Ok well it isn’t REALLY creeping closer to people but it really is getting closer to a release. The release will be Release Candidate 1, or RC1.

What does this mean? Nothing really, just that Microsoft learned from their past mistakes and made improvements to Microsoft Windows Vista now they somewhat “perfected” it. This perfection means that more people will like the new OS and if more people like the new OS, more people will buy….

Ok maybe I’m just rambling but in all honesty, I do like Windows 7 better than Vista. And I do love Vista WAY better than XP. I guess it’s because I am the type of person that prefers the NEW stuff over the old, XP.

Now some recommendations. If you are still on XP and still haven’t tried Vista, I do suggest you try Vista. It doesn’t hurt to find out what all fuss is about, good or bad. You, yourself, will know the truth. Now if you tried Vista and didn’t like it, I’m sure you’ll at least like Windows 7. What I’m really trying to say here is that XP is old, admit it. (Giggles) It really is easily to get infected and although it is faster than Vista or even Windows 7, XP is just old coding. I hate to be blunt but it’s all true.

In the end, it’s up to you guys to keep what you were raised around or to upgrade to something newer. Don’t stay stuck in the stone age.

Until later my readers :)

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Honestly, I was looking for a big time messenger that was going to out beat all Yahoo!'s past and other popular messengers out there. That came to an end as the Yahoo! Messenger team abruptly ended the Yahoo! Messenger for Vista project. Apparently, they stopped the process because it was taking resources to make a casual messenger (Yahoo! Messenger 9) better.

People that have commented on the Yahoo! Messenger blog have posted mixed opinions. From blaming Vista, to blaming Yahoo! on being too weak.

My opinion on all this is the following. I think the Yahoo! Messenger team WAS too weak. The fact that creating such a powerful messenger was just too much for the team. Not only that, I think the "team" is just a few members, 10 at most. Though it is hard to build a software from the ground up, it must have been done. Yahoo! is the last messenger giant that I'd expect to back off. This really puts them on a low spot, starting something millions of loyal users found interesting and used then just scraped it. This is a low move for Yahoo! Messenger.

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Better late than never I must say! Yahoo Messenger for Vista is out of the preview stage and now into the BETA. The current version out is Yahoo Messenger for Vista Beta (1.2.0.1029) and it is showing signs of it being alive and kicking! I've just included two screen shots which are of the sign in and sing on. They are changed and well a bit user friendly now.

Below is the Sign-In screen. As you can tell, it now has a glossy Vistaish look and feel.



As for the one below is the Sign-On screen. It has a bit of a fruity look but it's better than the older plain black look...



Although Yahoo still has a bit of a way to go with this newly rebuilt, or built from the ground up, messenger, progress is showing. That, at least, is the good news. I still have to honestly give two thumbs up for this new version.

Now as what comes with the new release. YAY! In this release version you'll find that 2 of 8.1's features are included. One being SMS texting from messenger to cell phone and vice versa. It is a nifty feature that seems flawless. I've tested it and so far no hiccups or glitches. It has my approval, at least until I find a hiccup.

The second feature added is voice. Not where the messenger talks back to you, that'd be a bit freaky and I don't think humans are ready for that. I'm talking about PC to PC, PC to Phone or vice versa of each one of those. So far I haven't gotten the chance to test this one so don't take my word for it. I do have to say it is a good one though.

Ok well I guess you can say I mislead you on the screen shots. A friend of mine wants to be "popular" so I just asked him to message me a corney message. Take a look at the messenger's IM screen.



As you can see the "IM" and "Voice" tabs. But don't get all giddy about it, it is still in BETA stage so all hiccups and suggestions should be sent to the "Feedback" link at the top of the messenger.

This is it for me today. And as a note on you YouTube fans just eager to see my chunky body of love, I should be posting my introduction video soon. I'll keep you guys posted. I'm out, take care!

Oh, here's the link to read more about Yahoo Messenger for Vista Beta on Yahoo Messenger's Blog.
And here's the link to download Yahoo Messenger for Vista Beta directly from Yahoo Messenger.

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You know, I wonder what Vista SP2 is going to be like. I looked up some potential info on a possibility of a Service Pack 2 for Vista since Service Pack 1 has just come out. Interestingly, I didn't find any. But what I did find was sarcastic and reasonable comments in forums and articles. One I found interesting was on a site called "Tom Raftery's Social Media." The following quote is from Tom's site and wasn't edited in any way. "Vista is so buggy that I don’t think Microsoft will address all the problems in their first Service Pack release. Like Windows XP, Vista will not be reliable until SP2."

I did some research, which took me a few days to gather up, and what I found was true! See I was raised into an XP SP2, since it was installed in my first computer I got to own, so I really don't know if SP1 or just plain ol' XP had major or any user impacts. Every forum I found from the release of XP were negative, just like Vista. XP SP1 came out and most of everyone's complaints were fixed. XP SP2 came out then it was finite, perfect.

When XP came out, people were used to the Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows 2000 (I might have missed some). XP was a whole new look and feel. Once you get used to something you just don't want to change it. But what XP was compared to all the others before it was a 21st century feel, a new look.

And when Vista came out, it was the end of the world to XP users. They were comfy knowing little resource usage, fast speeds, and reliability. With Vista, its just heavy on those. It needs the juice to run the new graphics, the kernel core, and the rest of the operating system. What Microsoft failed to realize, people don't have the money or the resources to upgrade their PCs. That's why many people weren't happy with it. And those who bought a computer with Vista installed just didn't like the new feel, unless it was their first computer. To those Vista is an awesome system. What I think people should start realizing is that Vista is new and XP is old. Whether you like it or not, Vista will conquer. That is until Windows 7 comes out.

If you want to read Tom Raftery's page with the quote I used here you can click here: tomrafteryit.net

Personal thoughts:
I'd say, upgrade to your system for Vista and just give it a try. Either that or just buy a new computer that is compatible for it. Trust me, the longer you use it, the more you'll like it.

(Please share your thoughts, comment please.)

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It's true. I'm late at posting this but if you haven't heard the news yet, Vista SP1 is here! I downloaded the standalone package from Softpedia.com but you can do it many ways. Some are safe and others are, well just risky. The safe methods are 1: From Microsoft directly, either from the manual update or "Microsoft Download Center." Or 2: A trusted side like "Softpedia.com."

The standalone package comes in a 434MB nifty package. It took me about an hour just to download and install it. Time will vary depending if you have high speed internet, which would be better for downloading the standalone, or if you have dial-up. If you have dial-up, there's one of three things you can do to get it. 1: Do a manual update (which would take a few hours to a few days to get it all), or 2: Wait for the automatic update for Vista SP1 which would take a while to get it. Or 3: Take your computer to a friends house, if they have high speed internet, and do the update there. If they really are good friends they'd let you.

Here are the two links that I know are safe and have Vista SP1 in a 5 language standalone package.

Microsoft's Download Center
Softpedia Windows Downloads

Good luck!!! And please comment on my articles (blogs)

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I'm surprised this project Yahoo Messenger has been working on is actually still alive. It's been just under 2 months since their last update of Yahoo Messenger for Vista. Today, Sarah Bacon, announced in the Yahoo Messenger Blog that new features will be available in the next update. These new features are being called "key features" according to the blog.

So, who loves to call their friends from Yahoo? Is that why you might still have Yahoo Messenger 8.1 still installed in your Vista machine? Well good news is coming to you guys. The next update will be having voice calling from PC to PC and PC to Phone. Lovely isn't it? Also you'll be able to receive calls if you have a Phone In number. I know I'm going to be calling all my friends when that update comes out. :)

Ok, so now do you like texting and/or annoying your friends with unknown text messages? This is even better! The new update will also have texting capabilities as the 8.1 has. I use texting only when my celly is dead and it is a savior. Many should know if you are in my position.

With both features, Yahoo Messenger for Vista will be a lot better after this update. Yahoo is actually keeping this one up and alive. Keep it here to get more updates on Yahoo Messenger for Vista. If you want to read the full blog you can click here to visit it.

Also, the blog states that there isn't a "definitive release date for this next Beta version of Yahoo! Messenger for Vista." Keep that in mind before commenting here or on the blog. Time defines perfection, let them have time so all Yahoo Messenger users can a bad-ass messenger for Vista.

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Sadly, we all know that Windows Vista is a resource hog. From Home Basic to Ultimate, they all are hoggers. But if you still want to stay with Vista and still have a noticeable faster OS, I've found a little trick that you might not have the time for. Yes, you might not have time for it. But if you do have time for it or if you leave your computer on when no ones using it while you sleep, it's a good try. Disk Defragmenter. That might be your last hope before you pull your hairs out from the roots. Once you've started up your computer, click on the Start Orb, click on All Programs, then go up to Accessories, look for a folder named System Tools, and finally click on Disk Defragmenter.



From there just click Defragment Now and leave it over night. Yep, over night. In the morning, comment me about the speed difference. I dare you to, unless you do that and you don't see a difference. ^_^ Cheers.

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Good news for the Vista 64 bit users, Yahoo Messenger for Vista is up and available for you guys. Hip-hip-hooray!!! All this information is courtesy from the Yahoo! Messenger Blog site.

If you are reading this and don't have Yahoo Messenger for Vista because you're running on a 64 bit Vista, now you can get it here. Click here to download Yahoo Messenger for Vista (build 2007.12.06.421). Have fun and I hope you enjoy it ^_^

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I'm an amateur tester of Yahoo Messenger for Vista (pre-beta). I actually went from XP's speed to Vista's heavy running OS just to test out this new messenger. Anywho, I'm not going to talk about those two, that's for later. There's a few things you should know before downloading this for casual use. There's a few small bugs still with this messenger which I hope that Yahoo will fix. By saying that I hope that are aware that this is still the "pre-beta" stage, you know, the one that's between Alpha and Beta. Okay, enough of tutoring. Now as for pros and cons go, I compiled a list of them. Remember this is from an amateur Yahoo Messenger tester/user (like you).

Pros:

• It's here!!!!


• The customizable color changing of windows (my fav).


• Having the ability to use tabbed IMs.


• The huge transfer size of 2GB.


• Very user friendly look


• Don't forget about the sidebar gadget :) It's very useful.


• Stripped (just the messenger) install is quite small. Only 11MB.


• And a fast install (about 2 minutes from download to using the messenger)


• My favorite of all, the cool new sign in box. It's sleek and smooth.

Cons:

• It's slow!!!


• It's late!!!


• Maybe it's late because of the slowness issue with it.


• It's going to take time to get used to because of the new interface.


• 64 bit users, it's not out for you guys. Sorry, they are working on it though.


• This isn't what Yahoo advertised at first (but it's HERE!!!!)

I'm not sure if I missed any other pros and cons but for now thats a short list of what to expect from this pre-beta release.

There have been many angry Yahoo Messenger users about this late release and I was part of it. But for Yahoo to release a slow but Vista version now is better than 3 or even 6 months from now. One thing to remember though, Vista SP1 is coming soon so Yahoo might have to make an update for that which might cause some more minor, but annoying bugs in the software. I didn't have any problems from yesterday (12-6-07) when I installed it until today (12-7-07).

As I've seen other bloggers post about this, I noticed a small resemblances between all of us. We all agree that it needs work still and its better late than never. I'm sure you agree with that too. I uploaded a few of my own images of the new Yahoo Messenger for Vista to see a personalized view not of with Yahoo wants you to see.



If you'd like to read the Yahoo Messenger Blogs click here.
Or if you'd want to download the new Yahoo Messenger for Vista, click here.

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