Download Squad http://downloadsquad.switched.com Download Squad. http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/downloadsquad.switched.com/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://downloadsquad.switched.com prods@weblogsinc.com (Weblogs, Inc. Producers) support@weblogsinc.com (Weblogs, Inc. Web Support) en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. View our terms of service here: http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/ Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ <![CDATA[Flickr to require Yahoo! accounts on March 15th]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/31/flickr-to-require-yahoo-accounts-on-march-15th/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/31/flickr-to-require-yahoo-accounts-on-march-15th/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/31/flickr-to-require-yahoo-accounts-on-march-15th/#comments Flickr Sign inThe last time Flickr tried this there was such a backlash that they supported both the old Flickr IDs and corporate overlord ones. But that was then, and this is now...
The Flickr News blog just announced that as of March 15th, the only access to your Flickr account will be via a Yahoo! ID. So, the last holdouts in denial of the acquisition will either have to quit the service or link to a Yahoo! ID. This official thread has been created to voice your concerns \ questions to the Flickr staff and community.

We're told that this change is in preparation for some large projects later this year (ohhh - anyone have any ideas??). We've seen this requirement already with the recent updates to Flickr Mobile and Yahoo! Go that only allow Yahoo! accounts.

The same post also mentions the addition of a couple of limits:
  • Maximum number of Contacts will be 3000
  • Maximum number of Tags per picture will be 75
These changes are pitched to improve system performance. Flickr has started an official thread for any comments about the limit changes.

Filed under: , , ,

Flickr to require Yahoo! accounts on March 15th originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 31 Jan 2007 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> contactsflickrlimitslogontagsyahoo Chris Price Wed, 31 Jan 2007 12:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[MyBlogLog adds profile integration with Flickr]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/28/mybloglog-adds-profile-integration-with-flickr/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/28/mybloglog-adds-profile-integration-with-flickr/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/28/mybloglog-adds-profile-integration-with-flickr/#comments MyBlogLog Profile and FlickrAfter the recent acquisition from Yahoo!, I only just got around to checking out MyBlogLog (My profile shows me registering on 1/26/2007).

These days, most social services integrate with the Flickr API, so I thought nothing of it when I saw that I could set that up. However, according to a post on Mashable!, it looks like this is a shiny new feature (we love those here).

Further investigation finds a post on the MyBlogLog blog where the developers announce this new way of adding pictures to your profile.

The Mashable post gets into additional thoughts for Yahoo! property integration - Yahoo! IDs is a given, and del.icio.us makes sense also. I'd also like to add Yahoo! 360 - for those of us that use it, it'd be nice to incorporate the MyBlogLog tracking into the 'official' blogging service from 'Big Daddy'.

If you already use MyBlogLog, we'd love to see you in our Community.

Filed under: , , , ,

MyBlogLog adds profile integration with Flickr originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> flickrintegrationmybloglogpicturesprofileyahoo Chris Price Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! Messenger gets free 800 calling and new version]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/27/yahoo-messenger-gets-free-800-calling-and-new-version/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/27/yahoo-messenger-gets-free-800-calling-and-new-version/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/27/yahoo-messenger-gets-free-800-calling-and-new-version/#comments Yahoo Messenger version 8.1.239I could have sworn that Yahoo! Messenger already did this, but according to this post from the Yahoo! Messenger blog, you can call any 800 (or other typical free - 877 / 866 / 888 / etc. call) and not use any minutes from your Yahoo! Voice account.

This announcement coincides with the upcoming Yahoo! promo for the movie "The Messengers", something to do with a 'click-to-call' (whatever that is) campaign they will be running. Hopefully, this isn't the start of getting ads played before you make a call.

In addition, the post mentions a new minor upgrade to v8.1.239. We're told that changes include voice quality improvements and minor fixes for it running in MS Vista (but why not just run the Vista version instead??)

The voice quality continues to be decent, certainly good enough that I've dropped long distance and international calling from my landline - preferring a combination of my cell & Y! IM to call around the world.

Go get it from the official download page.

Filed under: , , , , ,

Yahoo! Messenger gets free 800 calling and new version originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 27 Jan 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> 800 numbers800Numbersfreewaremessengervoicevoipyahoo Chris Price Sat, 27 Jan 2007 15:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! Real Estate adds school information]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/20/yahoo-real-estate-adds-school-information/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/20/yahoo-real-estate-adds-school-information/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/20/yahoo-real-estate-adds-school-information/#comments Yahoo School Search RefineIf you're looking to move your family to a new abode, an important consideration is often the quality of the schools in the areas you are looking for.

To help with the decision, Yahoo! Real Estate has added a nationwide school search feature to it's service. The schools are displayed on the embedded Y! Map, so you get all the zoom \ pan \ images that you'd expect.

Each school is linked to more information such as Student \ Teacher Ratio and even Parent Reviews. The data it uses comes from a partnership with GreatSchools.net and gives you the ability to search on District \ Level or Grade. Also, a neighborhood map of the school is displayed with easy access to local amenities - Grocery stores \ Parks \ Gas Stations, etc.

Combine this with the Zillow data that's available from the same service, you have a powerful way to research your next home.

Filed under: , ,

Yahoo! Real Estate adds school information originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 20 Jan 2007 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> homereal estateRealEstateresearchschoolsyahoozillow Chris Price Sat, 20 Jan 2007 14:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! Messenger opens up to corporate IM from MS & IBM]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/19/yahoo-messenger-opens-up-to-corporate-im-from-ms-and-ibm/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/19/yahoo-messenger-opens-up-to-corporate-im-from-ms-and-ibm/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/19/yahoo-messenger-opens-up-to-corporate-im-from-ms-and-ibm/#comments Y Messenger and Lotus SametimeFor all you corporate users that want to connect to the outside world, the Yahoo! Messenger blog just announced that Y! Messenger can now connect to users on MS Live Communications Server and IBM \ Lotus Sametime. This is in addition to the previously released support for MSN Messenger (now called Windows Live Messenger).

I'm not sure how this functionality can be found - I pulled the current version of Y! Messenger from the official website, and it doesn't yet have Sametime or LCS listed - maybe I'm just a little impatient...

[Update: I just booted my PC and the options appeared auto-magically...]

Filed under: , , ,

Yahoo! Messenger opens up to corporate IM from MS & IBM originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> ibmiminteroperabilitylotusmessengermicrosoftsametimeyahoo Chris Price Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:05:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! Music Jukebox gets minor update]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/18/yahoo-music-jukebox-gets-minor-update/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/18/yahoo-music-jukebox-gets-minor-update/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/18/yahoo-music-jukebox-gets-minor-update/#comments Yahoo Music JukeboxThe Yahoo! Music Blog has a post that informs us of an update to the Yahoo! Music Jukebox, bringing it to v2.0.2

While there are no new features, there are several performance and stability fixes:
  • Better management of memory
  • Crossfade works for everyone
  • Fatal Exceptions are (mostly) history
  • Proper shutdown of the executable
  • Improved CPU performance when starting
  • and 80+ other bug fixes
The AutoUpdate isn't working yet - but if you want the new release you can download it from here.

Filed under: , ,

Yahoo! Music Jukebox gets minor update originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 18 Jan 2007 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> bugfixjukeboxmusicupdateyahoo Chris Price Thu, 18 Jan 2007 17:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! Research merges Maps, Tags and Photos]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/18/yahoo-research-merges-maps-tags-and-photos/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/18/yahoo-research-merges-maps-tags-and-photos/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/01/18/yahoo-research-merges-maps-tags-and-photos/#comments Yahoo! Research TagmapsFrom the Yahoo! Cool Thing of the Day blog: Yahoo! Research continues working to merge several of it's social properties in interesting ways - this time with the upcoming release of Tagmaps. Tagmaps aim to integrate tags with Yahoo! Maps - with the tags overlaid on top of the map. As you Zoom/Pan the map, relevent tags get place on the display.

Yahoo! has created 3 demo apps:
  • World Explorer - integrates Flickr Photos as well as tags to the map
  • Night Explorer - similar to Worl Explorer, but the pictures are from nighttime
  • Trip Explorer - instead of using Flickr Tags, this app pulls in from Y! Trip Planner
As well as these, you can also put the Flash component on your own page - pulling from your own data sources.

I'm a huge fan of tagging, and its great to see Yahoo! starting to pull all this together into some cool demos. Hopefully we'll see this rolled out at some time. For more information, here's the FAQ

Filed under: , , ,

Yahoo! Research merges Maps, Tags and Photos originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 18 Jan 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> flickrmapsresearchtagsyahoo Chris Price Thu, 18 Jan 2007 10:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo releases new Toolbar for IE with integration to the new Bookmarks]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/10/25/yahoo-releases-new-toolbar-for-ie-with-integration-to-the-new-bo/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/10/25/yahoo-releases-new-toolbar-for-ie-with-integration-to-the-new-bo/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/10/25/yahoo-releases-new-toolbar-for-ie-with-integration-to-the-new-bo/#comments Yahoo Toolbar IE BetaAlong with the release of the new Bookmarks service, Yahoo has also let out an update to its Toolbar for IE bringing it to Version 7.0.

From the Y! Search blog post, this version adds:
  • Toolbar integration with the new Yahoo! Bookmarks
  • Type-ahead bookmark suggestions from the toolbar search box
  • The ability to create and use new buttons, even when you aren't signed in
It appears that the IE & Firefox teams are playing leapfrog - FF just got the Type-ahead feature.

The post doesn't note some of the constraints of this beta - from the Beta Download page:
  • Don't install on IE7 Beta - the official release (from MS and Yahoo) works fine
  • Don't install on Windows Vista
  • Buttons from older versions not carried over (Note: The Import feature isn't ready yet)

Filed under: , , ,

Yahoo releases new Toolbar for IE with integration to the new Bookmarks originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Oct 2006 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> betabookmarkstoolbarupdateyahoo Chris Price Wed, 25 Oct 2006 11:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo unveils new Bookmarks site to replace MyWeb]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/10/25/yahoo-unveils-new-bookmarks-site-to-replace-myweb/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/10/25/yahoo-unveils-new-bookmarks-site-to-replace-myweb/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/10/25/yahoo-unveils-new-bookmarks-site-to-replace-myweb/#comments Yahoo Bookmarks LogoFinally, Yahoo admits that it's venerable Bookmark service is in need of an update and is about to unveil a new beta version.

To compete with the other big guys (Google Bookmarks & Windows Live Favorites), this release will bring the following:
  • Advanced search functionality
  • Thumbnails for quickly recognizing sites
  • Convenient drag-and-drop management
  • Organize bookmarks with folders and tags
  • Ability to save page content along with the URL
  • Editing abilities when saving
  • An end to the 1000 bookmark limit
For those of us that are regular users of MyWeb, this list will look awfully familiar - it reads like a decent enhancement of the 'social bookmarking for the masses' service that's been out for a while now.

However, the post from the team mentions this:

"Yahoo! Bookmarks will focus on personal saving, organization, and recovery while our comrades at del.icio.us will concentrate on meeting your social bookmarking and sharing needs. For users of MyWeb, your bookmarks are safe, and in a few months you'll be able to roll over to either Yahoo! Bookmarks or del.icio.us."

I'm not sure how I feel about this - I use both MyWeb and del.icio.us, and MyWeb is clearly the easier of the 2 (especially with the integration of Yahoo 360). That said, I am happy that they have thrown their support over the acquisition as it matures.

More details and screenshots can be found on Techcrunch. If you want to try it yourself, it's available here...

Filed under: , ,

Yahoo unveils new Bookmarks site to replace MyWeb originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Oct 2006 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> betabookmarksdel.icio.usmywebupdateyahoo Chris Price Wed, 25 Oct 2006 11:02:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! Toolbar for Firefox upgraded]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/10/18/yahoo-toolbar-for-firefox-upgraded/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/10/18/yahoo-toolbar-for-firefox-upgraded/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/10/18/yahoo-toolbar-for-firefox-upgraded/#comments Yahoo Toolbar for Firefox UpgradeThis morning, I opened up Firefox as usual and was greeted to a new button on my Yahoo! Toolbar: "Upgrade Now!"

Hitting the button takes you to the Yahoo! Toolbar page and the download starts automatically. Before installing, I checked the Add-Ons dialog (in Firefox 2.0 RC3) and didn't see it listed as a possible upgrade - I'm guessing that Yahoo! hasn't hooked this version into the Mozilla upgrade process yet (Note to Devs: please do this - so that you work like all the other add-ons).

This version (now v1.3.0.20060829) doesn't have the integration with Symantec like it is with the IE toolbar and no new buttons were shown on the 'Add \ Edit Buttons' option. However, the Search field now uses Suggest functionality that's been on the Y! Search page for a while, and there are links on the Y! button to some of the newer Yahoo! properties (Yahoo! Current TV, Yodel Anecdotal)

If anyone has any insight as to other changes in this new version, I'd love to know.

If you don't have the Upgrade Now button, you can download the latest version from the Y! Toolbar site.

Yahoo! Toolbar for Firefox upgraded originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> firefoxtoolbarupgradeyahoo Chris Price Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:35:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo to Go on Windows Mobile smartphones]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/29/yahoo-to-go-on-windows-mobile-smartphones/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/29/yahoo-to-go-on-windows-mobile-smartphones/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/29/yahoo-to-go-on-windows-mobile-smartphones/#comments Yahoo to Go MobileYahoo! has just announced it's Yahoo to Go service on Windows Mobile smartphones (like the sleek Motorola Q). The application has been around on some Nokia phones for a while, and was previously announced to be pre-installed on some Motorola handsets next year. This release will expand the service to the millions of devices running Windows Mobile 2003 SE & 5.0.

The application brings together a set of Yahoo! services into a neat little package:
  • Yahoo! Mail
  • Yahoo! Search (Local, Web and Image)
  • Yahoo! Photos
  • Yahoo! Address Book and Calendar
  • Yahoo! News, Sports, Finance
The download will be available tomorrow from the Yahoo to Go Mobile site - I wonder if it'll run on my old Dell Axim X5???

Filed under: , , , , ,

Yahoo to Go on Windows Mobile smartphones originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Aug 2006 23:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> gomobilemotorolasmartphonewindowsyahoo Chris Price Tue, 29 Aug 2006 23:55:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Flickr added to some Nokia phones]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/16/flickr-added-to-some-nokia-phones/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/16/flickr-added-to-some-nokia-phones/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/16/flickr-added-to-some-nokia-phones/#comments Flickr on Nokia N73Over on the Flickr News page, the team has announced the availability of Flickr on a trio of Nokia models.

If you're lucky enough to have one of these phones:

N72 \ N73 \ N93 \ (with more coming soon)

You'll be able to logon to the service (using a newly assigned ID \ password that's specific to the phone) and enjoy simple upload \ viewing of all your photos. For the rest of us, we'll have to make do with the 'upload by email' feature.

Unfortunately for us, the Flickr team still hasn't fixed the Mobile Flickr site if you use your Y! ID to access the service, so you can't view any of the photos from your phone...

Filed under: , , , ,

Flickr added to some Nokia phones originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Aug 2006 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> cellphoneflickrmobilemoblognokianseriesyahoo Chris Price Wed, 16 Aug 2006 15:10:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! Answers gets some love from developers and press]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/16/yahoo-answers-gets-some-love-from-developers-and-press/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/16/yahoo-answers-gets-some-love-from-developers-and-press/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/16/yahoo-answers-gets-some-love-from-developers-and-press/#comments Yahoo Answers - Ask dialogThe popular Yahoo! Answers service gets a new API from the Yahoo Developers Network.

From the article posted on YDN (hey devs - where's the RSS feed??), the API lets you access the service to do the following:
The full details of the API, can be found here.

The Yahoo Search Blog has a post up that describes the API a little more, as does Jeremy Zawodny.

Y! Answers also gets a write up (Note: Registration required - or just use BugMeNot) in today's Washington Post - looks like the mainstream media has caught up with the rest of us...

[Update - the link to the YDN Blog is this: http://developer.yahoo.net/blog/]

Filed under: , ,

Yahoo! Answers gets some love from developers and press originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Aug 2006 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> answersapiarticledevelopersdevelopmentmainstreammediaprogrammingyahoo Chris Price Wed, 16 Aug 2006 12:35:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! Mail beta upgrade brings new features (V0.3.3 Build 314.7)]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/13/yahoo-mail-beta-upgrade-brings-new-features-v0-3-3-build-314-7/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/13/yahoo-mail-beta-upgrade-brings-new-features-v0-3-3-build-314-7/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/13/yahoo-mail-beta-upgrade-brings-new-features-v0-3-3-build-314-7/#comments Yahoo Mail Beta logoThe past couple of days have seen a lot of activity on the Yahoo! Mail Beta group, with several of the members reporting a new version hitting the servers.

Unlike the past couple of updates, this one brings in new features for us:
  • Home Page changes
  • Calendar Bar
  • Map integration
  • Options pages integrated with client
Unfortunately, it's not hit my server farm (us.f308) yet, so I can only report what I'm seeing in the Group. Likewise with Guillaume Belfiore, owner of the group and a longtime Yahoo! fan - he's put together a nice preliminary review based on screen captures sent his way. Ryan Kennedy (one of the devs) also posted this about it.

Expect to see this pushed through to all users over the next few days.

Filed under: , ,

Yahoo! Mail beta upgrade brings new features (V0.3.3 Build 314.7) originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 13 Aug 2006 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> betacalendarmailupgradeyahoo Chris Price Sun, 13 Aug 2006 16:35:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Flickr embracing geocodes and maps?]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/05/flickr-embracing-geocodes-and-maps/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/05/flickr-embracing-geocodes-and-maps/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/05/flickr-embracing-geocodes-and-maps/#comments Flickr LogoMarshall Kirkpatrick over on TechCrunch has an interesting post of a possible upcoming Flickr feature.

Marshall's post highlights some posts from Flickr users that noticed today a new Maps option on their photo page - one of the enterprising users, James & Vilija's, grabbed a screenshot (and posted it to Flickr).

This would absolutely rule and makes all kinds of sense. There have been other ways to geotag photos, but they have been limited and not applicable to the less technically inclined.

Integrating with Yahoo! Maps would make this easy to pin them to the right location, Yahoo! Maps already generates GPS Co-ordinates when you right-click on them, and hopefully will add tags automatically to the photo for easy searching later.

Filed under: , ,

Flickr embracing geocodes and maps? originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 05 Aug 2006 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> flickrgeotaggeotaggingmapsphotosyahoo Chris Price Sat, 05 Aug 2006 08:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[All this talk about online storage, but where's Yahoo??]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/04/all-this-talk-about-online-storage-but-wheres-yahoo/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/04/all-this-talk-about-online-storage-but-wheres-yahoo/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/04/all-this-talk-about-online-storage-but-wheres-yahoo/#comments With yesterday's announcement from AOL about 5GBs of online storage, the to-be released Windows Live Drive and rumored Google GDrive, all the major players are making strides into providing large amounts of persistent and easily accessible storage to their users.

Except Yahoo! - they've had a storage service forever - Y! Briefcase, but it is dwarfed by these recent developments - 30MB free, upgradable to just 100MB for $35, and a very Web 1.0 interface - no AJAX in sight.

It's not like they are not running large disk services for the backends of several properties - Y! Photos and Flickr offer unlimited storage for image files, so it's not a stretch to imagine them having the capacity to compete if they want to.

So Yahoo!... where's your offering? Is this a game of catch-up like when GMail opened the floodgates on 1GB+ mailboxes, or a case of Yahoo! forgetting an older service and letting it wither away??

Filed under: , , ,

All this talk about online storage, but where's Yahoo?? originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 04 Aug 2006 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> aolbriefcasegdrivelive driveLiveDrivestoragexdriveyahoo Chris Price Fri, 04 Aug 2006 14:15:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! Messenger VoIP: no charge to free numbers]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/01/yahoo-messenger-voip-no-charge-to-free-numbers/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/01/yahoo-messenger-voip-no-charge-to-free-numbers/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/01/yahoo-messenger-voip-no-charge-to-free-numbers/#comments Yahoo Messenger no charge callI know this wasn't true when Yahoo! Messenger with Voice first came out, but it looks like they've taken a page from Skype's book and stopped charging for calls to 800 numbers.

I dial into conference calls all the time, and I have much better wi-fi at home than cell coverage, so I love to use Y! IM to make the call.

This morning, I noticed a line at the bottom telling me there was no charge.

Anyone know if this was added to the new version that just released?

Filed under: , , ,

Yahoo! Messenger VoIP: no charge to free numbers originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 01 Aug 2006 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> 800 numbers800Numbersfreemessengervoicevoipyahoo Chris Price Tue, 01 Aug 2006 16:20:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! Mail Beta gets minor update to v3.2 Build 253.17]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/01/yahoo-mail-beta-gets-minor-update-to-v3-2-build-253-17/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/01/yahoo-mail-beta-gets-minor-update-to-v3-2-build-253-17/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/08/01/yahoo-mail-beta-gets-minor-update-to-v3-2-build-253-17/#comments Yahoo Mail Logo betaAs is customary for the Yahoo! Mail team, they quietly slipped out a new build over the weekend.

This one is a minor upgrade to v3.2 Build 253.17, the consensus is that it's more for performance than anything new (although some enterprising folks on the Yahoo! Mail Group have found source code links to a new Options page).

Still no word on a new Calendar, so I've started to use the newly released one on Backpack (hopefully Yahoo! will do full iCal support so I can share later).

Filed under: ,

Yahoo! Mail Beta gets minor update to v3.2 Build 253.17 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 01 Aug 2006 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> betamailupdateyahoo Chris Price Tue, 01 Aug 2006 14:40:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Motorola to pre-install Yahoo! to Go on cellphones]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/21/motorola-to-pre-install-yahoo-to-go-on-cellphones/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/21/motorola-to-pre-install-yahoo-to-go-on-cellphones/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/21/motorola-to-pre-install-yahoo-to-go-on-cellphones/#comments Yahoo to GoIt figures... not long after switching my cellphone (but thanks to Y! Mobile for adding my model), Yahoo! and Motorola announce that the Yahoo! to Go service will be pre-installed on some of their handsets.

No word as to which models will get it, but we'll start seeing them in the first half of 2007.

Up to now, it's just been on some Nokia S60 phones, so this could expand the service quite significantly.

Filed under:

Motorola to pre-install Yahoo! to Go on cellphones originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 21 Jul 2006 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> gomobilemotorolayahoo Chris Price Fri, 21 Jul 2006 12:15:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! Music offers Personalized, DRM-free MP3 download]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/19/yahoo-music-offers-personalized-drm-free-mp3-download/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/19/yahoo-music-offers-personalized-drm-free-mp3-download/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/19/yahoo-music-offers-personalized-drm-free-mp3-download/#comments Yahoo Music logoNow this could turn into something big...

According to this post on the Yahoo! Music blog, Yahoo! is offering a double-first for the service - a Personalized & DRM-free MP3 download.

Now, before you get your hopes up, the downside is that it's Jessica Simpson and is priced at $1.99 (blamed on the personalization).

However, the post continues to make the case for DRM-free downloads in the future - like eMusic does. As it mentions, I've always resorted to burning my purchased tracks to a CD and ripped them back into digital format so I can play them on whatever I want.

DRM on Yahoo! Music and Y! Unlimited is a constant sore spot on the Y! Music Engine Group - people frequently have issues with the licensing, and I've lost count of how often my Roku Soundbridge displays a padlock instead of just playing the track.

Cheers to the Y! Music team for keeping the push for music consumer rights in the spotlight.

Filed under: , ,

Yahoo! Music offers Personalized, DRM-free MP3 download originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 19 Jul 2006 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> drmdrm freejessica simpsonJessicaSimpsonmp3musicpersonalizationyahoo Chris Price Wed, 19 Jul 2006 14:05:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! integrates with Zillow for instant Real Estate valuations]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/19/yahoo-integrates-with-zillow-for-instant-real-estate-valuations/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/19/yahoo-integrates-with-zillow-for-instant-real-estate-valuations/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/19/yahoo-integrates-with-zillow-for-instant-real-estate-valuations/#comments Yahoo Real Estate logoI've not used the Yahoo! Real Estate service before, but this post to the Yahoo! Search blog perked my interest...

Yahoo! has integrated a few of it's services with Zillow to give you instant home valuations of any address in the US.

A map of the area is displayed using Y! Maps beta technology (so you can move it around \ zoom \ switch to satellite) that displays comparable homes in that area - but you don't get the 'Bird's Eye View' option that you get from Zillow's mapping (it uses Windows Live Local for that)

The Yahoo! team have also added a new Y! Shortcut - type in 'home values' into a Y! Search bar and the first entry will allow you to input an address to lookup.

I've played with Zillow before - it's quite a bit of fun comparing your house to those in the neighborhood, it's also scary just how much information they have on you.

Filed under: , ,

Yahoo! integrates with Zillow for instant Real Estate valuations originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 19 Jul 2006 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> real estateRealEstatevaluationyahoozillow Chris Price Wed, 19 Jul 2006 11:20:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! Answers updated]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/19/yahoo-answers-updated/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/19/yahoo-answers-updated/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/19/yahoo-answers-updated/#comments Yahoo! Answers logoThe popular Yahoo! Answers service continues to tweak it's offering - mainly in the timing used to trigger events:
  • Questions can be resolved in four hours instead of 24
  • Open Questions last four days instead of seven
  • Questions can be extended for four days instead of seven
  • Voting can be done for only two days instead of seven
The overarching Y! Community Guidelines are also going to be enforced more strongly, with a 10 point deduction for any violation.

As ever, it'll be interesting to watch how these change the dynamic of the Y! Answers Community.

Filed under: , ,

Yahoo! Answers updated originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 19 Jul 2006 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> answersupdateyahoo Chris Price Wed, 19 Jul 2006 08:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! Trip Planner - out of beta]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/18/yahoo-trip-planner-out-of-beta/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/18/yahoo-trip-planner-out-of-beta/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/18/yahoo-trip-planner-out-of-beta/#comments Map - San Bruno, CAWe've mentioned before that Yahoo! Trip Planner had been added to Yahoo! Travel before, but we neglected to tell you that it recently lost it's Beta designation and gained a bunch of new features.

The service wraps a number of Yahoo! services into a focused area to collect ideas \ events on your journey. Pictures can be uploaded to your Flickr account and presented in the trip; Yahoo! Local is linked to provide locations and events that you can get to; Yahoo! Maps is used to show where you go - very nice example of an 'in-house' mashup. All this is hooked into the Social Community work Yahoo! has been playing with - you can open your trip to other users who can add advice

I'm going to be in the San Francisco area (San Bruno) next week, so I figured I'd see what the tool can do.

Here's a link to my trip: San Bruno, CA - July 06

It's pretty bare right now - I promise to update it as the actual trip progresses - feel free to offer suggestions on what's worth getting to next week :)

Oh - and as a bonus, it looks like there is a promotion going on for free flights...

Filed under: , ,

Yahoo! Trip Planner - out of beta originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 18 Jul 2006 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> socialtraveltrip plannerTripPlanneryahoo Chris Price Tue, 18 Jul 2006 21:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! and Microsoft finally connect their IM networks together]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/13/yahoo-and-microsoft-finally-connect-their-im-networks-together/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/13/yahoo-and-microsoft-finally-connect-their-im-networks-together/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/13/yahoo-and-microsoft-finally-connect-their-im-networks-together/#comments Yahoo! IM and Windows Live Messenger

File this under 'It's about bloody time...'

Way back in October 2005, Yahoo! and Microsoft announced they were going to connect their IM networks together. It's been a while since then, with little communication, but you can now join the public beta program(s) that allow you to add people from either network to either client.

You need the latest version of the client - Windows Live Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger v8 Beta and you'll also need to sign-up for the betas, depending on which client you want to use:

Yahoo! Client beta
Windows Live Client beta

Then, all you need to do is add your buddies to the client you prefer (mine is Yahoo! Messenger) and it'll go through the process of connecting you up. Once connected, you'll be able to see Presence, Status Messages, Nudge and Buzz, send emoticons and even Offline Messages - not too shabby for the initial release. As you can see from the picture, both clients indicate what network you Buddy is using.

Kudos to the Windows Live Messenger team for having a blog that posts more details about the integration (Yahoo! - where's your's??)

Filed under: , , ,

Yahoo! and Microsoft finally connect their IM networks together originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 13 Jul 2006 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> buddy listBuddyListinteroperabilitymessengermicrosoftwindowsyahoo Chris Price Thu, 13 Jul 2006 08:50:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Del.icio.us releases extension for IE and other features]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/12/del-icio-us-releases-extension-for-ie-and-other-features/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/12/del-icio-us-releases-extension-for-ie-and-other-features/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/12/del-icio-us-releases-extension-for-ie-and-other-features/#comments For those that still can't handle Yahoo!s purchase of the bookmarking site del.icio.us, the developers just released a standalone extension for IE.

This extension brings all the functionality of the previously released Firefox one to all current versions of IE (including the IE7 beta).

In addition, they've also added a feature that tracks pages saved for you by someone else - just tag your pages with 'for:username', pretty cool IMHO.

Also, if you're a Typepad blogger, there are some new widgets to get your bookmarks in your linkroll and tagrolls.

For those that track other Y! services, you can grab the Yahoo! Toolbar and add the del.icio.us button to it...

Filed under:

Del.icio.us releases extension for IE and other features originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 12 Jul 2006 20:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> bookmarksextensionieinternet explorerInternetExplorertoolbaryahoo Chris Price Wed, 12 Jul 2006 20:55:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo! Mail Beta gets a new build (v.0.3.2 Build 253.11)]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/12/yahoo-mail-beta-gets-a-new-build-v-0-3-2-build-253-11/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/12/yahoo-mail-beta-gets-a-new-build-v-0-3-2-build-253-11/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2006/07/12/yahoo-mail-beta-gets-a-new-build-v-0-3-2-build-253-11/#comments So, here's my first post on Download Squad, hopefully some of our readers have followed our updates on the Yahoo! Mail Beta over on the Unofficial Yahoo! Blog...

The Y-Mail Group is buzzing this week with the release of a new build of the Y! Mail Beta. It looks like a minor update, bringing us to v0.3.2 Build 253.11.

As ever, the Y! Mail team has communicated nothing about this new build, so the the hunt is on to find out what changed.

For me, the biggest thing is the lack of a new Calendar - I'd love to see a new version before having to switch to a competitor...

Filed under: ,

Yahoo! Mail Beta gets a new build (v.0.3.2 Build 253.11) originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 12 Jul 2006 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]> betabuildmailupdateyahoo Chris Price Wed, 12 Jul 2006 19:45:00 EST Download Squad