When it comes to texting, there are basically two camps – those who love it and those who hate it.

If you’re in the ‘hate it’ camp but have people that would genuinely appreciate a way to text you, simply use Yahoo! Mail or Yahoo! Messenger to get yourself a free text-able number. At that point people can text you direct to your computer and it operates just like regular instant messaging.

Using Yahoo! Mail

Click the small down arrow on the New button and click Text Message (SMS):

You may be prompted to sign into chat at this point. If so, sign in.

Type in the number of the person you want to send a text message to, type your message, and send:

Note that there is a character counter present, so there is no danger of sending a message that is too long.

Using Yahoo! Messenger

Launch Y! Messenger. Click Actions then Send SMS Message:

From the new window that pops up, click the Other Contact tab, enter the number of the person you want to text, then click OK:

A new chat window will appear. Type your message and send.

Tips and info on Usage

• Remember that when sending messages this way that people cannot respond to you instantly.
• Do not send "rapid-fire" messages, because while you see everything in one window, the recipient will see each message separately.
• The number seen by the person you text will look "weird." It’s best you tell the person you intend to text to expect that before sending the first message.
• Texts you send will contain your Yahoo ID as the sender. For example, if your Yahoo ID is free2rhyme, that will be seen on each text you send.
• The number assigned to your Yahoo ID when you text to the best of my knowledge is permanent, so if the person you text wants to put that in their phone’s address book to send you messages later, sending SMS messages to that Yahoo-assigned number will in fact work.
• You will not see the number assigned to you by Yahoo! unless you text your own phone from Yahoo! to actually see it. A bit weird, but that’s the way it works.
• The number Yahoo! assigns as far as I’m aware cannot be used for voice calls. Text only.
• Text messages received via Yahoo! are in chat form only and not email. While it’s true you have chat ability inside Yahoo! Mail, individual messages will only be in chat and not your Inbox.
• You must be logged into chat in order to receive text messages via the Yahoo! system.
• You can assign contacts using friendly names in both Yahoo! Mail and Yahoo! Messenger so you can text people easily just by clicking their name, typing a message and sending; you do not have to type in their cell numbers every time you use it.

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