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AIM And ICQ to be Integrated
sam writes "According to this InfoWorld article
the next version of America Online's Instant Messenger will allow users to communicate with ICQ users in a move that will bridge the gap between the company's two popular chat services.
Maybe AOL finally woke up and realized people were using IM clients that have both in them." I still use only IRC for messaging, but this is gonna make things easier for a lot of users.
Trillian.cc
It lets you connect to and message users on both ICQ and AIM, as well as MSN and Yahoo. And you can connect to IRC with it, although I prefer to use mIRC for that.
Username taken, please choose another one.
You like splinters in your crotch? -Jon Caldara
This isn't about the client protocol, this is interaction between users on the server.
Well, I would just like to point out that Talk has been around effectively forever, with a more standardized version appearing with 4.2 BSD (although it broke compatibility with Sun's implementation at the time)
So, NO, talk was not an icq knock-off.
-OctaneZ
Have a look at Gaim.
I don't use it myself, but it's sourceforge's most active so I'm sure someone finds it valuable.
"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance" - Derek Bok
don't forget that GAIM has an alpha version that does run on windows.
And it has plugins for all the following protocols:
* TOC
* Oscar
* Yahoo!
* ICQ
* MSN
* IRC
* Jabber
* Napster
* Zephyr
The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them. -Einstein
It's called Trillian. Though it's not open source (sorry purists)
Well, Gaim is. It supports AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, MSN, IRC, Jabber, Napster, Zephyr, and Gadu-Gadu.
"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance" - Derek Bok
Actually both systems already use the AIM OSCAR protocol. They are already controled by the same servers even (you can log into AIM using the server login.icq.com or login.aim.com it makes no difference). The only thing is that atm AIM puts a privacy policy file on all AIM accounts that blocks screen names with numbers in it and you are unable to remove it. So ICQ people can't message your AIM account because it is as though the person is blocked, nor can they see you online, nor can you see them online or message them.
All they need to do to make this happen is remove that entry in everyone's privacy file. I always thought it was stupid having them seperated anyways.
http://www.archive.org/details/ThePowerOfNightmares
Fire for OS X integrates AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, IRC, and Jabber. Plus it is GPL source, and uses GPL libraries.
The conditions imposed by the FTC on the AOL/TW merger were that AOL must open it's IM network to competitors when it starts offering "advanced" services like video. Ever since then, they've dragged their feet on putting video features in AIM (pretty obvious when you see the "everything but the kitchen sink" feature list in AIM 5.0). Yahoo and MSN have had video for at least a year now. article here
This story's been pretty much ignored by the US media (except for a 4-part Fox News story that later disappeared from their site.) It concerns Odigo, another Israeli IM company. Check it out:
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/spyring.html
Also:
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/israel
No more XDarwin+ssh+gaim just to chat on ICQ! That means that I might reboot to Jaguar within the next month.
I use Jaguar for Warcraft 3, 3d modeling, and audio editing. All programming and daily work will stay in Linux.
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
Problem is, you can't message all of those services without having an account on each of those services. With this new AOL, you can message ICQ users without having to go register for an ICQ number.
Proteus.
Download here.
Check for updates here.
Needless to say, this has been a move AOL has been planning for ages.
If you hack open an old version of AOL Instant Messenger for Macintosh with ResEdit, you'll find all the necessary UI to implement ICQ integration. They have the icons, dialogs, errors, etc.
It seems that AOL was just waiting for the right moment to flip the switch.
AIM and ICQ have been the same network since icq2k. It's just that they've been limiting the ability to speak between the two.
You could log in to AIM servers with an ICQ UID and join ChatNav (AIM chat rooms) before. dunno if you still can, don't care to test. You simply couldn't IM AIM users (you could still message ICQ users).
ICQ2K's protocol is just OSCAR with the ICQ bits stuffed in via new TLVs.
-josh, who helped with OSCAR RE and did the first (afaik) partial icq2k implementation (See libfaim or the aimster/madster client-side proxy)
Yes, everyone has their own favorite for their favorite . One platform without most of the usual is Mac OS X, but we're blessed with the Cocoa quality and GPL love of Fire.
I've been using Trillian for months. Less memory usage than ICQ, and without the nasties of AIM. The XML based skinning abilites are nice too. I quite enjoy it.
After your inspiring speach about Jabber. You never really tell us exactly what it is, or provide a link for more info. A link wold be nice. We like links.
I'll try to help. Here is Jabber's main page. The first thing you need to do is Grab a client My personal favourite is Psi, a crossplatform slim and slick client that I feel is better because I can opt to have incoming events as messages or chats (or just leave them as they came), opt to pop up the window, automatically show the message, or just flash in the tray (especially important when you type over 100WPM and someone messages you out of the blue), it's open source, I've created a few patches to help make the client better (IMO), and it's under active development. Psi also has a message/chat history (searchable) and supports multiple identities (online at the same time, in the same client) and Jabber itself features multiple instances of a particular Jabber User (home/work, etc.). Features coming up in Psi are groupchat (in 0.8.7, due out Very Soon Now), File Transfer (that works behind NAT, coming in 0.9), pluggable storage for history and prefs (SQL, etc.) and other leading-edge stuff for Jabber. Justin (the lead developer of Psi) seems to have a real knack for making a solid, stable client and pushing the envelope with the new Jabber feature drafts.
Oh yes, Psi also supports SSL (client--server) and there is a Jabber draft for SSL between servers, so your inane chatter is kept private with strong encryption. *cough*ICQ*cough*
Psi is a Qt app, but there are CLI clients, Perl module clients, GTK clients, Win32-only clients, Java clients, JScript clients... Hell there's even a Flash client. The protocol is completely open.
Perhaps one of the biggest assets to Jabber is that it is decentralized. There are many public servers, and you can set your own up (hell even Debian has packages for it!). [warning - the public servers link has a session-id, I don't know if it'll work for anyone else]
The biggest problem with Jabber is that it is still a little tricky for newbies to get in to -- there is no "download this, it registers you with one of the common servers" links (not that I'm aware of anyway), so you need someone to either set it up for you or point you off to a public server. A lot of the clients are crap (a common problem with OSS, I'm afraid). Sometimes the transports (gateways to other IM systems, like ICQ, AIM, Y!, etc.) don't work because the other systems find a common server and shut down access to their network from it, but if you run your own server or you are on a small server, you won't even blip on their radar.
I really like it. I used to be an ICQ-head (my UIN is just over 1-mil) but when they started throwing up ads and adding more and more crap to the client I bailed) and I couldn't find a decent Jabber client (one that didn't pop up messages and take focus, how F#%#^T#$'ing irritating!) for a while, but now I am a very happy Jabber user. Hell even my wife, mom and grandmother use it (seriously) -- it works great for computer-cautious people because of the simplicity.
I guess I made the false assumption that everyone already knows what Jabber is, yet aren't using it. That was actually very stupid of me, considering what I was arguing :)
:)
Jabber is an open IM system, which uses an XML-based protocol for interconnecting servers and clients. Your Jabber ID (or JID) is in the form "user@host", obviously following in the footsteps of other common internet protocols (most notably email, but also ftp, http, etc). Jabber also supports SSL in the core protocol.
Because the protocol is open, there are numerous server and client implementations, all designed to interoperate. Anyone can run a server, and there is no such thing as an "official client" (that would be as absurd as an official email client). The world of Jabber is much more friendly than that of closed IM, as the Jabber Software Foundation encourages developer participation.
Let the linking commence!
Jabber Software Foundation - The "JSF" handles all of the core protocol decision-making. There are members, council, and an enhancement proposal system. The website is also a nice hub for information, as there are links to guides, programming info, client software, server software, public server lists, etc. Start here.
Some nice clients:
Psi* - powerful and minimal cross-platform Jabber client (Windows/Mac/Unix), looking like Licq.
Gabber - a full featured GNOME Jabber client.
Exodus - a very featureful Windows client. Has a strange UI in my opinion, but lots of people like it.
Gaim - mentioned 100 times already in the comments area. This program is nice because it natively supports AIM (and other protocols), which can make your transition to Jabber easier.
Other areas of interest:
User guide - a good read for newbies.
jabberd - home of the popular open source jabber server.
Jabberd Admin guide - Read this if you want to run your own server.
Jogger - a Jabber-based blog.
*Note - I am the author of Psi. Please forgive the plug
- Open Protocol with open specifications, XML everywhere
:)
- Easily extended protocol.
- Server side everything, including contact lists.
- A multitude of clients, for windows, Linux, and other OS's
- Server side Transports so you can talk to people on other networks as if they were normal jabber members. This even includes ICQ's ability to send SMS's. Transports exist for at least ICQ,MSN,Yahoo,AIM,IRC,SMTP, I even wrote a transport to talk to my Wiki.
- A simple client protocol that can be easily implemented on simple devices (Cellphones etc), most of the hardwork is done on the servers.
- Conferencing, multiuser chat.
- Lotsa other stuff I don't use.
Some of the proposed extentions including such nifty things such as being able to have a client fill in forms. For example, you could connect to a Pizza delivery transport, it asks you some questions, such as where to deliver the pizza, what kind of pizza you want etc, then delivers the pizza to you. Jabber is a stable platform now. It's usable as an IM today, and many people do use it. what it does need is more people to start using it. For more information see:Rival Messenger is a GREAT Jabber client for Windows. Check out Rival here.
Have a website, put your email address on that site, plus any number of boxes that you what, have a ftp site, but make sure you limited the number of people who can upload to it. If you must, create a irc group and shell account, just make sure that everyone knows the names of group, what time people what to have meetings etc. Anyway the point I'm trying to make is that between all the protocols that are already around is there any point to IM to begin with?. Like most of these (vastly overhyped) things they represent just a intergration of old tech, After all what the hell was Napster but an IRC client with a bunch of scripts added. People had been doing things like that for years,
Whats going to happen next? someone invents a app to leech crap of newsgroups creating another bubble of hype with a million troll's crapping on how information whats to be free, and suits going on about the new internet paradigm shift or what ever (READ using it to limited competition and screw developers just like the softwear industry made an art of). And some dweeb selling the thing to whatever corp of piles of $$$'s hang on...
ps... I'm not against IM, just the way AOL/MS act like its the second coming when its really not a big deal. I personally think that all the positioning just hold's things back that could be really useful like CVS.
Pianist : Some jerk whos taught themselves how to type in rhythm
gamers like it because icq doesn't just pop up windows, it can just notify you via the systray.
:)
aim pops up a window, and if you're in the middle of a game, chances are you'll get mad.
i use trillian for just that reason. when someone sends me an im, my systray flashes.
Jabber servers all communicate with each other, like email. There isn't any network segregation
If I am justin@andbit.net (which, I am), and you are wowtip@jabber.org, then my message to you would go from client->andbit.net->jabber.org->client.
This is one of the reasons I've not gone to jabber yet. Being a very low 2 mil ICQ user for many years, I've liked the fact that as bad as icq can be, there's always a hack I can get to fix it's problems. In essence, because icq is so known, and it's "one" program (versioning aside), it doesn't take much effort to get it the way you like it by just downloading a hack. In comparision, when I looked into jabber a couple months ago, the first thing I had to do was *choose* a client. Having a choice is great and all, but if jabber is going to get anywhere with "Joe Anybody" there needs to be a standard client (and logon server) as the "default" for those who just want to "install, signup and go". ;)
As tzanger said,it's a problem many OSS, crap clients, but it's more than that. If there's 10 different clients out there, what are the odd of my finding the "hack" I need? I'm going to have to relearn a whole new program (each client) to find what I need. And before you say "well make your own client/hack/whatever", keep in mind I've got better things to waste time on. Like playing games and chatting.
Counter all this at any rate, I see the future of icq/aim being merged, and at that point (since I've always hated aol) I'll most likely dump icq at that point. I see it as no different as when M$ bought Hotmail those many years ago. I watched and waited, and it was over a year from the time they bought it to the time they actually messed with it. When they did, I dumped it (thank god). The same thing with icq/aol. It's just a matter of time before they mess with icq enough for me to dump it.
I'd never use such black holes as AIM or ICQ. My vote goes to SILC, a protocol/client/server using encryption. I suggest you checking out http://www.silcnet.org/ for more about SILC - Secure Internet Live Conferencing.
Oh, I really need to tell how I got started with Jabber. I just apt-got Gabber, started it up, and it very helpfully started a wizard that let me to set up an account at either jabber.com or jabber.org (probably also some other server). I was online in no time! =)
Gabber was one of the few programs I have recently used that even tried to be newbie-friendly.
Though, the transport setup was a bit tricky, but I understood it anyway. It should provide more help on why does it not work, like, "sorry, AOL is a big evil company that blocked jabber.com from connecting to ICQ and AIM, so you cannot use them here. Just be an Evangelist and tell your friends to use Jabber too." =)