Cerulean Studios is celebrating the 9th birthday of their multi-network instant messenger Trillian, and giving all of us a present. They have opened up their web-based version of Trillian Astra for beta testing. Unlike their Trillian Astra desktop client for Windows, the web version will also work … [Read more...]
50 Ways to use Skype at School
Skype is a terrific, free program for voice chat (and text or video chat, for that matter). I've used Skype to stay in touch with my son as he travels overseas in the Navy (Skype-to-Skype calls are free!) and to stay connected with my granddaughter on the other side of the … [Read more...]
Vista + SP2 = WLM FAIL!
As I originally posted on patndoris.com back on June 1st, there is the distinct possibility Vista users who install Service Pack 2 will experience a problem with Windows Live Messenger (WLM) no longer launching. Since Service Pack 2 is set to start rolling out via automatic updates on June 30th, I … [Read more...]
MSN Web Messenger Closing
On June 30, 2009 (yup, just a couple days away now) Microsoft has decided to put an end to MSN Web Messenger. The Web Messenger service has been around for years, and was an alternative for those who didn't want to, or weren't able to use the full instant messaging client. With the web-based … [Read more...]
Making IM Better with Video Chat
I have experience using the Internet since it was first made available for commercial use. And after working in online marketing over the last seven plus years, I have noticed that keeping in touch with all your friends and family every day has become so routine, we almost take it for granted. … [Read more...]
Essential Digsby Update
Multi-network instant messenger and social network tool Digsby today released a long-awaited update. Build 60 dramatically improves efficiency, reducing CPU utilization by about 50%. Here's a full list of the features. Performance: We've optimized performance from the ground up, reducing … [Read more...]
Share Your Location via GTalk
The growing popularity of mobile phones with GPS and other location technology led to the recent launch of Google Latitude -- a cool tool that lets you choose to share your geographic location with your contacts. Now Google has announced a couple tools that let you share that information -- with … [Read more...]
Yahoo! Messenger for iPhone 1.1
It's been less than one month since the initial launch of Yahoo! Messenger for the iPhone, and the Yahoo! Messenger blog reports that an updated version is already available in the iTunes App Store. Yahoo! Messenger 1.1 promises an improved reliability and sign-in experience -- a big problem for … [Read more...]
AIM 6.9 Gets Social
AOL today officially released AIM 6.9 for Windows, introducing new features that integrate AIM with other social networks, including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. This new version of the venerable instant messaging program acknowledges and embraces the fact that people aren't just on a single … [Read more...]
Sunday Funnies: Emoticon War
Communicating via instant messaging or text alone has challenges. You don't get to read the body language or see the telling smirk on the other person's face. And so emoticons were born -- a shorthand code to help inject text messages with emotions. And thank god -- without them this entire video … [Read more...]