Both AOL (with AOL Instant Messenger, or AIM) and Yahoo! (with Yahoo! Messenger) have recently come out with new beta versions of their popular IM clients. We've taken a look at both of these to find out how much they've improved, and how they stack up against each other.

Yahoo! Messenger Beta

Yahoo! wants to take over your desktop. To that end the company has loaded its instant messaging client with features that have little to do with instant messaging. Like AOL and other big name vendors, it gives away the instant messaging software, but makes you pay by developing bloated programs.

After you download the beta and run the installation wizard, you are presented with several installation choices, including the Yahoo! toolbar, Yahoo! extras, and, oh yeah, the Yahoo! Messenger. There are also check boxes to make Yahoo! your home page and Yahoo! Mail your default mail client.

When you finally install the Messenger program (with any additional items you wish), you will notice that Yahoo! has chosen to leave the annoying Yahoo! Insider mini browser window on by default. You can only shut this off by accessing Preferences, but few people know this and it's an unnecessary distraction from the main instant messaging mission.

(It's important to note that this is beta software. I did run into stability issues where I was forced to shut down my computer, especially when accessing Preferences.)

I started the Messenger client and noticed immediately that Yahoo! has chosen a bold font by default for the sender message -- it startled my test recipient, who wanted to know why I was screaming at her. I was able to alter the font in Preferences, although the change wasn't immediately apparent until after I logged off and returned to the program later. One nice new feature is the ability to make yourself selectively available -- what Yahoo! calls Stealth Mode -- so that you appear online to some people and offline to others. Unfortunately, the offline choice did not work in the beta version of the software, but it is a feature with a lot of potential, especially as presence technology begins to drive other messaging systems in the enterprise arena.

The client includes the ability to send and receive computer-to-computer "phone calls" a la Skype, so you can talk to other Yahoo! Messenger users using a set of USB headphones. It's a neat idea and could catch on, although Skype has a head start in this regard. You can also make computer-to-phone calls (2 cents a minute for calls inside the U.S.) using a pay service provided by Net2Phone.

There are additional functions that have little to do with instant messages, including games, the ability to send photos, and lots of ways to customize your online personality. There is also an address book, a calendar, and lots of other stuff you probably won't use in your instant messaging client.

The new edition of Yahoo! Messenger piles on the features, but in the end, it's all just fluff. Most people won't pay attention to the extraneous functions and will continue to use it for the sole purpose of sending and receiving instant messages. Yahoo! should just stick with this focus and reduce the program bloat.

Yahoo! Messenger Beta
Yahoo! Inc. www.yahoo.com
Price: Free
Summary: The IM client does the job and provides a neat feature to make yourself selectively available (which is still a work in progress), but is loaded down with frivolous extras that divert from the main purpose of the program.