[Brian Rector]

I had tried and tried to install the newest version of Yahoo Messenger (Version 5.5) and kept getting error messages. I thought maybe it was my machine that was the reason, but I have a Pentium 3 (500Mhz) with 384 MB of RAM. I have never had any problems with Yahoo's software till now.

I went searching through the Net for postings from other users of Messenger. I went to CNET and found numerous postings from others who have experienced the same difficulty I did installing YM!. One poster recommended that people who have trouble installing YM! on XP to change the compatibility mode from XP to Windows 98. It does state on CNET's downloads page that YM! isnt supported for XP.

So..,..this was a wake up call for me. I decided to go ahead and try a program I have heard rave reviews about from various websites as well as on TechTV. The program is called Trillian. For those of you who havent heard anything about this program....its a chat application, but the difference is that it can handle Yahoo Messenger, as well as AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, MSN Messenger, and even IRC. Also,, its light on the RAM department. If you get Trillian and have it configured for all the chat programs listed above, you can safely uninstall those chat programs and just keep Trillian. This way you dont have to keep 4 different chat applications on at the same time. This is good news especially for those who have light amount of RAM in their computers.

For further information about Trillian, go to Trillian's website:

http://www.trillian.cc/

 

[gcutler]

Yes, trillian is a great product. I've been using it for months when one of my friends started to work at a company that blocks AOL IM, but not Yahoo IM. I love the ability to make it different levels of transparent so I can keep it up but not block detail on the screen

 

[James_F]

I use Trillian all the time. Its a great product.

 

[Geronimo]

Me also. A great product.

 

[Brian Rector]

I did finally install Yahoo Messenger successfully into XP, but had to do it via the compatibility mode to Windows 98/ME. Changing the mode to Windows 2000 did nothing for me.

Why did I go ahead and install? I have a close friend who wanted to have some fun with me playing on those Yahoo themes. 'Doodle' is a favorite of mine already. You can do artisic best and even print the results. It reminds me of the old days of using the paint program on the Mac.

Trillian is a good program, but I found myself missing Yahoo Messenger more and more. I have been using the program since its beginnings with the name Yahoo Pager back a few years ago.

One warning: Yahoo announced that they are no longer supporting Versions 4 and less with the release of Version 5.5. However, you can still get old versions of Yahoo Messenger along with many others at this URL:

http://www.oldversion.com