Can’t we all get along?

Microsoft and Yahoo recently announced their renewed effort to allow their instant messaging clients to work with one another. This was supposed to be completed in June but was delayed because of concerns by Microsoft on how it would affect their millions of existing customers.

What does this mean for noobies? It’s one less instant messaging client to learn if you have friends or family that are split between using Microsoft’s Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo’s Messenger applications. Currently, the only way to communicate with both sets of people is to install both Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger. I personally have both of these installed and look forward to eliminating one or the other.

Now, if only they could integrate AOL members as well!

For those interested, there are already several third party instant messaging tools such as Trillian available which do combine the instant messaging capabilities of Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL. I have tried these tools and although they work fine, I find myself not wanting to use them for several reasons. One is that I have most of my contacts on Windows Live Messenger and like all of the bells and whistles (like winks and nudges) that go along with the program. Another reason is that I find that these third party software vendors are forced to constantly upgrade their software any time one of the major players modifies their software. And last but not least, I like knowing that the emoticon I send is the same one my friend receives which usually isn’t the case when you are not both using the same software.