There’s not much of an incentive to using single-network chat clients these days. Why restrict yourself to one service or run multiple clients in a cavalcade of memory-hogging when you can use a multi-network client like Pidgin or Trillian? Questions like these, while not necessarily the bane of a given service’s existence (the number people who will use AIM 6 on purpose is a staggering number to us geeks,) are questions that, if answered, could result in a considerable boost in use of that client. Of course, one of the most cost-effective methods of attracting new users is to add eye candy. This is precisely what Yahoo! has chosen to do in a version of Yahoo! Messenger exclusively for Windows Vista. Using Windows Presentation Foundation, they’ve loaded it up with all the fancy effects, from drop shadows to transparency. Though this is only a preview, it serves as a good preview of the interface and that’s what’s important (to me, Mr. Superficial.)

The buddy list is actually somewhat barren; most of the features of the current client haven’t been replicated in the new one. The three buttons on beneath the avatar are, from left to right: add contact, contact detail slider, color changer, and buddy list search. The arrow next to the window controls opens the main menu, which contains every command not in another area of the UI. The status menu is below the user’s name and allows custom statuses to be typed in. Custom statuses will be added to the list after their first use. User-alterable preferences are frustratingly bare, as certain settings, such as display name, are not changeable. With only about 10 options, the client currently is not very flexible. Chat is, at present, limited to text chat and file sharing. Nothing is truly notable about the chat window, except the look. It does look decent and the layout is good. There’s nothing much really to say about either.

Overall, Yahoo! Messenger for Windows Vista is only a preview; you’ll get no Gmail-style beta from this chat client. While not really worth using at the moment, keep an eye on this to be finished up and eventually replace the current version of Y! Messenger feature for feature. Who knows, it may even convince some Windows Live users to switch.

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