Yahoo! again demonstrates its facility with RSS by adding feeds to the beta Mail which is still in restricted
distribution. (Original review of it here.) Yahoo!
Mail takes advantage of the Outlook-styled interface to create an intuitive RSS package. It's preloaded with selected
feeds, and, remarkably, that selection appears personalized. I'm waiting for confimration of this, but it seems that
the preset feeds are taken from profile information and personal-interest choices in Yahoo! 360. Naturally, that
information wouldn't be available for every user in a wide rollout of the new Yahoo! Mail, but millions of people have
Yahoo! IDs that contain a bit of profiling, so perhaps Yahoo! plans to mine every bit if personalizable information it
can get. I'm all for it. This level of integration makes for a satisfying experience from the first click.
Of course, you can add feeds. Yahoo! provides a recommended list of about 25 feeds, asnd users can specify an RSS
address. NOTE: Users should be able to paste in a Web-page address also, and the feed reader should have the smarts to
find the feed; Yahoo! has started a tradition of RSS invisiblity in My Yahoo!, and it should be carried over into
Mail.
Somewhat oddly, Yahoo! presents the feed in a three-pane view: feed list on the left, feed items in the middle … and
nothing in the right-hand vertical pane. I expected the source page for the feed item to appear in that pane, and was
disappointed to see Yahoo! opening a new browser window to display that page. that system works best on some monitors
and resolutions, granted. I'd like to have a view choice. Put the source page in the same window as the feed item, and
you're really starting to emulate a desktop newsreader. Since Yahoo! mail (beta) emulates a desktop mail program, this
would make sense.
Good start! Excellent start. Yahoo! is going to have one rowdy, boat-rocking launch when the new Mail emerges from
beta.
Yahoo! Mail Beta Adds RSS
Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. I refuse to get excited over Yahoo Mail Beta, since SBC/Yahoo customers were specifically not invited to participate. When they asked for people to apply on the Yahoo what's new page, the SBC version of that page conspicuously was missing that link.
Posted at 5:45AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Alvin Brinson
3. how do I get onto the yahoo mail beta?
Posted at 5:45AM on Dec 19th 2005 by ronenosity
4. si lo quiero
Posted at 5:45AM on Dec 19th 2005 by lino david
5. DFGSGSDGSDGSDGSDGSDGSDGSDGSGSD
Posted at 5:45AM on Dec 19th 2005 by MEMO
9. Sorry if this is off-topic, but has anyone else noticed the "Search Email" function not responding like before? I used to get results going back years in my inbox, now I only see emails that were sent within the past week. Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere, but I'd like some info if there is any.
Posted at 5:45AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Kareem
10. totaally BOGUS. I am a premium SBC Yahoo user..so I pay MORE. I get LESS. I call Yahoo Tech Support- their escalated tech support guy doesnt even know there IS a beta mail. Doesnt know about PhotoMail..another thing we can't use.
Posted at 5:45AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Brinke Guthrie
11. The only feed initially populated is the "Yahoo! Mail Beta Updates" feed. Additionally, all of your My Yahoo! feeds are also displayed.
Posted at 5:45AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Ryan Kennedy
12. I refuse to get excited over Yahoo Mail Beta, since SBC/Yahoo customers were specifically not invited to participate. When they asked for people to apply on the Yahoo what's new page, the SBC version of that page conspicuously was missing that link.
Posted at 5:45AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Alvin Brinson
13. how do I get onto the yahoo mail beta?
Posted at 5:45AM on Dec 19th 2005 by ronenosity
14. si lo quiero
Posted at 5:45AM on Dec 19th 2005 by lino david
15. DFGSGSDGSDGSDGSDGSDGSDGSDGSGSD
Posted at 5:45AM on Dec 19th 2005 by MEMO
19. Sorry if this is off-topic, but has anyone else noticed the "Search Email" function not responding like before? I used to get results going back years in my inbox, now I only see emails that were sent within the past week. Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere, but I'd like some info if there is any.
Posted at 5:45AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Kareem
20. totaally BOGUS. I am a premium SBC Yahoo user..so I pay MORE. I get LESS. I call Yahoo Tech Support- their escalated tech support guy doesnt even know there IS a beta mail. Doesnt know about PhotoMail..another thing we can't use.
Posted at 5:45AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Brinke Guthrie
1. The only feed initially populated is the "Yahoo! Mail Beta Updates" feed. Additionally, all of your My Yahoo! feeds are also displayed.
Posted at 5:45AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Ryan Kennedy