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AOL to Replace AIM with Triton

An anonymous reader writes "BetaNews is reporting that AOL has begun beta testing a replacement for its AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) software. Triton has an entirely new user interface that adds highly anticipated features including tabbed messaging and logging. The client will also be open to third party plug-ins." From the article: "It is no coincidence that AOL is fielding so many betas concurrently. AOL Browser, an Internet Explorer based Web browser; AOL Media Player, a standalone audio and video player; AOL search technologies and AOL's synchronization utilities are all part of what was once a unified communications client called Fanfare."

240 comments

  1. Pretty Interesting by endtwist · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Pretty interesting stuff. Hopefully it wont suck like the latest AIM versions...

    1. Re:Pretty Interesting by Rei · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'm looking forward to AIM being replaced with Triton. I feel that the distant reaches of our solar system are a good place to send anyone who wants to use AIM.

      --
      Are there any deer in the theater tonight? Get 'em up against the wall.
    2. Re:Pretty Interesting by nocomment · · Score: 1

      I wonder when they implement offline messaging like ICQ does.

      --
      /* oops I accidentally made a comment, sorry */
      /* http://allyourbasearebelongto.us */
  2. An aol user was qouted as saying, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    "OMG WTF?!?!?"

    1. Re:An aol user was qouted as saying, by ONOIML8 · · Score: 0



      A/S/L?

      --
      . Quit playing Monopoly with Bill. Switch to one of many non-Microsoft products today.
    2. Re:An aol user was qouted as saying, by Saeger · · Score: 1

      No, I got Cable, but I hear ADSL r0x0rs too.

      --
      Power to the Peaceful
    3. Re:An aol user was qouted as saying, by Filmwatcher888 · · Score: 1

      LOL!!!!11

    4. Re:An aol user was qouted as saying, by Kent+Recal · · Score: 1

      *lol*

  3. Deja Vu by sqlrob · · Score: 5, Informative
    1. Re:Deja Vu by me+at+werk · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I've seen screens before it came out of alpha, and it's also directly ripping off iChat's messaging window. You don't know what I'm talking about? Thank goodness for google images and bloggers with their screenshots.

      --
      For context, click Parent.
    2. Re:Deja Vu by nine-times · · Score: 1

      ...except without the ability to connect to other IM networks. Really, why should I use an IM client that doesn't allow me to connect to people on other networks, and forces ads down my throat?

    3. Re:Deja Vu by arose · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ugly, worse than ugly.

      --
      Analogies don't equal equalities, they are merely somewhat analogous.
    4. Re:Deja Vu by manthrax3 · · Score: 1

      The native AIM client is for noobs. You know, the silent majority out there who make AIM affordable for AOL. (And who also make the rest of us use AIM in order to comply)

    5. Re:Deja Vu by nuggetman · · Score: 1

      That appears to be an early iChat, not AIM

      triton looks much different
      http://beta.aol.com/projects/tritonbeta /index.html ?
      go to testing instructions for SSes

      --
      ...and that's all there is to it.
    6. Re:Deja Vu by me+at+werk · · Score: 1

      Yes, it's iChat. I don't have the AIM screens handy, they are saved at home. However, trust me, they have exactly-like-that chat now available, which I had seen in Kopete (which copied it from iChat).

      --
      For context, click Parent.
    7. Re:Deja Vu by AdamWeeden · · Score: 1

      Not out of the box no, but it seems like it could be possible with third party plugins.

      --
      I was quoted out of context in my autobiography...
    8. Re:Deja Vu by dustinbarbour · · Score: 1

      The only reason that I don't use GAIM on my WinXP box is because I;ve never been able to resize the font in the default skin. I tried the little GUI config, editing some GTK file, playing with all sorts of crap and nothing.. still too small to be read comfortably. So, for that issue and that issue alone, GAIM lost out to Miranda.

    9. Re:Deja Vu by Kesh · · Score: 1

      They've already mentioned the ability of others to write plugins. I'd expect at least a Jabber plugin PDQ for this, which would give you all the multi-system chatting you could want.

    10. Re:Deja Vu by POWRSURG · · Score: 1

      I'm a 2000 user, but I edited gtkrc located in C:\Program Files\Common Files\GTK\2.0\etc\gtk-2.0 and found with the following:

      # The following section allows you to change the style of the conversation
      # window widgets, log viewer widget, and request and notify window widgets.
      # These only work in Gaim 0.78 or higher.
      style "imhtml-fix"
      {
      font_name = "Sans 12"
      }
      # Set the widget style for the conversation entry box
      widget "*gaim_gtkconv_entry" style "imhtml-fix"
      # Set the widget style for the conversation
      widget "*gaim_gtkconv_imhtml" style "imhtml-fix"

      # Set the widget style for the log viewer
      widget "*gaim_gtklog_imhtml" style "imhtml-fix"

      # Set the widget style for IMHtml input widgets in request dialogs
      widget "*gaim_gtkrequest_imhtml" style "imhtml-fix"
      # Set the widget style for IMHtml widgets in notify dialogs
      widget "*gaim_gtknotify_imhtml" style "imhtml-fix"

      and that enlarged the font. Unfortunately, whenever I load Gaim now some DLL warning comes up. I ignore it and it works. That said, it was annoying enough that I moved back to Trillian where they have now added a Webcam, and thus made me happy.

    11. Re:Deja Vu by Rolyat69 · · Score: 1

      Thank you so much! I would kiss the ground you walked upon if I could. I've been struggling with the tiny font size in GAIM since I started using it. You, my friend, are my hero! May the Mod-Gods rain points upon your head.

      --
      Hi. I'm Jenn... and I'm addicted to poppy seeds. Now give me my damn everything bagel with creamy cheesy!!!!!!!!!
    12. Re:Deja Vu by Pollardito · · Score: 1

      thankfully TFA has one, and it doesn't look like iChat

    13. Re:Deja Vu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I suspect that they walk on the same ground as you, unless we have slashdoters from other planets now.

    14. Re:Deja Vu by BandwidthHog · · Score: 1

      You (and I) may suspect that, but oftentimes they seem to feel otherwise.

      --

      Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
  4. Sounds exactly like gaim by czion3 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    errr....Gaim anyone?

    1. Re:Sounds exactly like gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yes, EXACTLY like gaim

    2. Re:Sounds exactly like gaim by Trejkaz · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, I hear it even connects to multiple IM services, and will be open source.

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
  5. Until it can connect with multiple IM services... by billyj4 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'll stick with trillian...

  6. Cool. by rekenner · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Stuff that programs like Trillian (Windows), GAIM (windows, Linux), Fire (osx), and Dead AIM (Windows, add on) have had for years.

    And then VoIP? Skype...

    Nothing new to see here, move along...

    1. Re:Cool. by zwilliams07 · · Score: 1

      Don't forget Adium (OSX), Proteus (OSX) and the others.

  7. Interesting features... by angst7 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    adds highly anticipated features including tabbed messaging and logging

    I've been using this for quite a while, though. It's called Gaim.

    --
    StrategyTalk.com, PC Game Forums
    1. Re:Interesting features... by mattmentecky · · Score: 1

      Could you ever use AIM's direct connect function with GAIM? I never could. Even send/receive file was a little spotty.

    2. Re:Interesting features... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And wow is it fucking ugly. I'll take AOL's AIM client any day over the Win32 GAIM client. Yeah, the ads are gone with a squid proxy so the "ad free" is irrelevant.

    3. Re:Interesting features... by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 1

      Trillian works.

      --
      Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
    4. Re:Interesting features... by John+Seminal · · Score: 1, Interesting
      adds highly anticipated features including tabbed messaging and logging

      I've been using this for quite a while, though. It's called Gaim [sourceforge.net].

      Can Open Source software be copywrited or have patents? It seems like AOL is stealing a feature of an Open Source product. With all the big companies suing smaller ones for the same thing, who is going to protect the open source software?

      Or does open source not care who uses what, that open source just wants the best possible product on the market?

      It seems like a double standard.

      --

      Rosco: "If brains were gunpowder, Enos couldn't blow his nose."

    5. Re:Interesting features... by dotgod · · Score: 1

      If anyone hasn't tried Trillian for a couple years, I'd definitely reccommend trying it out again. It used to be crap, but it's quite nice now.

    6. Re:Interesting features... by rbochan · · Score: 1

      And licq and ickle and Trillian and...

      --
      ...Rob
      The American Dream isn't an SUV and a house in the suburbs; it's Don't Tread On Me.
    7. Re:Interesting features... by Tezkah · · Score: 1

      They implemented both audio AND video capabilities, when gaim has just started whispering about possibly including it. It's only available in the Pro Version, but you get what you pay for.

      Windows only, other than that the only complaint I have is that it uses its own skin interface. I'd much rather have a native version, but you can usually find really nice skins to match Windows.

    8. Re:Interesting features... by FictionPimp · · Score: 1

      GPL software is copywrited. If you dont agree to the license you are breaking the author's copywrite.

    9. Re:Interesting features... by Penguin+Programmer · · Score: 1

      Yes, it would seem that what they've essentially done is implement features that free software that does the same thing implemented - hm - five or ten years ago.

      Funny how that works.

    10. Re:Interesting features... by alexhs · · Score: 1
      Could you ever use AIM's direct connect function with GAIM? I never could. Even send/receive file was a little spotty.

      Are you behind a NAT ? I have the same problem, but I thought it's because my FreeBSD router does masquerade / divert.

      --
      I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of killer sig, which this margin is too narrow to contain.
    11. Re:Interesting features... by caino59 · · Score: 1

      yea - direct connect works for me

      however, lacking video support kinda stinks

      trillian is a great one

    12. Re:Interesting features... by Planesdragon · · Score: 1

      Can Open Source software be copywrited or have patents?

      Yes. In fact, OSS operates on copyright law--the GPL has no effect if no copyright is exerted. (And a Public-Domain OSS project that uses GPL'd code would be, well, in violation of the GPL...)

      Patents, OTOH, require a sizable investment to procure. So most OSS projects don't bother.

      It seems like AOL is stealing a feature of an Open Source product. With all the big companies suing smaller ones for the same thing, who is going to protect the open source software?

      There is a very, VERY limited area in which you can claim IP protection for the design of a computer program.

      Apple and Microsoft waged a lawsuit battle way back in the early 1980s about exactly this matter, and Apple lost--seeing someone else's work and then copying it is perfectly OK, unless they have an eforceable patent on it.

      Both OSS and non-OSS have been copying broad designs and layouts from each other for years. If this weren't possible, we'd all still be using ICQ for instant messaging. (Well, *I* still am, but that's a whole different story.)

  8. Wow? by PunkOfLinux · · Score: 0

    So, AOL is trying to decrappify themselves in the eyes of the public? >.>

    1. Re:Wow? by gregfortune · · Score: 1

      Dunno about that.. I though WoW was blizzard's thing ;)

  9. early beta by frieked · · Score: 5, Informative

    It is worth noting that this is still an early beta.
    I installed it this morning and had frequent crashes so I switched back to the regular 5.9 version.

    Here's a select quote from the betanews forums:
    "Why is it that so many small or independent developers give us so much quality software, often without reward, and huge companies like AOL can only spit out this bloated garbage?"

    --

    I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.
    -Xenocrates
    1. Re:early beta by Neil+Blender · · Score: 1

      "Why is it that so many small or independent developers give us so much quality software, often without reward, and huge companies like AOL can only spit out this bloated garbage?"

      PHBs.

    2. Re:early beta by MCron · · Score: 1

      This beta is running at about 100MB usage of RAM. Also, viewing of profiles has not been implemented yet, along with several other 5.x features.
      So, yes, still very early

      --
      Send offline messages on AIM with DoorManBot
    3. Re:early beta by barzok · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Because the small guy actually cares about the product, has passion around it, enjoys the work, and wants to put out something that makes him look good. He's also far more likely to "dogfood" the application, so it has to work for him before anyone else.

      Huge companies like AOL (this is a generalization!) only care about the bottom line, and the passion & interest for the product isn't nearly as strong at the level of the developers. They aren't building something they believe in, they're building what they're paid to build. Add in "too many chiefs, not enough indians" (basically, every mid-level manager and marketdroid has to get their word in and impose their will) and the end result is bloated garbage.

    4. Re:early beta by kirun · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This beta is running at about 100MB usage of RAM.

      Why do I get the feeling the ICQ developers had a hand in this?

      --
      I'm scared of numbers that can't be written as a fraction. It's an irrational fear.
    5. Re:early beta by dr.badass · · Score: 1

      "Why is it that so many small or independent developers give us so much quality software, often without reward, and huge companies like AOL can only spit out this bloated garbage?"

      Because small developers (even freeware/open source) have to compete for mindshare to survive. An established giant like AOL or Microsoft with a captive audience does not. They stagnate, and begin to focus on extracting more money from said captive audience than gaining a larger, more loyal, or happier audience.

      The little guy's product has to be better to be successful; the big guy's product just has to be branded.

      The smartest companies (Apple, Google, et al.) learn how to do both.

      --
      Don't become a regular here -- you will become retarded.
    6. Re:early beta by petsounds · · Score: 1

      Add in "too many chiefs, not enough indians" (basically, every mid-level manager and marketdroid has to get their word in and impose their will) and the end result is bloated garbage.

      Don't you mean, "Too many chiefs, too many Indians?"

      Actually though, I think this has more to do with a bottom-line management style with a warpspeed dev cycle, rather than a deficit in quality talent. (though is anyone really attracted to working at AOL given the crap we see come out of there?)

    7. Re:early beta by Adrilla · · Score: 1

      Can you find the 'File Transfer' function, because i can't. Is it disabled in this early version?

      --

      "Plans are for fools! Oglethorpe, the plutonian (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
    8. Re:early beta by bethneverforgets · · Score: 1

      Uh huh, and what about open standards people? Completely rebuilt? Not likely, all I see is some shiny new lipstick on this pig. It would be a breath of fresh air to see some of the standards in the IM world make it into the big IM networks. Why not SIMPLE? http://ineen.com/ seems to be on the right track.

  10. One Word by Soljin · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Trillian

  11. Damn you Trillion by Mintee · · Score: 0

    If trillion would get it's crap together then there would be no need in anymore windows IM clients...

    --
    Help me get a PSP! Who can afford s
    1. Re:Damn you Trillion by DeLoreanCowboy · · Score: 1

      It's Trillian. And try 3.1 I'm sure you'll love it. Also, if you are refering to the ICQ/AIM connectivity issues, that was a problem on AOL's side and was fixed. just f.y.i. flaming will get you nowhere.

    2. Re:Damn you Trillion by Mintee · · Score: 1

      Who was flaming? Not I says we.

      --
      Help me get a PSP! Who can afford s
  12. How much do you want to bet... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...that this 'new version' will include 'features' that make it impossible/illegal (DMCA comes to mind) for third-parties to build compatible clients? Not to mention more adware/spyware-like functionality.

    1. Re:How much do you want to bet... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      60 Quatloos on the newcomer!

    2. Re:How much do you want to bet... by vasqzr · · Score: 1


      As long as I can continue to use an older version, I'll be happy.

    3. Re:How much do you want to bet... by generationxyu · · Score: 1

      Not much. AOL has always been pretty nice with third-party clients. Nicer than MSN/Yahoo, at any rate.

      --
      I mod down pyramid schemes in sigs.
    4. Re:How much do you want to bet... by DeLoreanCowboy · · Score: 1

      I'm assuming we forgot about the AOL-Cerulean Studios (AIM-Trillian) wars a few years back?

  13. gAim and DeadAim, anyone? by Jeremy.DeGroot · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A lot of those features touted in the headline are features that I've been using for years with alternative clients. Oh, but what's this? Support for VOIP? Address books? Plug-in architechture? Now it's sounding more interesting. I may have to start using the AIM client again.

    1. Re:gAim and DeadAim, anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gaim has plug-ins

    2. Re:gAim and DeadAim, anyone? by double-oh+three · · Score: 1

      By the way, Gaim is correctly written either gaim or Gaim, not GAIM, gAIM, gAim, et all.

      --
      "For years, I struggled with reality... but I'm happy to say I finally won out over it." -- Elwood P. Dowd
    3. Re:gAim and DeadAim, anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      also, it's 'et al.', not 'et all.'

    4. Re:gAim and DeadAim, anyone? by drooling-dog · · Score: 1, Insightful
      Support for VOIP?

      So we've come full-circle, back to the equivalent of just calling someone on a telephone? Revolutionary!

    5. Re:gAim and DeadAim, anyone? by kidgenius · · Score: 1
      Address books? Plug-in architechture?

      Gaim has has plugin architecture for years now. And, if you are using Evolution in Linux, you get address book functionality as well.

    6. Re:gAim and DeadAim, anyone? by charstar · · Score: 1

      with the exception that distance is not an issue, and you don't have to deal with telephone carriers (just non-functional software).

      We used to get our internet over the phone, now we get our phone over the internet.

    7. Re:gAim and DeadAim, anyone? by drooling-dog · · Score: 1
      with the exception that distance is not an issue

      Tell that to Comcast. With their basic digital phone service, "long distance" is 7 cents a minute extra!

  14. Preferences we can't understand by digitaldc · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Answering another user grievance, AOL will pair down the number of preference options in AIM, taking what it refers to as a "smarter approach." A spokesperson said that the current AIM client was heavy with preferences because, "We couldn't decide one way or another."
    But they still tacked on tons of ads and annoying pop-up windows, the dumb approach. Hopefully the new version will be ad-free and user friendly. Is this possible?

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
    1. Re:Preferences we can't understand by MCron · · Score: 2, Informative

      As far as I can tell, they've taken away pop-up windows (AIM Today screen), and even put a handle on SPIM, with the IM Catcher.

      There isn't even a stock ticker on there anymore.
      So, where are you getting "they still tacked on tons of ads and annoying pop-up windows, the dumb approach."?

      --
      Send offline messages on AIM with DoorManBot
    2. Re:Preferences we can't understand by khellendros1984 · · Score: 1

      Taking the "smarter approach" by dumbing down the interface.... You know, that's why diversity is good. I LIKE MY OPTIONS!! If something's missing from GAIM, I can get a plugin somewhere that adds the capabilities. So, will there be an AIM plugin to restore lost preferences? Get rid of ads? Somehow, I think not.

      --
      It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
    3. Re:Preferences we can't understand by jtriska · · Score: 1

      If there's one thing I didn't complain about the original AIM client, it was the preferences. Maybe they could of been grouped and simplified a bit better, but, I don't see how just obliterating user choice and forcing them to use defaults is a feature.

  15. New *client* by gregfortune · · Score: 4, Informative

    Just as a clarification, this is *not* a new protocol. This is a new client that integrates the AIM protocol and functionality with other services.

    1. Re:New *client* by MCron · · Score: 3, Informative

      To expand on that, AOL has two protocols, OSCAR (which is used by the AIM client and Triton as well as gAIM and Trillian) and TOC (which was released in 1997 for third-party developers).

      While TOC has been fairly crippled, OSCAR is still expanding (server storage of aliases, for example) and shows no sign of needing replacement.

      --
      Send offline messages on AIM with DoorManBot
    2. Re:New *client* by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

      Such a shame, too... I was hoping they might just implement XMPP. ;-)

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
  16. TRITON!!! by Jicksta · · Score: 4, Funny

    Trion!!!

    Now with bigger, more explosive ads!

    1. Re:TRITON!!! by VolcomPimp · · Score: 1

      Actually there was less when I found Triton last night, and I was even able to find a thread which shows how to remove them by simply editing a config file to make an "ads" tab appear which lets you turn ads off or change the sizes.

  17. 'highly anticipated'? by matt+me · · Score: 2, Interesting

    features such as logging and tabbed conversations. cutting edge innovations? ha! i think not. maybe they should call it agaim or something. now they're taking stuff back.

    looking at http://images.betanews.com/betanews/articles/11144 80209/triton.png screenshot they are quite clearly trying to replicate MSN 6 to 'please' users. same ugly style. expect similar bloat.

    1. Re:'highly anticipated'? by 0racle · · Score: 1

      I hate all that crap on the side. It makes it impossible to have a small chat window as you work.

      --
      "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
  18. Until I can kill the ads... by doormat · · Score: 1

    I'm going to stick with trillian.

    --
    The Doormat

    If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention.
    1. Re:Until I can kill the ads... by MCron · · Score: 2, Informative

      Go ahead and kill the ads. Now, will you be moving?

      --
      Send offline messages on AIM with DoorManBot
  19. hmmm by John+Seminal · · Score: 1
    The client will also be open to third party plug-ins

    How long til they pull close the door on thrid party im's? To make them unable to use the network? Could it be they just want to make the switch with the least amount of bitching?

    --

    Rosco: "If brains were gunpowder, Enos couldn't blow his nose."

    1. Re:hmmm by argent · · Score: 1

      How long until they close the door on third party IMs?

      That was my first thought, indeed.

  20. Successful Business Plan? by bigtallmofo · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think now I'll write a P2P application that runs on top of Triton called Tritonster. When AOL inevitably sues me for trademark infringement I'll claim that my daughter's nickname has been Tritonee for some time.

    Sounds like a winning business plan to me!

    --
    I'm a big tall mofo.
    1. Re:Successful Business Plan? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why not just link to the original?

    2. Re:Successful Business Plan? by Evro · · Score: 1

      Or directly to my Journal Entry!

      --
      rooooar
  21. i hope they have security in mind by Jaspers · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    The client will also be open to third party plug-ins.


    Well i do hope they have some security in mind with those plugins! In the local news a few nights ago it was said that someone turned a webcam on to a 16 year old girl on msn messenger. After he took some ensaulting pictures of her, he (was caught after all) was blackmaling the girl!

    1. Re:i hope they have security in mind by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I beg your pardon?

      ensaulting ???

    2. Re:i hope they have security in mind by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      ensaulting ???

      I beg your pardon?

      I think he meant exalting

  22. Opening Up? by MCron · · Score: 3, Informative

    They say they will be opening up to third party developers.
    I checked the acccore.dll file, and seems to have some pretty extensive hooks. All the same, this is entirely client-side.

    Recently, they have been clamping down more and more on third-party developers of services on the network. For example, a free offline messaging service, DoorManBot was forced offline for a few days recently. Hopefully, this new spirit of being open to developers will carry through.

    --
    Send offline messages on AIM with DoorManBot
  23. DeadAIM by NeoSkandranon · · Score: 1

    sounds like alot of features have been taken from the functionality added by the DeadAIM plugin

    --
    If you can't see the value in jet powered ants you should turn in your nerd card. - Dunbal (464142)
    1. Re:DeadAIM by dave1g · · Score: 1

      there was some talk of AOL buying deadaim... lost track of that, I used the last client that still works with the latest deadaim, that bastard hasn't released a new version in forever.

    2. Re:DeadAIM by NeoSkandranon · · Score: 1

      Same here. Main reason I bought it was the whole "free upgrades for a year" thing. He promptly stopped releasing after that.

      --
      If you can't see the value in jet powered ants you should turn in your nerd card. - Dunbal (464142)
  24. So many complaints by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yet you all seem to fail to realise the purpose of this. While all those 3rd party clients are great and all. Who's to say AOL can't change the rules and block all 3rd party applications and then go DMCA on the creators and all this free software would cease to exist. This may be the direction AOL plans to take the AIM protocol. It might be totally wrong. But at least it's something to think about before you blatantly bash them for providing something for free all these years.

    Last time I checked the AIM protocol still runs on servers controlled by AOL.

  25. Not very impressive by Kimos · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I live in Canada so have never used AIM. I am, however, an avid user of Trillian and GAIM over ICQ and MSN. Now I'm not sure if it's just me, but offering tabbed chatting and logging features doesn't seem that impressive to me. Honestly, I wouldn't use a client that didn't log conversations and offer some type of window control.

    I didn't RTFM, but I hope that those aren't the best features that Triton has to offer...

    1. Re:Not very impressive by HAKdragon · · Score: 3, Interesting

      What does living in Canada have to do with using AIM?

      --
      "Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs. We have a protractor."
    2. Re:Not very impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What does living in Canada have to do with using AIM?

      It's too complicated.

    3. Re:Not very impressive by rainman_bc · · Score: 3, Informative

      What does living in Canada have to do with using AIM?

      While quite popular in America, I know of no one on AIM in Canada. In my circles MSN seems most popular, with ICQ second and YIM third.

      --
      09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
    4. Re:Not very impressive by Kimos · · Score: 3, Informative

      Nobody here uses AOL. I know it's available because I've gotten the CDs in the mail, but I've never had a single AOL email address in my address book. The only exception is when I do eBay business with the US, then it seems every third person is using AOL.

    5. Re:Not very impressive by Mr.Progressive · · Score: 1

      No, it's also have new ADS!!

      --
      Okay, so a philosopher, a philologist, and a philatelist walk into a bar...
    6. Re:Not very impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just because it's so cold up here, doesn't mean we're slow, eh?

    7. Re:Not very impressive by Mantorp · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      I live in the US but I've tried Canadian Bacon several times.

    8. Re:Not very impressive by asv108 · · Score: 1

      What the hell does using AOL have to do with using AIM? Most people who use AIM do not subscribe to AOL.

    9. Re:Not very impressive by sunwolf · · Score: 2, Funny

      By "here," do you mean "outside of America"? Does AOL even know what AOL stands for? Good old American big business, that's what! Sheesh! Next thing you know, they'll have McDonalds in China.

    10. Re:Not very impressive by SerialEx13 · · Score: 1

      From my experiences, in Canada most people don't use AIM (regardless of using AOL as their ISP or not) and instead use MSN.

    11. Re:Not very impressive by nycbicyclist · · Score: 0

      Yet another reason to move to Canada....

    12. Re:Not very impressive by TERdON · · Score: 1

      Isn't Canada part of America? Though not of the USA. However, what is being said about Canada is also true about Europe. Tech savvy people use ICQ, lusers MSN, real geeks use a 3rd party multiprotocol client (Miranda / Trillian / Gaim / Fire / Adium X / whatever).

      --
      I have a really elegant proof for Fermat's last theorem. If this sig was only a bit longer...
    13. Re:Not very impressive by rainman_bc · · Score: 1

      I dunno, when a President of the US says "My Fellow Americans" is he addressing Canadians and Mexicans too?

      I think a Canadian or Mexican is reluctant to call themself an American because of the stigma associated with that label.

      btw, I use gaim, but most of my contacts in Canada are on MSN. I'm on three - Yahoo, ICQ, and MSN. My ICQ account hase one contact, my Yahoo has four and my MSN has fifty.

      --
      09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
    14. Re:Not very impressive by TERdON · · Score: 1
      Yeah, I do agree with you, but the more "America" is used where "USA" can be used without problem, the less the canadians and mexicans want to be called americans. "Americans", is in fact a word that's harder to exchange. The only solution I see is using "gringos" in english too (which is the explanation at least the mexicans shouldn't really care that much). :)

      Stats exchange then - I'm a Swede, currently living in Germany (studying...), using Miranda and Adium X (depending on computer). I have about 30 ICQ contacts, about 10 MSN contacts and NOT A SINGLE ONE AIM contact. I do have an account though, even though it's mostly dead, strangely enough. ;-)

      The only strange thing for Europe here I would say is that I should've had more MSN contacts. Suppose that's mean I'm a fully qualified geek. :)

      --
      I have a really elegant proof for Fermat's last theorem. If this sig was only a bit longer...
    15. Re:Not very impressive by smallduck · · Score: 1

      We're all waiting for COL and CIM

      --
      no sig, no plan, no clue
    16. Re:Not very impressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I dunno, when a President of the US says

      The President is not someone to follow for language usage tips.

    17. Re:Not very impressive by vmardian · · Score: 1

      Same here. I'm in Canada. When the web was new it was all ICQ, then a few years ago everyone shifted towards MSN. I keep Yahoo and AIM (through iChat though) open as well because I have a few contacts on there. BTW, iChat is just beautiful.

      --
      PowerLevel.com - A next generation marketplace for virtual items and services
  26. AIM? by John+Seminal · · Score: 0
    Isn't AIM something only people with AOL use? I have never had it on any computer.

    Maybe it is too difficult to download a different IM when you use dial up?

    How about AOL is forced to have on it's instal CD a second IM program?

    I had a friend who does have AOL and they had Real Player installed as part of the AOL instal. You could not opt-out. It seems to me that AOL is becomming the next M$. Luckily, most people have broadband so AOL will die.

    --

    Rosco: "If brains were gunpowder, Enos couldn't blow his nose."

    1. Re:AIM? by gregfortune · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Isn't AIM something only people with AOL use?"

      Yeah, not very many of those people around.. </sarcasm>

    2. Re:AIM? by MCron · · Score: 1

      AIM is actually the IM platform with the most users, so no, not only AOL.

      As for size, the normal version is only a few MB.
      However, if you really are concerned about size, take a look at TerraIM, which stands at about 600KB.

      --
      Send offline messages on AIM with DoorManBot
    3. Re:AIM? by Stick_Fig · · Score: 1
      Um, download AIM, buddy, because you have no clue what the hell you're talking about. It's the most popular program on the internet next to IE, and the network's free to use and COMPLETELY unrelated to AOL.

      Jesus, can I borrow the cave you've been hiding in? It's been in heavy use for almost a decade now.

      --
      ShortFormBlog: Writing a little. Saying a lot.
    4. Re:AIM? by Merithiel · · Score: 1
      Luckily, most people have broadband so AOL will die.


      Unfortunately, some people have AOL with Broadband. And it is surprisingly cheap altogether if you do it through them.

      For the average user who does not need a very fast connection and frequently uses AOL, this is a pretty good solution. Just like the AOL computer advertised in the tigerdirect catalog I got for some odd reason.
    5. Re:AIM? by Ender_Stonebender · · Score: 1

      Isn't it just that you're an idiot? (People who disagree with me should look at this guy's prior posts.) AIM is just about absolutely freaking everywhere these days. Official clients exist for PC, Mac, and a supposedly run-anywhere Java applet; there's a number of cell phone and PDA versions; and there's even SMS gateways from most major US cellular carriers. So no, you don't need to have AOL on your PC to use AIM.

      It's even a relatively small download! 10MB or so, I think. Kind of a pain in the butt on dial-up, but not too unreasonable.

      I don't think that you could tell the AOL installer to not install RealPlayer, but once it was installed you could uninstall it. I used to do that when I worked for AOL Tech Support. ...and AOL is moving into the broadband arena through partnerships with cable providers, so it's unlikely to die. The thing that seems really strange to me is: There are people on AOL who actually *like* it! How dumb do you have to be to actually like AOL?

      Oh, and can someone point us to some statistics on overall Internet penetration and broadband penetration that are relatively recent? (A quick Google search turned up something from March 2004, I'd like to see something more recent.)

      --Ender

      --
      Loose things are easy to lose. You're getting your hair cut. They're going there to see their aunt.
    6. Re:AIM? by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

      There really aren't very many of those people around. Well, unless you have your head stuck firmly in US soil.

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
    7. Re:AIM? by DA-MAN · · Score: 1

      There really aren't very many of those people around. Well, unless you have your head stuck firmly in US soil.

      Perhaps it is you who needs to get their head out of their . . .

      Well anyways just look at one of these sites:

      http://www.aol.co.uk/
      http://www.aol.ca/
      http://www.aol.de/
      http://www.aol.fr/

      --
      Can I get an eye poke?
      Dog House Forum
    8. Re:AIM? by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

      Perhaps it is you who needs to get their head out of their . . .

      Not really.

      We have AOL here too (Australia), but I don't know of a single real person who actually uses it.

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
    9. Re:AIM? by DA-MAN · · Score: 1

      We have AOL here too (Australia), but I don't know of a single real person who actually uses it.

      Nor do I here in the states. Maybe it's just the circle of people we have around us, doesn't mean that A) AOL is only in America and 2) It's not profitable.

      I don't know a single real person who clicks on spam, yet we know that's still profitable!

      --
      Can I get an eye poke?
      Dog House Forum
    10. Re:AIM? by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

      Nobody said it isn't profitable. The original sarcasm was that there aren't many AOL users around, and that much appears to be true, at least globally.

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
    11. Re:AIM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FWIW, I am one of the people who've got cable and am writing this in Firefox AND on my 2nd monitor I have the AOL client open. I'm not certain that having AOL makes me dumb. There are some things AOL does nicely, even though I believe those things can and are mostly done elsewhere. (Well, maybe with the exception of listening to WQXR.)

      I keep it around for a variety of reasons, even though a large number of people think as that poster does.

      In speaking with some savvy folks at a PC user group, some told me a litany of stuff wrong with AOL, including stuff that was fixed years ago. I recommended criticising the company for what it currently is, not what it was years ago, and told them how they could fix the problems they mentioned on their clients' machines. However, as we always see on /. there are often as many opinions as people. YMMV

    12. Re:AIM? by gregfortune · · Score: 1

      *removes head from said US soil*

      What was that?

    13. Re:AIM? by gregfortune · · Score: 1

      Not as current as I hoped to find, but as of April, 2003, AOL had 26.2 million subscribers. Reference

      Note that this is down from 32 million in 2001, but I'm still guessing they have a fair chunk of warm bodies. Reference

      Ahh, here we go. 22.7 million Sept. 2004. Wish I had that many clients :) Reference

    14. Re:AIM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most people I know who use AIM don't have AOL.

    15. Re:AIM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      AOL is trying to "reinvent itself" in the style of Michael Jackson, Madonna, etc.
      They're a dwindling number, as more and more users give up the ghost and go to something less invasive, more reliable, more secure, etc. Most of those who DON'T switch off are generally not quite as "technically gifted". Note that AOL "gives out free virus protection"... Ironic that AOL users on unsecured high-speed connections are most likely to become Spam Zombies? The parents have some kids that have sub accounts, or non-users make an account to "talk to mom/grandma/etc".
      I called their "AOL Computer" about two years before they started advertising it. Other stuff they're advertising, including this "new chat client" are just other ways to try to throw a bloated, invasive, unsecure, and intrusive program out there. It seems, like everything else they've put out, that "You're not smart enough to know what's best for you. So, here goes, we're going to give you all of this... whether you want it or not." (M$ is not much better).
      Personally, I ditched them almost 10 years ago when I found better, less intrusive options for connecting to the internet (especially at lower prices/free). Plus, I really really really hate it when some program tries to impose itself into every aspect of my machine. I've made sure that all aol references/programs/executables/etc are off any machine that I have (as I do with Windows Messenger and the like).
      Personally, if I'm using something, I want it to be CLEAN and EFFICIENT. I don't want something throwing up advertisemnts, I don't want it chewing up either my bandwidth or my memory. If I'm using something to send a message, that's ALL I want out of it. If I want sports/stocks/news/whatever, I'll go and actively seek them out. Hey, it's nice that people make it AVAILABLE. If that floats your boat, more power to you. Forcing something onto people, well, that's bullshit. I call them losing more and more as people continue to learn that they don't need to spend $25 a month on top of their cable/dsl bill, or load up a program that uses 20-80% of their system resources (either the full AOL program, or one of their "extras"), just because someone somewhere might want to see the stock ticker, the scores of every NCAA basketball game, the latest updates on the latest soaps, an interview with the recent reject from "cookie-cutter-'reality show'-of-the-month", a trailer for "Latest Hollywood Cookie-cutter Slasher-pic of-the-month", while being pelted by spambots for bogus mortgages, fake viagra, and the "latest" in "adult entertainment".
      Then again, AOL isn't about giving their sheeple any hint of the realities of the world outside...

    16. Re:AIM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gotta wonder, is that actual revenue-generating accounts? Or, is that number of active "screen names" as they like to call them?

  27. it will suck by nashy-nunu · · Score: 0

    I don't like AIM. None of the features are worth anything. The lastest versions came with spyware "wildTanget" I will assume the same for this. I will never use it

  28. Triton.. good. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I see everyone touting GAIM and Trillian like they are even remotely comparable to AIM from AOL. This is pretty funny. I agree the latest version seem a little bloated and have some annoying options though. However, it's much more stable, feature friendly, and flat out works the way it should. All of these open source version are terrible buggy or missing features. They did, however, capitalize on the features users really wanted and that's great. There have been addons for AIM that provide this support, but nothing from AOL sadly enough.

    It's funny that logging isn't included since chat logging has been available on the AOL client for over 10 years. In any case -- I welcome Triton and look forward to a decent product that finally provides all of these features.

  29. Forget features, I want them to keep giving me CDs by pg110404 · · Score: 5, Funny

    With the advances in CD/DVD burning and buffer underrun protection, I've not made any coasters in a really long time.

    It's like c'mon, what else can I put my cup/glass on? I don't even get the Bell sympatico CDs anymore either.

    Cheap bastards. Don't they know their CDs are actually worth something to me?

  30. awesome! by ohzero · · Score: 5, Funny

    it'll be like....trillian 0.9B!!

    --
    -- http://www.criticalassets.com
    1. Re:awesome! by GReaToaK_2000 · · Score: 1

      I wish I could mod you up...
      That was my thought too.

      +1 Interesting.

    2. Re:awesome! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I also wish I could mod you up!
      +1 Awesome!

  31. I can't wait by 514CK3R · · Score: 0

    Looks like the next peice of malware to infect the web. Next thing you know they'll be following with slogan theft, and perhaps even claim that it "Just Works" like Windows longhorn

  32. Triton's Mozilla Past by jhewitt · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Triton was completely re-written from scratch using a new GUI toolkit called "Boxely", which was derived from Mozilla's XUL. As a result, this new AIM is extremely extensible, and hackable.

    Poke around in C:\Program Files\Common Files\AOL\AIMBeta\services and you'll find a bunch of javascript and xml files (ending in .box). These contain the code that drives the entire product. You can easily modify and extend AIM, just as you can write extensions for Firefox with XUL. This is no accident, AOL wants developers to build on AIM as a platform.

    When I worked at AOL, I developed Boxely as a fun side project. I left the company a year ago, but they kept my project alive and now seem to be building real software with it. I probably should have open sourced it from the beginning.

    On my blog I've written more about Boxely and how it compares to XUL: http://www.joehewitt.com/

    1. Re:Triton's Mozilla Past by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You might want to double-check with any AOL contacts... pretty sure Boxley was gutted due to Python guts.

    2. Re:Triton's Mozilla Past by jhewitt · · Score: 3, Informative

      They did replace the Python script wrapper with Javascript, and they have optimized the code quite a bit and added some new features. However, as far as I can tell, the markup language and general architecture hasn't changed much at all.

    3. Re:Triton's Mozilla Past by MCron · · Score: 1

      If you look at the files, you will see it is very much Boxley, in fact, I found one file still referenced and available on his site

      On another note, I read that the IM rendering window is being done by IE now, is this a mistake?

      --
      Send offline messages on AIM with DoorManBot
    4. Re:Triton's Mozilla Past by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      "Boxely", which was derived from Mozilla's XUL. As a result, this new AIM is extremely extensible, and hackable... I probably should have open sourced it from the beginning.

      By 'derived' do you mean 'inspired by' or 'built on'? I'm curious how the MPL applies to Boxely.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  33. Minimum System Requirements? by jtriska · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Just what does this client do that it needs more than a 600mhz computer?

    I got the installer, which was annoying as it's not even an installer at all but an install-getter, and it immediately prompted me with the message "Your computer does not meet the minimum system requirements to download and install AIM® Beta."

    1. Re:Minimum System Requirements? by jtriska · · Score: 2, Informative

      Nevermind, heh, XP only. Nothing to see here.

    2. Re:Minimum System Requirements? by hass · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Miranda is a nice chat client for older systems. It supports multiple chat protocols and does not require installation. The site says it can even be run from a floppy drive. I prefer it over gaim and trillian.

      http://www.miranda-im.org/

  34. Trillian is awesome. by RyoShin · · Score: 1

    You and me, both.

    If I just used AIM, then Triton might interest me.

    However, some of my friends insist on having MSN names (I guess they like putting an entire fucking paragraph in for their handle,) so I'd just rather have one catch-all program, which Trillian does quite fine since I upgraded to v3. I'm dissapointed that it took so long for me to be able to see the fonts that other users had set, though. Before, it just always showed my font for everyone, regardless of their settings.

    Now, if only they'd take away that stupid XP-like interface and give me the regular preference window I was so used to...

    However, on the subject of cross-IM, can't ICQ and AOL accounts interface now?

  35. Security? by tuxlove · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The client will also be open to third party plug-ins.

    Yay! More ways for spyware and viruses to take control of your computer! And propagate themselves to your friends' computers too. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

  36. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by EtherAlchemist · · Score: 2, Insightful


    I totally get your point- being able to talk with people using different clients is from one source is handy. But I don't think Trillian is the killer app people make it out to be. I've used it, and yeah it's OK, but Trillian is basically just an IM client aggregator- it doesn't provide any messaging capabilities itself, I don't find any of its own features that useful, you still have to have an account with each service you want to use, and until recently that was kind of a pain in the ass (cue flaming arrows).

    It's not like Trillian does anything super fantastic, if you look at the new features Trillian has like the bio thing, it's just AIM profiles. There's no tabbed messaging, as far as I know Trillian doesn't support VOIP (in TFA they say Triton will), and there's no plugin support (again TFA says that will be in there).

    I think the plugins is going to be where it's at- look how much they've helped the popularity of Mozilla and Firefox. When you have an app and think "damn, I wish it did [THAT]" and then you can either go find it or write your own, that's fucking sweet. For me, waiting for the next release and wondering if it's in there sucks.

    --
    R(k)
  37. This may actually turn out to be useful. by AdityaG · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I know AOL doesn't have a record of doing smart things, but if they actually make the client non-shitty, it can only help. People won't generally switch to Gaim and Trillian, because they don't know the company. People want a name brand. We see this with Linux vs. Windows and such.

    So if they actually make a better client, maybe one that instantly kills noob fuxx0rs, the world will be a better place.

    1. Re:This may actually turn out to be useful. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I find it funny that you think people won't generally switch, when almost everyone I talk to online uses Gaim. No, none of them are geeks.

      The killer feature is multiple protocol support.

  38. The current interface wasn't bad by miyako · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure why they decided that they need such a huge change from what they already had, I always thought that (exessive ads from in the buddy list aside) AIM had a pretty decent UI. In fact, the only thing that ever really annoyed me about AIM was it allowing people to set the background color on their text, because people seem to invariably love sending lime green text on a hot pink background, or something else equally blinding. But looking at the screenshots of this new client, it seems bulky and way to flashy. Generally when I get an IM, I just want a small text window that will pop-up that I can read and reply to quickly. Along these lines, I think tabbed IMs are a bad idea (turned them off in Gaim), because tabbed IMs only really seem to work if your concentrating only on IMing people, instead of (what I do, and what I would suspect most other people do) simply leaving the IM services on in the background while you do other stuff.
    Of course, as someone else mentioned, until they add support for multiple protocols, and a linux port, I'll be sticking with Gaim, though I certainly hope Gaim doesn't try to copy this new look.

    --
    Famous Last Words: "hmm...wikipedia says it's edible"
    1. Re:The current interface wasn't bad by kidgenius · · Score: 1

      I actually thought that the current GUI was rather cluttered when compared to GAIM. I think the new UI looks nice and less cluttered, but I agree that it appears very bulky and flashy.

    2. Re:The current interface wasn't bad by jayloden · · Score: 1

      There is a linux port for AIM already, has been for quite a while.

      http://www.aim.com/get_aim/linux/latest_linux.adp

      -Jay

  39. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by Spy+der+Mann · · Score: 1

    For me, waiting for the next release and wondering if it's in there sucks.

    Welcome to the world of closed-source crippleware.

    Now I wish there was a software like Trillian but open source. Oh, and I tried GAIM, but the bugs and lack of features made me go back to trilly'.

    Sucks, doesn't it?

  40. no coincidence? by sootman · · Score: 3, Funny

    "It is no coincidence that AOL is fielding so many betas concurrently."

    What, did they get bought by Google?

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
  41. Adium by argent · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Sounds like they were paying attention to Adium, which is webkit rather than gecko based but otherwise sounds similar.

    Well, except that Adium works with just about every IM service out there.

    1. Re:Adium by Bob+The+Cowboy · · Score: 1

      Actually, Adium uses LibGaim, written by, obviously, the Gaim folks.

    2. Re:Adium by argent · · Score: 1

      Actually, Adium uses LibGaim

      Really, it uses LibGAIM to customise the user interface the way this new AOL IM client uses Gecko? Silly me, I thought it was using Webkit the way AOL is using Gecko. Thanks ever so much for correcting me.

  42. Whatever happened to ICQ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    AOL bought them a few years ago for 350 million and didnt do anything with it. ICQ had everything AIM didnt why dont they just use ICQ.

  43. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by parasonic · · Score: 0

    That is, until AOL uses DRM against Trillian et al over the code that decrypts Triton's packets (and that, only if AOL doesn't bother making its client harder to reverse engineer, likely a regret that is probably a driving force in creating a new service).

  44. Was the focus issue fixed? by British · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's been a while since i used AIM(I use trillian instead), but do new windows pop up *and* give focus ?

    Always hated that. You're typing in the first half of a sentence to person A, and right at that moment Person B messages you, and you accidentally end up tying the rest of the sentence to person B. '

    Of course if you're shit-talking about person B, you end up with egg on your fae.

    1. Re:Was the focus issue fixed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://bash.org/?4848

  45. wow I got a great idea for them by tofucubes · · Score: 1
    they could field a new beta of winamp...with tons of stability and make it not suck up resources like crazy and you could rehire all the people from before and...oh wait it's like the old winamp before it went flashy

    anyway tabbed IM would definitely be welcomed...but can it post on /.?

    --
    Some people believe 1-1=3 and for the sake of being politically correct, we should respect their differences
  46. Thanks! (Inside Joke) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thank you, Keith McGreggor.

  47. Now how about taking features away... by acroyear · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...like using pure Flash for advertisements?

    I had to switch to GAIM not for any particular feature, but to get rid of the advertising.

    Seemed the version of AIM I was using at the time allowed Flash advertisements with sound, and the sound completely ignored my other settings in the AIM client to turn all sounds off.

    so here i am, in my quiet little room trying to get work done, and suddenly I get interrupted by a trailer for some movie coming from the one app that should have been totally silent.

    I was not amused.

    and AIM was off my box in seconds.

    --
    "But remember, most lynch mobs aren't this nice." (H.Simpson)
    -- Joe
    1. Re:Now how about taking features away... by LordJezo · · Score: 1

      Truth to that. Same thing happened to my boss while we were in a meeting with her. Unless they take away the worthless sound ads or some guy comes up with another ad hack I am not going anywhere near it.

    2. Re:Now how about taking features away... by zerkon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Don't even get me started on AIM advertising, how about one day I walk over to my computer and the Java VM is running... odd there isn't a browser open... all thats open is AIM?? last thing I need is aim using up (in addition to the already bloated software that it is) an additional 20MB of ram to run Java...

      then of course there is the "mouse over to hear" advertising that comes blaring out of my speakers when I minimize a window and mouse over by accident...

      and my gf wonders why i use gaim

    3. Re:Now how about taking features away... by jayloden · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I remember that...it was a little before I moved to Linux, and I wrote a little batch file to block the AIM ad servers (that served that audio ads) with the hosts file. It was a limited time thing, as I remember, it was a 2 week(month?) trial of audio ads to see what the response was. Though I can't be 100% sure since I don't use Windows or AIM, I'm pretty sure those audio ads are no longer in service because the response was overwhelmingly horrible. -Jay

    4. Re:Now how about taking features away... by cdcarter · · Score: 1

      They still exist

      --
      "Love is like a trampoline, first it's like "SWEET!!" then it's like *BLAMM!*"
    5. Re:Now how about taking features away... by jayloden · · Score: 1

      wow, that sucks...one more reason to avoid AIM...if only I could get everyone I know to use Jabber or something so I could get off AIM completely.

      -Jay

    6. Re:Now how about taking features away... by jschottm · · Score: 1

      I moved off of any official ICQ application because the little add window made that damn IE click noise every time it changed the ad. I was willing to put up with the ads - AOL was providing a service to me, but I tend to keep five or six ICQ windows open at a time, leading the a chorus of clicking noises. I tried deleting the sound file that appeared to be the one they were using it to no avail.

    7. Re:Now how about taking features away... by rhpot1991 · · Score: 1

      I quit using AIM when a rocket took off from the AIM ad area and flew around my screens (dual monitor) over apps that I was using at the time on my second monitor. I'm not sure when flying ads that completely lock up the use of a system became the point of a chat app, at least GAIM hasn't followed suit.

  48. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by EtherAlchemist · · Score: 1


    Yeah, totally sucks. I didn't much care for GAIM myself. If Triton's plugin development ends up being as open as Mozilla's, I'll be all over it in a second. There's prolly a way to do something like what Trillian is doing with a plugin...

    --
    R(k)
  49. Hmm? by Mozk · · Score: 1

    Isn't Triton the codename for Internet Explorer or something?

    --
    No existe.
    1. Re:Hmm? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's Trident.

  50. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by badasscat · · Score: 4, Informative

    There's no tabbed messaging

    Tabbed messaging has been in Trillian since 2.0. See here.

    you still have to have an account with each service you want to use

    For at least a couple of the services, you can do this right through Trillian (for the others, it loads up a web page just like the official client does). I don't see how this is any different than what you'd do with an official client.

    Trillian is basically just an IM client aggregator- it doesn't provide any messaging capabilities itself

    Well, being an IM client aggregator pretty much makes it a killer app in itself (yes, I know there are others, but that alone instantly puts it a rung above all "official" IM clients, as does the lack of ads).

    Being nicely designed and skinnable puts it yet again a step above even most other aggregators. Trillian 3.0 is so far ahead of any other IM client in terms of clean visual presentation throughout that it's not even funny. All apps should look this good by default, and if by some remote chance you don't like it, you can just download a new skin. The entire UI is skinnable, not just the outer edges. It also supports all sorts of plugins, from RSS readers to IM forwarders to weather.

    Having features like tabbed messaging and 128-bit encryption is yet another point in its favor. No other freely downloadable Windows-based IM clients have these features, that I know of.

    In short, Trillian does a lot of things, does some things no other IM client does, and everything it does do, it does well. AOL is apparently copying many of the features of Trillian in Triton, which should tell you something - I don't personally know anyone who actually uses the regular AIM client anymore.

  51. future plans? by sirinek · · Score: 1

    Does this mean they are finally going to ditch ICQ? While it used to be popular in the late 90s I think I have two people left on my list who still use it.

    I never understood why AOL wanted to have two toally separate IM clients. I realize that AIM and ICQ are using the same protocol (or close) now, but they really should have merged the clients or picked one or the other by now.

    1. Re:future plans? by mrjackson2000 · · Score: 1

      they have pretty much, you can chat w/ ICQ ppl from AIM.

    2. Re:future plans? by prionic6 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      ICQ is still the big thing over here in germany. I have only two people that use AOL on my contact list, none use MSN, none YIM. You can add AIM-Contacts through any ICQ-Client and vice versa by simply using AIM handle or ICQ number... You can even _connect_ to the AIM Server with your ICQ data and it uses your contact list! The problem about it is your contacts show up as ICQ numbers, not names. Even regarding using AIM-Contacts over ICQ servers I still prefer a multi-protocol client so that I don't show up im AIM as 98667484 or whatever my ICQ number is.

      I once tried to drop adium in favour of iChat (can do only AIM) because it's a nice software, but all my contacts showed up as numbers (as explained) and I had to enter their names manually. I switched back. It even messed up the server-side list, I sometimes use a WAP ICQ service and it started to show only numbers, too. maybe with Jabber support in Tiger I will try again.

  52. what about webcam? by venkythegeek · · Score: 1

    does GAIM or any other linux messenger support webcams?

    1. Re:what about webcam? by Daedius · · Score: 1

      You hit on a really good point. Almost as much as Linux in the past used to snuff over soundcards. Todays webcam use on linux is close to zilch. I respect gaim and all, but in terms over being a world wide communication device (text, video, audio, IM games). I feel it is pretty darn lacking. Albiet, yes, alot has to do with the fact that corporate companies control the major protocols. Its still pretty sad to see. Plus, i've never seen a gaim interface that made me go wow, All these reasons above have kept me attacheed to versions of AIM and MSN, as much as I hope things will change. But alas, it takes contribution. Honostly, I think a better IM client could still be developed out there.

    2. Re:what about webcam? by venkythegeek · · Score: 1

      Wow man if they do get this video and voice thing right ..damn iam goona fucking quit all these IM CLIENTS!!

  53. Protocol by koreaman · · Score: 1

    Does it still use OSCAR? If not, they will hopefully still keep supporting OSCAR and TOC connections.

  54. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by generationxyu · · Score: 1
    The client will also be open to third party plug-ins.

    It probably will connect with multiple IM services. It will probably have ads, though.

    --
    I mod down pyramid schemes in sigs.
  55. A made-up story of some poor aol sap by tofucubes · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    1. An ignorant person goes into a store hoping to buy a pc for simple web browsing and word processing
    2. He buys the most expensive pc and gets ripped off by being told he needs the uber-expensive $10k PC top-of-the-line for his simple web browsing and word processing needs.
    3. He signs up for AOL because the saleman suckered him into the long contract
    4. He gets home and a friend come over and says "wow, I think this is overkill for web-browsing and word processing"
    5. He then starts to update his computer with the latest software from microsoft that's still very buggy and he thinks "wow this new flashy 64-bit windows OS is great but my PC is so slow"
    6. His friend comes over and says "Oh that's just because windows saves money on hiring beta-testers...by using real users"
    7. He then starts to update his computer with the latest software from AOL and he thinks "wow this new flashy web browser and audio player and IM stuff is so great but my PC is so slow"
    8. His friend comes over and says "Oh that's because AOL doesn't optimize thier software to run fast or anything"
      1. maybe I'm just playing off the sterotype that some AOL users don't know anything about PCs and are taken advantage of
    --
    Some people believe 1-1=3 and for the sake of being politically correct, we should respect their differences
  56. I've seen this before by ToasterofDOOM · · Score: 1

    I always thought it was called Gaim, but Iguess i was mistaken ... oh well

    --
    I am Spartacus
  57. hmm by Incudie · · Score: 2, Insightful

    First they are copying Gaim... next well see a CLI version like Naim for the windows CMD. http://handhelds.freshmeat.net/projects/naim/

  58. Errr... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does anybody who actually knows about such things actually use the AOL Client? I sure hope not... The real question (which should have been answered in the blurb) is whether there will be a protocol change or not?

  59. There's a typo in the writup ... by Mr.Surly · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... "Triton" should read "Gaim"

  60. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by darthpenguin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Gaim, my own preferred IM client, is available as a free downloadable win32 exe. It supports just about every protocol (AIM, MSN, Yahoo, jabber, IRC, etc), has tabbed messaging, and also lacks ads.

    Since it's gtk2 based, you can apply whatever themes you want to it (and it will also integrate into your desktop that way if you happen to run it under linux). And the free gaim-encryption plugin allows secure messaging as well, in an easy to setup/use interface. In addition to all these features, it's Free, unlike Trillian.

  61. pffffft Triton? A Trillian Wana be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What ever thats not gonna do any better than trillian (http://www.trillian.cc/) I think AOL is just trying to dominate the market AGAIN!

  62. Gaim always messes up my buddy list. by krunk4ever · · Score: 2, Informative

    Is it me or does loading gaim screw up people's buddylist? By screwing up, I'm referring more to the order of the buddies, than actually removing buddies.

    I've stayed far far away after using it several times and it always happens.

    On the other hand, plugins for tabbed messaging and logging already exist. AOL just likes to "upgrade" whenever such a plugin exist and breaks the plugin. I think many of them have just given up seeing that there's a lack of motiviation recently since none of the aim patches support the latest version.

    The aim patches I know about include:
    * DeadAIM
    * middle_man
    * AIM+

    1. Re:Gaim always messes up my buddy list. by NormalVisual · · Score: 1

      It doesn't screw my buddy list up per se, but I get a couple hundred (literally) windows telling me a buddy list request needs to be sent to someone that's been on my list for years, and I end up having to kill the process to get everything cleaned up. Doesn't do it on the Linux version, only the Windows one. I normally use Trillian otherwise, but I find the tabbed windowing to be a bit spotty at times.

      --
      Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
    2. Re:Gaim always messes up my buddy list. by iluvpr0n · · Score: 1

      By default, I believe gaim sorts your buddies alphabetically. Go to Preferences \ Interface \ Buddy List and switch the "Buddy List Sorting" to "none" or whatever you want.

  63. improvement... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    People complaining that interfaces will be DMCA'd away and other complaints of interfaces being a security hole. There is no "spyware" installed. AOL has said they will not bundle any more such things. While GAIM and Trillian are great products they are not AOL products and therefore it seems that all AOL are trying to do is improve their member's (paid or otherwise) experience.

  64. Here's an idea. Get rid of the awful smilies. by zestymonkey · · Score: 1

    Could AOL please find a smaller, less juvenile set of smilies for the next iteration?

    --

    return;
  65. wow.. by Xaggroth · · Score: 1


    First thing I think of when I read that first sentence is GAIM.
    Stupid AOL>

  66. Miranda-IM by kagaku · · Score: 1

    With so many mentions of Trillian and GAIM, I'd just like to point out the third alternative (that was actually around before either of the aforementioned products): Miranda-IM

    It's free/oss software, Windows only (unfortunately), and has more plugins than either GAIM or Trillian. Not only can you do the basic stuff (plugins for new protocols and such), you can also entirely replace the interface with one of the many plugins. There's even a plugin that adds PHP as a scripting language.

    While it's not the easiest program to get started with (there's a ton of options, even more if you have a lot of plugins installed), once you've got it configured to your liking there's simply no comparison (in my opinion, anyway).

    Minimal, fast, native controls, open source. I'd highly recommend checking it out.

    http://miranda-im.org

    --
    everyday is another shooter.
    1. Re:Miranda-IM by javajeff · · Score: 1

      I use it and recommend it as well.

  67. Re:Interesting features... (tabs) by guitaristx · · Score: 1

    Personally, I dislike, even hate, tabbed messaging windows. It's wonderful for browsing, but horrible for IMing. I don't want to, if I'm in another window doing real work, have to alt-tab, and then use the mouse or execute another keyboard command to bring up the appropriate IM conversation - I'd wind up giving messages to the wrong people and getting everything all screwed up.

    So, all that being said, they should make certain that tabbed IM conversations can be disabled. Surely I'm not the only one that feels this way.

    --
    I pity the foo that isn't metasyntactic
  68. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it doesn't provide any messaging capabilities itself, I don't find any of its own features that useful, you still have to have an account with each service you want to use

    Of course. Why do we need IM aggregators? Because there are so many IM services. How, exactly, does providing yet another incompatible IM service alleviate this problem?

  69. Re:Interesting features... (tabs) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can disable tabbed windows in gaim rather trivially. I'm not sure if this was always the case.

  70. That's no moon... by tektek · · Score: 1

    That's no moon...

  71. Alternative to DoorManBot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I've recently heard of another protocol for sending messages to people who are offline. It seems well tested, and at the moment there are many people using it. There are even web-based interfaces for it.

    There are several clients available, here, here, and here, and there are many others. Hope that helps.

  72. I still won't; by ErZo · · Score: 1

    Use an AmericanOnLine InstantMessenger program. Why? -It's easy. I'm swedish.

    And If i want ads, I would rather go Google, Since I get ads that might even be interesting.
    Besides, It's retarded. The whole client. It's outdated and all. Tho.. I'm sure the average "Joe" will be happy.

    I'll stick to the oldest (?) way of chatting (almost).
    IRC - Internet Relay Chat, If I'm not entirely wrong.
    Maybe it has lack of all theese flashy Voice things, Icons and all that Garbage.
    But HEY, It's just text, right? So why make it complicated?

    --
    In the Soviet Union, signatures writes you!
    1. Re:I still won't; by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe because IRC sucks for interserver traffic, sucks for user reliability, sucks for unicode, sucks for buddy-list functionality, and sucks for privacy.

  73. USE BITLBEE!!!! by hoyhoy · · Score: 1

    http://bitlbee.org, nuff said.

  74. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by jlink7 · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately, the win32 GAIM client, at least by default, doesn't integrate well into XP. It looks, well, ugly. The taskbar functionality is lacking (yes, there was a "plugin" to add taskbar functionality to GAIM, but it still leaves much to be desired.)

    The fact that I don't use linux means that I don't really care if it's gtk2 based. While there are a couple of programs that may use it, none of these programs really have any appeal to me on a larger scale.

    Finally, Trillian is absolutely free. Trillian Pro is the pay for use version, and it adds some features like video chat.

  75. Why not use Miranda? by javajeff · · Score: 1

    I use Miranda.

    It is free, open source, and connects to all 4 major IM networks, Jabber, and IRC.

    1. Re:Why not use Miranda? by fiter · · Score: 1

      Well one reason why some people don't use Miranda is because it uses TOC (the limited feature set version of Oscar) which gimps is quite a bit. Of course, as I type this my miranda is open on the left side of my desktop.

  76. Useless Features by Armadni+General · · Score: 0

    Does anyone else ever notice that with every new software upgrade, there are a million features they never use? I still use AIM 5.5.3595. I've yet to have any problems with it, or any real reason to upgrade. Will Triton just be the same addition of useless features with a flashy interface that, like many fancy new interfaces, cuts down on functionality?

    Oh, and an AOL browser. That ought to be quite a hoot, if it's anything like the AOL ISP-service browser (it saps bandwidth in the matter that a fat child eats ice cream).

  77. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by darthpenguin · · Score: 2, Informative

    I personally don't find the taskbar functionality lacking at all (and the "plugin" comes packaged with gaim). Almost every feature you need is included, or comes as an easy to use plugin. My blurb about gtk2 was intended to show that yes, you can do "skinning" with gaim, and as a bonus, in a way that can interoperate with other applications (which happens to be mostly irrelevant in win32). Your inability to select an appealing theme for your tastes is most certainly not the fault of gtk2 or gaim.

    Your complaints make it sound like you have tried gaim in a long time. It has come a long way recently, and you should try it again, in my opinion, before blasting it so much.

    And finally, Trillian may be "free", but it is not "Free", as I had posted. For some people, the ability to make changes to the source actually has some usefulness. Plus, you can redistribute it basically however you wish.

  78. Anticipated what? by E-Rock-23 · · Score: 1

    highly anticipated features including tabbed messaging and logging

    Highly anticipated? Crap, we've had these features in GAIM for a while now.

    Guess AOL is behind, as usual...

    --
    Blog Prophyts - Right On, Man
  79. These features existed for how long? by DarkMorph · · Score: 1

    "...adds highly anticipated features including tabbed messaging and logging." As far as I can remember I've been using both of those with Gaim.. I feel like my Gentoo system is in the future sometimes; these products from companies don't provide what I use for years (literally; windows still doesn't officially have virtual desktops as seen in gnome/kde/flux/etc. unless longhorn has it and I don't know about it.)

    --
    Gentoo Linux - Wouldn't have it any other way. And fuck beta.
  80. On a technicality, no. by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

    Technically (according to AOL themselves), people who have AOL use "AOLIM", not AIM. They also distinguish the two when they give out usage statistics, just like they distinguish ICQ even though they run that too.

    --
    Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
  81. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by kyhwana · · Score: 1

    Hmm, if you install it with the GTK-wimp theme (and you have theme on) it looks (almost!) just like the rest of your windows apps.

    --
    My email addy? should be easy enough.
  82. Wild Tangent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will the new one come bundled with Wild Tangent, too?

  83. American Sign Language? by tepples · · Score: 2, Funny

    A/S/L?

    I don't speak a sign language, unfortunately.

  84. AOL.co.uk by tepples · · Score: 1

    Does AOL even know what AOL stands for?

    Apparently not.

  85. Attention Google... by jeef_zula · · Score: 1

    Please toss your hat into the instant messenger war.

  86. AOL TRITON BETA 0.1.12 DOWNLOAD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://fileforum.betanews.com/sendfile/1114465942/ 1/AOLDNLD.exe


    AOL AIM Triton 0.1.12 Beta

    AOL AIM Triton is the next generation release of AOL Instant Messenger. It is an all new user experience with an elegant, tabbed look and feel. New 'Quicknote' feature replaces the initial IM window to provide a snapshot of known contact information about that buddy and give users three choices: launching an IM session, launching an AOL Talk session or sending a mobile text message to a cellular user. The tabbed messaging interface helps users easily transition from text to mobile instant messaging or AOL Talk, and will eventually enable users to launch video IM sessions, share files or images and invite Buddies to play games with one click. A new 'IM Catcher' corrals all messages into a single interface to help users effectively screen and manage their IM sessions with an unlimited number of Buddies.


    Give it a try...

  87. Alternative to DoorManBot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've recently heard of another protocol for sending messages to people who are offline. It seems well tested, and at the moment there are many people using it.

    There are several clients available, here, here, and here, and there are many others. Hope that helps.

  88. Old news becomes news. by SphericalCrusher · · Score: 1

    I figured AOL would have added tabbed chat windows and chat logging a long time ago. AIM is probably one of the last IM clients to implement this common feature. Because of iChat, GAIM, and the Dead AIM extension, there really is no point for this release. They better make it good!

    --
    "Instant gratification takes too long." - Carrie Fisher
  89. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by izomiac · · Score: 1

    Miranda IM is a good alternative to Trillian. While the base install doesn't support too much there are several hundred plugins to add what you want. I know that you can get plugins for tabbed messenging, encryption (several types), and just about any messenger service you can think of.

  90. Extended Preferences Plugin by dstillz · · Score: 1

    You want this.

    http://gaim-extprefs.sourceforge.net/

    Were this and the ability to disable file transfer and direct connection built into mainstream GAIM, I'd never look twice at any other client.

    <aside>Why the hell do I have to use HTML formatted mode to make URLs into links?</aside>
  91. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by lav-chan · · Score: 1

    'Skinnable' is shit. No application should EVER be 'skinnable'. Stupidest idea of all time. LOL YEA GUYS I WANT 1 PROGRAM ON MY COMPUTAR TO LOOK AND WORK DIFRENT FROM ALL THE OTHER ONEZ


    Idiot use of skins (and the lack of responsiveness that comes with that) aside, though, Trillian has some pretty rad features. I don't use it anymore (mainly because it's too much of a pain in the ass to find working cracks every time they updated it, and i don't think it's good enough to pay for it... on top of the skinning/responsiveness thing), having switched to Miranda now that it isn't completely hideous, but it still has a lot of neat features.

    For example, Miranda's emoticons format SUCKS, horribly. Trillian uses XML for almost everything in the interface, including emoticons. (And, i mean, if they're going to go with skins, XML is the least-crappy way.) It's so easy to mess with emoticons in Trillian, it's not even funny. You just copy and paste a line of XML and change a file name or two and you're done. Also it supports animated emoticons and also 'emotisounds'. (All of this can be incredibly annoying, and i don't usually like graphical emoticons for simple stuff like :) and :p, but i do have some inside-joke kind of things with friends that i would love to be able to do in Miranda.)

    Trillian also has tons and tons of options for things that you don't find in a lot of other IM clients, like away settings and display settings and formatting options and all kinds of other junk. Miranda gets more of it every time they release a new version, but i don't think it's up to where Trillian is.

    Trillian also keeps really on top of the protocol changes, as far as i've seen. They must release a new protocol DLL every day for Miranda, and they still don't have OSCAR support for AIM, it took them ages to get buddy-icon support for some of the protocols (and some of them still don't have it), et cetera. Once they get OSCAR support finished, though, i suppose Miranda will get more popular and they'll be better about adding protocol features.

    And another thing that Trillian has over Miranda is the developers' way of thinking. Sometimes they go way too far (my hatred for skins is almost indescribable), but they're closer to the good side of the spectrum than a lot of the Miranda developers are. The Miranda people have this really strict, fascist way of thinking, so much so that if they don't particularly like the idea of something, they won't even add the option. It's not even an arguement. If a developer doesn't like it, you either code it yourself or go find another client. There's a lot of garbage in Trillian that i'd never use, but at least it's there for the people who do need it. :/


    I can't stand GAIM, though. Not on Windows, at least.

  92. Screenshots not from TFA by me+at+werk · · Score: 1

    IM Window - this looks like iChat to me in that the icon is next to the text
    General Settings Window - Woahkay.

    --
    For context, click Parent.
  93. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I don't personally know anyone who actually uses the regular AIM client anymore.
    Hello.
  94. Re:Until it can connect with multiple IM services. by schotty · · Score: 1

    So do you reccomend GAIM?

    --
    Sigs are nice guns ...
  95. Don't they still lock out trillain/gaim? by Sark666 · · Score: 1

    I remember waaayyy back having the odd problem of trillian being locked out of one of the popular protocols and then there'd be a patch to fix it. A game of cat and mouse but in the meantime you couldn't contact your buddies.

    Doesn't this still happen? I'm officially an old fart now and don't really IM anybody. The internet is an isolated experience for me now with no realtime communication and I'll wait days sometimes before I actually check my personal email. I found IM getting in the way of whatever I wanted to do so stopped running it.

    Now it's just the phone or actually clanging glass and saying 'Cheers!'

  96. any recommends on a secure IM client? by jdmarandino · · Score: 1

    Surprised this isnt a big issue. I use ssh for all mail and shell sessions, but none for IM.

    Any solutions?

    --
    -dave
  97. AOL by wvugirlie · · Score: 1

    I NEVER liked AOL...nothing about it. The only thing I use is AIM and that doesn't really have much to do with AOL, not directly anyway. I have Dead AIM on my pc too, but I just added that on a couple months ago. Seriously, it worries me that AOL is trying to do all this stuff. When they can't even handle running a good ISP I don't know how they're going to be able to handle having all these different things. Hopefully this doesn't make AOL as an ISP suffer even more.

  98. Yes! by zoogies · · Score: 1

    Finally! We get rid of that horrible piece of unstylistic, ugly, crappy garbage! You know, in retrospect, I didn't mind it all that much.