The Biz of Coding

Yahoo Mail opens its code for Mashups

by Ujwal Tickoo on October 2nd, 2006

Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) has announced that it will open the code for its email program Yahoo! Mail by the end of 2006. Developers world wide would be able to develop mashup applications above the world’s most popular web mail application – used by over 250 million users.

"Yahoo is a very large company but we can’t build every applications that a user might want," Chad Dickerson said in an interview at Yahoo headquarters. "You can imagine tens of thousands of niche applications (springing) from Yahoo Mail."

…Technically speaking, Yahoo is giving away "browser-based authentication" for its e-mail service for developers to build new applications. Currently only Yahoo Mail (http://mail.yahoo.com) and certain broadband partners like AT&T and BT are granted such access to the code.

This will allow people to make custom versions of the basic interface, or look, of e-mail. Other uses may include tapping the information inside a user’s e-mail program to create new ways of displaying the information to individual users.

 Since Yahoo keeps absolute control of usernames and passwords there are no security risks, Dickerson said.

Yahoo! also recently acquired Jumpcut, for beefing up its online Video site: Yahoo! Video. Jumpcut’s web based software allows users to build videos out of photographs or images while adding music, color and other useful attributes. Yahoo! has also announced a deal with HP to bundle the Yahoo! Toolbar and place Yahoo.com as the browser home page.

POSTED IN: GMail, Yahoo