So the latest version of Yahoo! Messenger for Windows went into public beta today, containing a lot of the work that I did in the months prior to leaving the company.

A lot of things didn't make this version, (which means that 6.0 is going to be really, really cool whenever it gets made) but 5.5 has several nice new features, such as Super Webcam (with a 15 frame-per-second 'Turbo Mode,' advancing the current 0.75fps mode), more (and improved) smileys, and a new IMVironment selector, in addition to smaller enhancements in usability and look and feel.

The faster webcam deal is really pretty cool (if you're on a DSL or faster connection), as it really runs the webcam into a meaningful expressive tool...