mac. Yesterday, though, those users got a surprise with the release of Yahoo! Messenger 3 beta 1 for Mac. The new version is a made-for-Cocoa and a universal binary to boot. Blogger Eric Newport has a post with some nice screenshots and side-by-side comparisons of Yahoo! Messenger, Adium X, and iChat.

In other news, the Mac and Windows Yahoo! Messenger sites are both touting their long-in-coming integration with the Windows Live Messenger network, which is "coming soon." How soon is soon?

[Via TUAW]

Until I read this post on the Unofficial Yahoo Blog, I had totally forgotten about Microsoft's promise way back in October to make Windows Live Messenger (the successor to MSN Messenger, currently in public beta) interoperable with the Yahoo! Messenger network. Somewhat surprisingly, though, they haven't forgotten, and according to Leah (apparently Microsoft developers don't have last names) at the Inside Windows Live Messenger blog, they've got the feature working in test builds and it "can't be much longer" before Windows Live Messenger users will be able to chat with their Y!IM buddies. We're waiting, Leah.