Launch of All-New Mail is Bigger Than Life
- Posted August 30th, 2007 at 2:54 pm by Ryan
- Categories: All-New Mail, General, Life of Liam, New Stuff
By now you have definitely heard Monday’s announcement about the release of the all-new Yahoo! Mail. As you might imagine, the day something like that happens is not only a big deal for all the folks (lots!) who have spent time working on it (anywhere from weeks to YEARS), but it is also a really big deal for everyone here. To commemorate such a momentous occasion we were treated to the biggest Liam ever. No, not the obese Liam we “rolled” out when storage limits were eliminated, but a giant inflatable Liam! Combine that with inflatable couches and it was a purple extravaganza.
Thanks to the photo trickery of Court Mast our founders, Jerry Yang and David Filo, appear almost as large as the giant balloon.
Despite how it may have looked to some, giant Liam did not actually pull a ‘Stay-Puft‘, and stomp anyone. Meanwhile others enjoyed the pseudo comfort of inflated couches and chairs.
I’ll try to be back soon with another post offering some tips and info based on some of the questions that we have been getting. In the meantime I’ll address the two that seem to be among the most common.
Q) How can you tell if you are out of Beta?
A) If you are still unsure about whether or not you are actually out of beta, just take a look at the Yahoo! Mail logo in the upper left corner of the browser window. If the “BETA” is gone, you have already been migrated over.
Q) If I’m still in Beta, when will I be switched?
A) We are in the process of rolling it out to everyone, but because of number of users it could be anywhere from this week, to as long as six weeks. We’re trying to get it done as quickly as possible, but there are a lot of servers so please be patient.
Ryan K
Community Manager
Yahoo! Mail
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- 91 Comments
August 30th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
What is the two pointy things on Liam’s head. Sorry I’m new to who this Liam persona is … I liked his animations and bouncing around the screen. But I didn’t remeber any pointy things on his head. What is he a devil, or a viking
August 30th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
The pointy things on Liam’s head is his hair. Like many nerds, he can’t figure out how to use a comb properly, so he has spiky hair.
August 30th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Fantastic job. Really worths alot. That’s how team work is all about. … YaHoOoOo.
August 30th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
why are ll my pdf downlaods opening as “secured downloads” anyone else having a problem?
August 30th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Perhaps the launch of the new Yahoo Mail explains why my Thunderbird/Mozilla mail can’t access it anymore. I can still log in directly from the Yahoo site, though. Whom do I blame for the glitch–Yahoo or Mozilla?
August 30th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I do not like this new yahoo. How do I go back to the old one.
August 30th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Wayne,
You should see a link below your Yahoo! ID, as well as within the Options menu. It will say either “Switch Back” or “Mail Classic”. Hope that helps.
-Ryan
August 31st, 2007 at 12:18 am
When I checked my mail just now the beta had been removed but then when I go in to change my settings (thinking that I must have been updated)it tells me the ‘Beta is still tweaking with the system.’
August 31st, 2007 at 1:10 am
Dont know about others, but for weeks now I have had a problem of going in circles to get into my email….when I go to http://mail.yahoo.com I get a pop up that the certificate does not match…instead of mail.com it’s http://www.login.yahoo.com and refuses to let me into the mail and again now, this morning (Fri…31) can’t even get into the mail at all….wonder if anyone else is having this problem
August 31st, 2007 at 5:07 am
when do you plan to have folders within folders in Yahoo Mail?
August 31st, 2007 at 5:08 am
I wish we could change colors and stuff to the “new” yahoo mail. I really like the Beta, but I don’t like that it can’t be customized.
August 31st, 2007 at 6:36 am
I LOVE the new Yahoo mail. I’ve been using Yahoo mail for close to 8 years and this is the best it’s been, and it’s definitely better than any other web mail I’ve used. There are occasional glitches, but that’s just life. I do agree about customization. I would love to be able to change some colors. Thanks Yahoo team, for your hard work!!!
August 31st, 2007 at 7:08 am
I am running the Safari browser on my Windows XP notebook. I know the new Yahoo! mail team has been working on a mail application for Mac. I won’t go back to IE7, as Safari is far faster than IE. Any time line for those who want the best of all worlds? Jim
August 31st, 2007 at 7:23 am
I tried the beta version and prefer the old version so I switched back. Do we not have the ability to keep the old version? I like being able to delete mail without opening it or without extra steps to go to ‘manage’ my mail and then delete it.
August 31st, 2007 at 8:20 am
Mike - To delete a message without opening it, just select it (or select many) in the Inbox (or any other folder) and use your mouse to press the delete button, or just press the delete key on your keyboard. Voila!
August 31st, 2007 at 8:21 am
Ok so at first I didn’t like Beta either but I think it is because it is something new and people always have problems with changes. One thing I do know is I can delete mail without opening it or doing any extra steps. So dig a little deeper. The spam killer works great for me, maybe you should stay out of the porn sites
Whenever I get an email that I don’t want I just click on the spam button and it blocks it. My question is how do I use the text messaging from my email? Keep up the good work!
August 31st, 2007 at 9:01 am
I can delete and spam-mark email messages without having to open them in the (now called) Classic Yahoo! Mail interface just fine.
I tried the beta a month or so ago for a while and found it sucked up resources on my oldish machine, was terrible loading over my dial-up connection, which made it very difficult to manage my mail so I switched back.
I’m very, very, very glad Yahoo! is letting us keep the old interface. Change for change’s sake doesn’t do it for me, especially because the only screenshots I’ve seen of the new Yahoo! Mail interface are those of the texting screen which I am very unlikely to ever use: My middle-aged eyes and fingers don’t let me.
Maybe if there were a few more screen shots of actually managing email, I would be tempted to consider switching. But saying “Look, texting interface! Shiny!” doesn’t cut it.
Teem
August 31st, 2007 at 9:03 am
I have run into the problem that the new version works great on fast connections like cable or other, but is just too bulky to handle over dial-up. Is there a way to customize view per computer. I’d like to run the new on my work computer and run the old on my old dial-up at home. There is a service out there that auto-detects this situation, but don’t like it for other reasons. I’ve been with yahoo for at least 7 years. I don’t see switching to a faster connection for as much as a year.
August 31st, 2007 at 9:27 am
thank you……yahoo.mail.com.my byeee
August 31st, 2007 at 10:00 am
Why do you have a blog if you’re going to censor people’s comments? A blog is not a one-way platform. It’s a conversation.
In my deleted, censored comment, I said I was dreading the switch to the new system because I found the beta to be bloated and unusable. I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who feels that way, and glad I can choose to go back to the “classic” interface. It would have been nice to have that information from the beginning, though, and it would have been really nice if you hadn’t censored my previous comment.
I wonder how long this one will stay up.
August 31st, 2007 at 10:28 am
Yep, I have a dial-up. A slowwwwwwww one. A lot that Yahoo does seems not to consider us poor rural folk with such sloggy blogging conditions. The email beta seemed to be set up for faster connections — the likes of which are completely impossible for me to arrange here on my end.
Any suggestions on how to get around this? I hope so!
I’ve been using Yahoo for about 10 years now, and because of the slow connection have also been forced to use three other email accounts (at other sites) to keep up. I juggle windows like a circus performer, LOL. Five, six, half a dozen IMs… I’ve added RAM until it’s coming out my ears.
Still… hope is eternal, they say.
August 31st, 2007 at 10:59 am
M,
As you can see from the other posts, commentary on the product is completely welcome. I will however be pulling anything that might be interpreted as disrespectful to Yahoo! staffers.
Thanks for the feedback,
Ryan
August 31st, 2007 at 11:45 am
I can’t believe how much I love the new Yahoo - it just gets better and better. It is really great with DSL. Keep up the good work.
August 31st, 2007 at 1:30 pm
I like the old mail. I tried my best to like the new one. I tried it two different times about 6 months apart. I can’t make myself like it. I hope I can stay with the old one. This is why I use yahoo web mail.
August 31st, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Congrats … but will Personal Address be able to be “popped”? I wanted Personal Address but was told by Yahoo Support the only way to get “POP” was to use Mail Plus - so that’s what I have.
BH
August 31st, 2007 at 2:02 pm
I like the old version and the beta, but the new version messed up my bookmarks big time. Some of my bookmarks disappear and I could not get them back. I am staying with the Beta until the bookmarks transfer easily. Please contact me and test my account for yourself.
August 31st, 2007 at 4:57 pm
i tried the beta version a few months back gave it a chance and it and wil not change to thhe new version if i have too ill go to hotmail or msn as the beta version was a total nightmare
August 31st, 2007 at 5:02 pm
I found the Beta version frustratinf because it didn’t upload my mail completely I tried it several times. On my laptop it wouldn’t upload properly. On my desktop it takes FOREVER to upload the mail. I don’t know why that happens unless it’s my security stuff. I’d like to use it
it has some very nice features. What can I do to make it flow better.
thanks
j
August 31st, 2007 at 5:33 pm
I really did not like the new Yahoo Mail. It does take forever to load over dialup. I don’t like the MSOutlook appearance to it… becuase I think Outlook is horrid. I don’t care for the Auto Preview feature that I couldn’t seem to turn off. I like being able to just click the check box and press delete or spam and be done with it.
August 31st, 2007 at 6:18 pm
I have mail plus. I tried the beta version and it was OK, but I switched back because beta didn’t allow management of disposable addresses. I see that, even in the official release of the new e-mail, disposable address management is still not available. When do you expect to support this feature?
Fran
August 31st, 2007 at 6:35 pm
I like Yahoo mail very much. It literally saved my life. Thank you Yahoo!
August 31st, 2007 at 6:56 pm
The Beta was working with IE 7 and all of a sudden after the page finishes loading I get an error dialog box that says ” Internet Explorer can not open the Internet site http://cm.my.yahoo.com ” operation aborted. When I click on ok the page disappears. It works ok with FireFox.
August 31st, 2007 at 7:47 pm
I probably will look elsewhere for email after being here since the beginning. I hate the email section and the home page is even worse with a great deal of options seem to have disappeared. It appears yahoo is doing this for advertising purposes.
August 31st, 2007 at 7:52 pm
I tried the new mail and could not use the Move to folder. I have almost 200 folders and trying to select a folder to move a message to was extremely slow - and there was now way to quickly scroll the folder list.
So, old mail for me.
August 31st, 2007 at 9:37 pm
I do not like the new mail at all, and in fact can not use it for smtp. This program does not seem to like thunderbird or outlook or outlook express.
Beyond that, I really hate the new yahoo and especially the new way bookmarks are handled. The page looks like a kids myspace page, interesting for 30 seconds then just noisy, in appearance and sound.
I’ve been with yahoo for 8 years, but I am thinking I should be looking for another home page, web host, and mail host. I can not see why some thing that worked well and simply needed to be changed, and rushed apparently to market.
Sorry yahoo this could lose me
August 31st, 2007 at 10:16 pm
I had used the beta version and already I have changed to the old (classic)one, because in the country with a small traffice band it will cause you you to be sad. also, I think that it must be changed to a easier one. By the way, every one do the best.
September 1st, 2007 at 4:41 am
I can’t get my mail to open. If it does the content is gone. I don’t like this new mail and I can’t find anywhere to switch back even when I look where you have told others. I need help. Why don’t I get my mail when I open it and how do I switch back?
September 1st, 2007 at 5:38 am
i have been with beta for a week and i love it especially the chatting merge with email i hope you guys keep up the good work
September 1st, 2007 at 5:43 am
OK good job. One of the best web mail of the market.
But now, what’s next?
- I’m a Mac user and can’t use Safari and/or Camino
- Yahoo! Radio doesn’t support Mac OSX
- POP isn’t available, except if upgrading to Yahoo Mail! Plus
Please keep going, there is still more to be done!
September 1st, 2007 at 5:53 am
I want my yahoo,com be on please
September 1st, 2007 at 6:29 am
Well, now I’m back to the TypeError 2146823281 in the new Yahoo mail or messages with blank bodies that I can’t reply to in the old Yahoo mail. The only thing that ‘works’ for me is to access my mail from the Yahoo front page which gets me access to plain text with no HTML content. Sure hope they get the bugs worked out. And all the deleting cookies and the browser cache ’standard’ solutions don’t make a bit of difference.
September 1st, 2007 at 6:36 am
I like the new what yahoo is doing to improve their entire product. Yahoo change is good and keep improving.
September 1st, 2007 at 6:50 am
I have to say that both the new email and new homepages are garbage. I have switched back to classic on both, and the day it becomes mandatory to switch is the day I switch from using Yahoo.
September 1st, 2007 at 8:34 am
SCREAM! i can’t wait for the texting feature to be rolled out! *super excited*
September 1st, 2007 at 8:49 am
So many whining luddites!
I have used the new beta format since it was first launched and it too has improved. The old layout looks and feels archaic to me now and what with all the features, it has become my hub in many ways.
While I can understand the dial-up users have problems, the new improvements are greatly welcomed.
September 1st, 2007 at 9:34 am
Just awesome. I’m running on a 4-yr old machine (No core-2-duo here) and it’s pretty snappy for me. It’s been fun to see the beta evolve over the time you’ve been working on it. It’s good to see web interfaces start to be usable by humans
(as opposed to Win95 paradigms) Keep it coming!
September 1st, 2007 at 9:46 am
Both BETA screens (Mail and MY Yahoo) exceed greatly the screen.
I use a 19 inch screen but am forced to ’scrole over to see all of content. I use 800×600 resolution. I’m staying w ‘old version’
September 1st, 2007 at 10:21 am
I really like the new Yahoo Mail. I’m still in beta but will probably be changed soon. My problem is - I don’t know how to change my signature in the new Yahoo. I have to switch back to classic to change it. Does anyone know how to do this in the new mail?
September 1st, 2007 at 11:16 am
I have been a user of Yahoo Mail for over 9 years (yep, it’s been around at least that long)! I love the new version. Since switching companies, we have to use Lotus Notes, and let’s just say I miss using Microsoft Outlook. So seeing the new version and using the Beta since it’s been available, I just love it - I can move my mail very quickly, and I use the preview pane, so I can see part of my e-mail messages while reviewing the subjects up above. This is really great! Thank you!!!!!
September 1st, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Verna, Beta allows you to change signature (Options, Mail Options, Signature). I am still in Beta. Are you saying New does not have that?
John Deland, try using F11 to toggle full screen mode. That will cut down on some space used by the header and add more space to the message area. I use 1024×768 on one of my computers (lol, the highest resolution on it!) — I also think the header area is a bit large.
September 1st, 2007 at 1:16 pm
I switched to the new Yahoo mail page and could not locate my address book. I found contacts but not the address book. I prefer address book so I can click on all receipients for the intended e-mail.
September 1st, 2007 at 3:10 pm
How can i get rid of that stuip avatar on my mail and yahoo messenger i hate thoose stuip things want it blank with no avatars period. thank you
September 1st, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Please give me the directions to switch back to ‘classic mail’-Tell me what I need to click on or what?’ BETA is not working for me at all–I DO NOT have the time to deal with it–Thank You so much-Somebody Please Help Me–I am desparate!!!!
September 1st, 2007 at 5:16 pm
As usual, it looks like I’m going to be amongst the last to see it. Been that way since the Beta started. I’m especially concerned about a post or two up there referring to it not working with Mozilla/Thunderbird since I use Seamonkey.
September 1st, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Great, Beta is now official. I tried the new and improved format three times, each time I’ve returned to “classic”. Reminds me of the reformulation of coca-cola. Whining luddite? Possibly, but I do use the latest technology on an ADSL line, and absolutely hate the “new” yahoo mail format even when it opens everything properly.
In one word - Clunky. Since when did the K.I.S.S. technique fall into such disrepute? I’m not against change, I’m against complexity and disempowerment.
I believe it a shame that a “new and improved” mail format is clunky when compared side by side to the old, dated, very functional “classic” format.
Great job, can’t wait to see what yahoo will transform from functional to dysfunctional in the future - but I’m sure multiple firms will buy the advertising! Without the advertising, it might actually be worthwhile! Novel, huh!
September 1st, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Been using this email account since 1997. Now I can’t access it with the changes. Not sure what’s going on!
September 1st, 2007 at 10:11 pm
I still don’t understand the rationale for the new Yahoo! email. The old one was working just fine. One thing I don’t like about the new one is that it’s so much like Outlook Express and it doesn’t display graphics attachments in a way that you can really see the whole thing. Why fix something that isn’t broken?
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:20 am
email and news and comments and photos
September 2nd, 2007 at 4:11 am
How can i switch back to the old yahoo??????? The new one is driving me crazy!
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:55 am
any chance you guys can add IMAP support to Yahoo Mail Plus?
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Help in switching back to the older version…..plz…plz…plz..somebody plz help
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:20 pm
I tried the yahoo mail beta…stepped back down to use the previous version…more simple to use; beta version text is nearly microscopic
September 3rd, 2007 at 1:20 am
I used the help from ’someone who cares’ and added the line “127.0.0.1 a248.e.akamai.net #yahoo bugs” in the hosts-file (Open with Notepad; remove the extension .txt. in directory c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts. Yahoo!Mail starts without any ads, fast and neat! Please read http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/ for repressing most of all ads, stats, counters, spam, malware, etc! It works well on Windows XP
September 3rd, 2007 at 1:29 am
Use a tab instead of space(s) between the three fields in:
“127.0.0.1 a248.e.akamai.net #yahoo bugs”