Yahoo and Microsoft IM: Can we talk?

Yahoo and Microsoft have announced a deal that will allow interoperability between their instant messaging services.

The project should let both companies take on AOL, which dominates the IM world with its AIM product. While all three companies have worked together in the past, most of the progress toward interoperability has been on the corporate side.

The news, first reported in the Wall Street Journal, was met with delight by many bloggers, who welcomed any effort that supports messaging systems that talk to one another.

Blog community response:

"I look forward to the day when I don't have to use Trillian to bridge four networks at once (no slight against Trillian, I just want simplicity and more choice in clients)."
--Ars Technica

"It only took them six years, and given the history of this area, it wouldn't be surprising to see the end result be less than perfect...but it's a start."
--Techdirt

"This could be very bad news to upstarts like Google Talk. I couldn't find any data on the number of users on Jabber-based clients, but it stands to reason that the numbers are far behind. Considering Microsoft is currently talking to combine internet operations with AOL, you may soon see a client from one of the big boys that can contact 74.8 million users. It's hard to win on features with numbers like that."
--InsideMicrosoft

"For Microsoft this is a vital move especially from an enterprise perspective. The more interoperable they become, the more valuable their Live Communication Server becomes. I guess, both parties come out winners in this deal."
--Om Malik's Broadband Blog