Yahoo! Messenger Helping You Stay Connected this Diwali

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 16 Oct 2009

Tomorrow, the 17th of October, people in India will celebrate Diwali. The celebration, during which diyas are lit to symbolize the victory of good over evil, may be better known to you under another name: the Festival of Lights. On this occasion many Indians will want to get in touch with their loved ones. One way they could do this is by using Yahoo!’s instant messaging application, Yahoo! Messenger.

Senior Product Manager with Yahoo! Messenger, Sarah Bacon, explains: “Many Indians living outside of their home country will be calling home to wish their friends and family a happy Diwali. If you’re one of them, Yahoo! Messenger is a great way to stay connected not only during Diwali, but any time. If your family and friends are already using Yahoo! Messenger, you can make high-quality PC-to-PC calls for free."

Even if your loved ones do not use the instant messaging client, you can still contact them via Yahoo! Messenger. You can call a landline phone or a mobile phone by setting up a Yahoo! Messenger Phone Out account. With the account you can sit in front of your computer and call landline and mobile phones in India for the low price of 7.9 ¢ a minute.

I know that spending money is not as appealing as something that comes free of charge. So here is yet another free option: send a free SMS with Yahoo! Messenger. Sarah Bacon again: “You can also send free SMS text messages from Messenger to your friends and family in India if they are on the following carriers: Vodaphone Essar, Airtel, Spice, Escotel, Reliance. Their replies come right back to you in Yahoo! Messenger.”

Here is what you have to do to send an SMS message with Yahoo! Messenger 9 for example:
  • If the person you want to send the SMS is in your contacts list: Select a contact you wish to text -> right click that contact -> select Send SMS message -> type in your text message and send it. You will be asked to provide a phone number if one is not stored in that contact’s details.
  • If the person you want to send the SMS is not in your contacts list: Actions menu -> Send an SMS Message -> Other contact. Alternatively you can just press Ctrl + T -> click Other Contact.



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