14 DAY TRIAL // Yahoo is saying goodbye to its web-based Yahoo Messenger client, dubbed Web Messenger. The tool enabled users to log in and chat with their friends without downloading the desktop version.
It was a useful tool, and rather powerful, but it has now been made obsolete by the built-in Yahoo Messenger client in Yahoo Mail. As such, Yahoo is shutting down the Web Messenger site next month.
"The decision to 'end-of-life' a product is never an easy one — especially when a product has been well-received by customers and members of the original team that created it still remember all the blood, sweat and tears that went into it," Yahoo wrote.
"But, there comes a time when certain products reach the natural end of their 'life' and in the case of Yahoo! Web Messenger, we will be discontinuing support for it after November 1, 2011," it said.
The reasons for shutting down Web Messenger are not exactly surprising. Web Messenger came about to fill a real need, many users didn't want to install the desktop client or, more likely, weren't able to.
If you're on a shared computer, or borrowing from friend, you won't want to install the desktop app, but visiting the website is easy.
However, Yahoo Messenger is integrated in the latest version of Yahoo Mail, introduced earlier this year and rolling out to all users now.
So users will have a choice, in some cases a better one, when the plug is pulled on Web Messenger.
With Web Messenger no longer being the only alternative, Yahoo is understandably looking to divert resources, the people that worked on maintaining it, to places where they can be more helpful.
The Yahoo Mail Messenger client is pretty complete as well, though it probably doesn't look as good as Web Messenger. And you can always grab the desktop, or mobile clients, of course.