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Yahoo and Microsoft to Merge Instant Messengers

Primotech writes "Betanews has word that Microsoft and Yahoo plan to link their respective IM clients again so that users of both can communicate with each other on one, shared network. Facing threats from third-party applications, like Trillian and Skype, the two tech giants will claim 44% of the instant messaging market, analysts predict. They will also go head to head together with the biggest competitor, AOL."

424 comments

  1. I find that amusing... by neiffer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That's interesting, since they have waffled back and forth on the issue of compatibility with other messenger systems. First they complained because they didn't have access to AOL. Then they closed their systems and didn't let others in. Now they are sharing again...does this mean they will grant access to their closed network to all outside clients? Hmmmmmm?

    1. Re:I find that amusing... by PsychicX · · Score: 1

      Of course not. Yes MS is changing course, but not that much.

      Anyway, if you want to see how the protocol works, just open up the gaim plugin's source code. Problem solved.

    2. Re:I find that amusing... by bergeron76 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Nope, this is a tactical move. They are going probably planning to buy Yahoo.

      In big business, the only way to compete against whomever is in #1, is to aquire #2.

      --
      Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
    3. Re:I find that amusing... by millette · · Score: 3, Funny

      But Gaim's source is already open !

      Oh, wait, I see what you mean ;)

    4. Re:I find that amusing... by earnest+murderer · · Score: 2, Informative

      I seem to remember something about the FCC making interoperability a requirement for AOL based on some agreement many years ago. Of course they never did anything about it. The MS/Yahoo news isn't about opening up the system it's consolodation.

      Thank god these companies were not involved in the early development of the internet or... well we just wouldn't have an "internet". We'd have a collection of online fiefdoms that were as useful and innovative as Microsoft Bob.

      --
      Platform advocacy is like choosing a favorite severely developmentally disabled child.
    5. Re:I find that amusing... by zev1983 · · Score: 1

      Not only are they going to merge their network with Yahoo's client, they are also aqcuiring a stake in AOL http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/15/146243 &tid=109&tid=120 , probably with plans to also merge the AOL IM network into theirs. It looks like MS is actually trying to aquire ALL of the competition to compete... nay DESTROY google as seen here http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/03/05 15250&tid=109&tid=217&tid=133&tid=123. I can only imagine that they will be facing another anti-trust suit if they follow through on this plan of controlling the vast majority of IM networks.

    6. Re:I find that amusing... by Baricom · · Score: 5, Insightful

      -1 The End of Yahoo as we Know It

      I happen to think that Yahoo! is doing some amazing, cool stuff - cool enough to be a major Google competitor. I like it that way, because in my opinion, neither company has a definitive edge, and they keep trying to out-innovate each other because of it. That's an incredibly good thing.

      Yahoo! was the first Google - the site that strived to sort the web so mere mortals could get around. I first used it when it was http://akebono.stanford.edu/. The day it gets bought by Microsoft will be a sad day, indeed.

    7. Re:I find that amusing... by umeshunni · · Score: 3, Informative
      This is interesting, but Microsoft's Office Communicator http://www.microsoft.com/office/livecomm/communica tor/prodinfo/overview.mspx has supported connecting to MSN, Yahoo & AOL IM for a year or so now.
      • Conduct IM conversations securely with customers and partners from one client whether they use Live Communications Server or a public IM client like AOL, MSN, or Yahoo!.
    8. Re:I find that amusing... by Skreems · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Interesting... you make up a plan for Microsoft, with little basis in fact, then start predicting legal action based on said plan. Is step 4 profit?

      Microsoft is not going to buy Yahoo. They have plenty invested in MSN and Microsoft Search as it is. Buying Yahoo invalidates all the money spent so far, and gains them not very much. IM is A component of a successful internet strategy, but it's nowhere near the key component.

      --
      Slashdot needs a "-1, Wrong" moderation option.
      The Urban Hippie
    9. Re:I find that amusing... by Fuzzle · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually, AOL did do something about it. They opened up the TOC AIM protocol. It has less features and is generally kind of buggier. But they did "open up" in some sense.

    10. Re:I find that amusing... by carl0ski · · Score: 2, Insightful

      and MSN Search
      Really Was the google killer

      it isnt unforseeable that MS may decide to purchase Yahoo
      MS whats the public to believe that MS knows how the internet should be
      and yahoo is many peoples favourite Entertainment hub
      Games, music, search, IM, email and streaming media.
      Yahoo has what people want from the internet.

    11. Re:I find that amusing... by LordSnooty · · Score: 2, Funny

      Wow man, that's like poetry.

    12. Re:I find that amusing... by Jaruzel · · Score: 4, Informative

      Yes, but Live Communicator isn't a consumer product, it's specifically designed for Corporates, where the problem of interoperability is a BIG issue.

      Live Communicator (the IM client) needs Live Communicator Server, plus Active Directory, with either Exchange, or a Schema change to the AD.

      Live Communicator Server is the gateway to the external IM networks - the client has no ability to connect to Yahoo!/AIM/ICQ directly.

      It's a huge undertaking for a Corporate to install it, and most Corporates are wary of IM in the first instance, and feel the benefits are not yet clear (I don't agree with this, being a Business Chat/IM evangelist).

      Sorry, to waffle on, but just wanted to nip the 'Live Communicator does this already' argument in the bud.

      -Jar.

      --
      Together, We Can Make Slashdot Better. I Do NOT Mod ACs. - Check Me Out
    13. Re:I find that amusing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, just accidentally modded you -1 offtopic!
      oops!

    14. Re:I find that amusing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The courts ordered AOL to open up their systems as a condition of their Time-Warner acquisition years ago...unfortunately, they never specified a deadline, so the project has been on indefinite hold.

      It's great to see MSN and Yahoo getting together. Maybe this will force AOL to abide by the court's requirements. We can have just one browser, one e-mail client, one cell phone....it's stupid that we need multiple IM clients and/or accounts. This is a great first step. MS already has connections to AOL IM in it's corporate IM software, so hopefully they will be able to connect their consumer version in soon.

    15. Re:I find that amusing... by Gunny101 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You see, this is not at all about AOL, it is about Google. Both companies see Google as a big competitor, and Google has already shown interest in the IM market (although IMHO, the launch was a failure). Yahoo has nothing to lose by teaming up. In fact, they may have everything to lose if they do not.

    16. Re:I find that amusing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, step four is ??????.

    17. Re:I find that amusing... by Skreems · · Score: 1

      I see your point, but you're talking as if MS has stopped development on their Search product. They're hardly going to throw all that money at it, then decide, "oh, we got beat, and badly. let's just give up." They're going to scale up the project. Say what you like about Gates and his underlings, but he's not out of touch with the market. He's still a very shrewd guy.

      --
      Slashdot needs a "-1, Wrong" moderation option.
      The Urban Hippie
    18. Re:I find that amusing... by FlameSnyper · · Score: 1

      The sad part (from Microsoft's angle) is that they didn't buy Yahoo five years ago.

      And so what about invalidating the money they've spent so far... if it wins them the market, it's still a great investment.

    19. Re:I find that amusing... by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      It's in a way a 'innovation' (Or 'copy' the non-microsoft'rs would call it) of commercial jabber solutions with transports.... Except different protocol.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  2. Amazing by dxprog · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Could this be a step towards a single IM protocol? Not XMPP, but good enough for me :-)

    --
    DxBlog - It's where you want to be
    1. Re:Amazing by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 1

      Perhaps, but we still have a lot of blood-letting yet to go.

      --
      "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
    2. Re:Amazing by lightspawn · · Score: 1

      Could this be a step towards a single IM protocol?

      We already have a single IM protocol... it's just that practically nobody's using it yet.

    3. Re:Amazing by kahanamoku · · Score: 2, Funny

      Can we call it a 'Global IM Protocol' ?

      or will the developers of GIMP get annoyed? :-)

      --
      ----- Concentrate on promoting more than demoting.
    4. Re:Amazing by BrainInAJar · · Score: 1

      Doesn't that disqualify it from being the "single IM protocol" then?

    5. Re:Amazing by jez9999 · · Score: 1

      One fundamental thing I can think of in the way of this: offline messaging. You can with Yahoo, you can't with MSN. What's gonna happen? I seriously hope they go the way of allowing it in both clients; e-mail just isn't a good replacement.

    6. Re:Amazing by kurtmckee · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not XMPP, but good enough for me

      XMPP is documented. MSN and Yahoo's protocols aren't. A single IM protocol shared among the big players doesn't help people like me out who don't use the official chat clients. Don't settle for less.

    7. Re:Amazing by billcopc · · Score: 1

      This is the main feature I miss from being an ex-ICQ user. You could send offline messages and the server would queue them for you. I think they had trouble with the sheer volume of crap they had to store this way, because this feature would work intermittently. I wouldn't use it as a general inbox, but it was very handy for when your buddy had to disconnect/reboot for a moment. Today's MSN just craps out after a minute-or-so timeout and bounces the message right back to you, or offers to open up Hotmail. It just doesn't feel right.. when I write email, it's usually of a more serious, official nature, whereas IM is just chatting.

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com
    8. Re:Amazing by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1
      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
    9. Re:Amazing by kurtmckee · · Score: 1

      That documentation exists through extensive reverse engineering. While nice, it is by no means authoritative, and Microsoft has no obligation to stick to that protocol in the next version of MSN Messenger. MSN's protocol is not an open specification, and that alone makes it wholly unacceptable.

    10. Re:Amazing by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      It's still documentation on the protocol either way, and even if the protocol is an open specification, wouldn't mean anyone has no obligation to stick to that protocol, when anyone decides to make a 'new version'.

      Although, yes, it is not the official word on the protocol, that doesn't mean it cannot be used.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  3. Just great . . . by Seumas · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    So now I can't use the excuse that "I don't use Yahoo!" anymore to avoid talking to those douchebags who are too dumb to use something else. Even though I use jabber, I'm not going to bother creating a yahoo! account for the 1% of chat users that use Yahoo! just so I can connect with the transit plugin for their protocol.

    1. Re:Just great . . . by Mongoose · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, just me and some of my friends that are PhDs and also game developers use Yahoo IM. What's your degree in, and who do you work for...? =)

      YIM works on the most mobile phones, and it's nice to use with giam if you also use yahoo mail. Also it's not MSN, ha! =)

    2. Re:Just great . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can still use it. "I don't use Yahoo, or MSN." You're not saying you use MSN are you?

    3. Re:Just great . . . by lengau · · Score: 1

      I agree with you there. I see it like this: It doesn't matter what protocol you use. Since they're free, you're not giving those companies ANYTHING. I think I'll stick with Kopete on AIM, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, and Jabber. Plus Skype. You never have to worry about not being able to communicate, and it costs you nothing but 5 minutes of time. Once.

      --
      I really wanted to change my sig to something witty, but all I could come up with is this.
  4. One Word Gaim by SerpentDrago · · Score: 4, Informative

    I could care less , whatever network things use , its all Transparent to me cause i use Gaim

  5. Messangers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...messengers?

  6. AIM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    When are they going to integrate with AIM?

    1. Re:AIM by Tolkien · · Score: 1

      A reasonably decent question, considering the talks that AOL and M$ have been having (which I read about on /. I believe, though I won't be arsed to find my source, because I could also be entirely wrong), it was something to the effect of Microsoft forking over its MSN ISP customers to AOL or something...it's entirely unrelated to IM software, but if they can get along on that front, maybe that will open the door to MS/Y! and AIM merging? Who knows... I sure don't! Heck, this entire reply could very well be a constipated brain fart -- so to speak. ;)

    2. Re:AIM by MateusB · · Score: 1

      I'm not quite sure the rest of us want to integrate with the crowd that uses AIM ;)

    3. Re:AIM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OmG!!1! LOL!! ROFL;-) wutz yor aim screen name?!? so we can talk??!!??

      by tha way,

      a/s/l??

  7. Re:Suddenly I don't like. by TheCarlMau · · Score: 1

    I never liked Yahoo in the first place. Now this just helps enforce my feelings towards them.

  8. Trillian? by USSJoin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Trillian isn't its own protocol, of course. This is what is somewhat odd about the article: it can't decide whether it's talking about the networks (MSN and YIM combining protocols and having interoperability) or whether they're jointly developing a multi-protocol client (like Trillian, although Trillian does a lot more than just those two).

    1. Re:Trillian? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They're trying to make Trillian unnecessary, not by using the same protocol, but by bridging their networks.

    2. Re:Trillian? by Penguin+Programmer · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Speaking of implementing multi-protocol clients...

      How long until Google implements Jabber's nice transport features in Google Talk? This would allow people to use Google Talk to IM their MSN, Yahoo, ICQ and AIM buddies. While they would still have to have an account with each service, at least the client would be centralized, and to most people, that's the same thing as having one account. Google would gain huge market share (even though people are still using other protocols), and it would basically cost them nothing.

    3. Re:Trillian? by urlgrey · · Score: 5, Informative

      Ya know... I used to use the MSN Messenger client exclusively, then because of a need to communicate with one person who used Yahoo!, I tried Trillian. HOLY HECK.

      With the choice of skins and what not, what a relief. For me the MSN interface has just become this weirdly bloated thing.

      Trillian though... what a great piece of software IMHO. And best of all (unlike Messenger), it doesn't create those competely bogus hooks into OE that prevent you from closing the app because it's dependent on the other. Bah.

      --
      Running 'Nix is like owning a Lightsaber. It's "a more elegant weapon for a more civilized time."
    4. Re:Trillian? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Trillian is a great app? I'd reccomend reading your own signature.

    5. Re:Trillian? by KylePflug · · Score: 1

      Trillian IS a great app. It's not bloat if you want all the features going in.

    6. Re:Trillian? by lustforlike · · Score: 3, Insightful

      MSN Messenger's interface might look bloated, but the program is a lot more streamlined than any of the others. I can't speak for others, but on my machine it uses under 10MB of RAM - the others I've tried, Trillian, Gaim and Yahoo! Messenger, use over 20MB. I've also discovered that the completely bogus hooks into OE magically go away when you start using a real email client.

    7. Re:Trillian? by databyss · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think the main issue is that if you don't use their client, you can't see their ads.

      If they bridge their networks then you can continue to use their client and view their ads.

      --
      Hmmm witty sig or funny sig? Maybe elitest techy sig!
    8. Re:Trillian? by bedroll · · Score: 1
      I've successfully used Trillian with WINE before. It's just that good of an application that I was willing to go through the trouble to see if I could use it instead of Gaim. Unfortunately, it's just quirky enough when used with WINE that it makes you see the virtues of sticking with Gaim. When in Windows, though, Trillian is king.

      Ohh yeah, before the joke is made by someone else:
      I also have successfully used Trillian under the influence of wine before.

    9. Re:Trillian? by jp10558 · · Score: 1

      Interesting, Trillian for me (though I'm only using it to talk on AIM) uses 9MB. It likely depends on how many networks you connect to at once, and hence how many plugins are loaded.

      --
      Opera, Proxomitron-Grypen,GPG 0x0A1C6EE3
    10. Re:Trillian? by labratuk · · Score: 4, Insightful

      With the choice of skins and what not, what a relief. For me the MSN interface has just become this weirdly bloated thing.

      This line is full of hilarious irony.

      --
      Malike Bamiyi wanted my assistance.
    11. Re:Trillian? by mdwh2 · · Score: 1

      A GoogleTalk Jabber transport so they can talk to other Jabber users would be a good thing also...

    12. Re:Trillian? by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      Well, you can use a style that's more discreet than MSNM's candy interface. And yes, like the X-Box controller, the MSNM is teh hueg.

      Disclaimer: The last sentence was ironic (as should be clear from the use of "teh hueg", but as this is /. I won't trust people to not take it as an invitation to a flamewar). Yes, the MSNM interface is a bit unwieldy and most other IMs tend to feel much lighter just because they take up less screen estate. No, I don't think that anything was wrong with the original X-Box controllers.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  9. Common enemy by gmuslera · · Score: 5, Insightful

    More than Trillian, Skype and others, i bet that they are more against their common foe, Google/Gmail/GTalk/etc. Maybe against each separate component they can have a chance, but when you start to combine them the potential for growing and taking away their markets is probably too big.

    1. Re:Common enemy by thedustbustr · · Score: 1

      Flamebait my ass, I didn't even think of that... Most of Microsoft's moves these days have google directly in the crosshairs, why would this be any different?

      --
      This sig is false.
    2. Re:Common enemy by ForumTroll · · Score: 1

      I really don't think they feel threatened by GTalk. It's basically nothing more than another Jabber client. I know a lot of people who tried GTalk, including myself, however I can't name one that plans on continuing to use it.

      --
      "A Lisp programmer knows the value of everything, but the cost of nothing." - Alan Perlis
    3. Re:Common enemy by Robocoastie · · Score: 1

      google aint' a competitor here at all. They've taken too long with their GMail project to even think about taking market share from Yahoo's communities. I don't mind however because I always hoped Google WOULDN'T become a "portal" site. They've so far struck a nice balance.

    4. Re:Common enemy by JoshRosenbaum · · Score: 1

      Just wait until Google buys AIM/ICQ, and we'll see who gets the last laugh! :)

    5. Re:Common enemy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think Google Talk is anything for them to be worrried about. It's just another proprietary-protocol windows-only me-too offering. I really wish it were more, but it isn't.

    6. Re:Common enemy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gotta be a troll, but since when is Jabber proprietary?

    7. Re:Common enemy by joelpt · · Score: 2, Interesting

      GTalk's use of open protocols (Jabber/XMPP) is the biggest single thing that differentiates it from the other IM providers. Yahoo, MSN, AIM all have a history of locking third-party clients and protocols out of their networks.

      This is probably why we're seeing this move from MSN and Yahoo -- GTalk is a disruptive technology. It's like GMail's introduction of 1GB quotas: before GMail, users settled with a few MB quota because that's all that was available. GMail's introduction forced the competitors into a reactionary state -- to Google's benefit.

      I think we're seeing the same kind of effect here from GTalk's introduction. GTalk's use of open protocols signals an end to the segregated, proprietary IM networks of today -- because if your company wishes to create a new IM client or a new IM network, does it really make sense to make it a new, proprietary and closed network? Certainly not, if you can just plug into the Jabber/GTalk network and instantly get a massive (potential) user base. At the least, it lowers the barrier of entry for users to use your product.

      Being Yahoo, it must be at least a little tempting to convert your Yahoo Messenger network to Jabber and merge seamlessly with the Jabber/GTalk userbase. Yahoo is forced to decide whether they want to stay proprietary, and hope they can keep users locked-in with their excellent messenger software and existing userbase -- or go open, gaining the benefit of an increased userbase and more user freedom, but with only the quality of their software and user loyalty to keep their messenger-derived revenue stream kicking.

      So merging with MSN would seem to make a lot of sense. Time will tell whether it's enough to save both closed IM providers from eventual obsolescence, though.

    8. Re:Common enemy by mdwh2 · · Score: 1

      The GoogleTalk and Jabber networks are not the same - you are confusing protocols with the networks.

      As far as I know, it is not possible to communicate between GoogleTalk and Jabber users on other servers. It's just that GoogleTalk happens to use the same protocol (it's a bit like running a closed NNTP server, and claiming you're part of Usenet). Yes, it's good that they're using an open protocol, but GoogleTalk is yet another closed network. The open network of Jabber is at least as good a thing as the open protocol, but Google have created confusion between GoogleTalk and Jabber, which may make it harder to promote Jabber (as both a protocol and a network), and therefore is not such a good thing.

      ( http://www.google.com/talk/developer.html#service says "We plan to partner with other willing service providers to enable federation of our services. This means that a user on one service can communicate with users on another service without needing to sign up for, or sign in with, each service." which suggests that the GoogleTalk will be expanded, possibly crossing over with some parts of the Jabber network, but there is no guarantee that they will merge fully with the Jabber network).

      As things stand, GoogleTalk is not an end to segregated IM networks, and has just made things worse in my opinion (both by adding another network, and creating confusion about Jabber).

    9. Re:Common enemy by Baloo+Ursidae · · Score: 1

      I recall seeing in the jabber mailing lists Google folks asking questions on how to implement s2s. It's just a matter of time. They're not confusing the protocol and the networks, people who have actually been watching this closely enough to count have known that Google and the rest of Jabber is more like Google starting off in a netsplit than a deliberate act. They're reinventing the wheel because nobody's implemented Jabber on the scale Google is before.

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    10. Re:Common enemy by humina · · Score: 1

      As it currently stands however the grandparent's comments are completely valid. Google can promise the moon. I simply wait until they take action to form opinions. Until google actually opens up s2s communication, the grandparent will be completely correct. The grandparent has summed up the facts up to this point.

      --
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  10. Good by Solr_Flare · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Normally stuff like this from MS makes me shudder with dread. But the lack of a standard communication IM protocal has driven me crazy for years. Trillian and other programs are ways to get around that, of course. But, having a single standard would go a long way, and this is a nice step towards that.

    Compete in features you offer in your IM clients, but for heavens sake unify the networks.

    --
    You are who you are, let no one tell you different. But, never close your mind to a new point of view.
    1. Re:Good by aussie_a · · Score: 5, Informative

      Compete in features you offer in your IM clients, but for heavens sake unify the networks.

      That's a good point, but there's a problem. Microsoft and Yahoo aren't going to agree upon an open standard for their merged IM protocol (assuming it is a merged protocol they're talking about and not a trillian-type deal). They will then use their closed protocol to work on shutting out non-Microsoft-Yahoo approved clients (i.e. every other client not made by the two companies). If everyone agreed to only use one IM protocol, then it's going to have to be a closed standard because (based on past performance), Microsoft isn't willing to agree on an open standard, at least not for it's IM program. They will be able to use that to make it more difficult for the competition, the only competition they'll allow are Microsoft approved(TM) competitors (yup, if Microsoft has control of the standard they'll be able to decide who compete's with them) and keep changing the protocol in an attempt to lock-out non-approved competitors. And Microsoft's dislike for the GPL ensures they won't approve any GPL clients to use their protocol.

      In the past both Yahoo and Microsoft have shown a habit of locking out third party clients, so this combination makes sense for them.

      If Microsoft and Yahoo and everyone else were willing to agree on an open standard for IM communication, then that would be great and I'd whole heartedly support it. I just can't see Microsoft doing that anytime soon.

    2. Re:Good by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Even if microsoft did agree to do it this week, you know once they had the market share they would shift away from it next week. Their agreement with yahoo is just an indication they are loosing market share in the instant messaging world and are trying to regain some by temporarily sharing with yahoo. This also brings to light at least in part some of what they were likely to be negotiating with time warner (AOL). Grim vistas in deed for microsoft, going around hat in hand to any company that will listen.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    3. Re:Good by mibus · · Score: 1

      In the past both Yahoo and Microsoft have shown a habit of locking out third party clients, so this combination makes sense for them.

      I can't speak for Yahoo, but the only time I'm aware that third-party clients were ever "locked out" of the MSN Messenger network was with the switch to Passport authentication instead of MD5. That was found and implemented in free clients well before the (known in advance) turning off of the old protocol. They may not encourage it, and they may have legal mumbo-jumbo about connecting to their service with a non-MSFT client, but (in a technical sense) there was never any lock-out.

    4. Re:Good by aussie_a · · Score: 1

      They may not encourage it, and they may have legal mumbo-jumbo about connecting to their service with a non-MSFT client, but (in a technical sense) there was never any lock-out.

      Wikipedia disagrees

    5. Re:Good by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

      Was this a troll? Microsoft and Yahoo interconnecting doesn't necessarily mean that any standards will even be used.

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
    6. Re:Good by mibus · · Score: 1

      I had actually forgotten those - the hash functions it talks about have been needed when you change to a newer protocol version. Concatenate some strings, do a quick MD5, send the result back.

      They're "challenges" in the Messenger parlance:
      http://hypothetic.org/docs/msn/notification/pings_ challenges.php

      Each time a new Messenger release uses a different challenge, the new challenge text is generally quickly found; while I agree that it's a "stumbling block" that I'd forgotten about, it's no real protection method (since it's fairly discoverable with a debugger). You can also still use the "older" protocols (available since MSN6's launch in 2003), with a well-known hash text. If MSFT were trying to lock people out, they'd simply kill the older protocols faster than the community can release patches.

    7. Re:Good by drew · · Score: 1

      Yeah, Microsoft and Yahoo would never support a communication service that would allow their users to communicate with users of other networks.

      Wait, you mean like Hotmail and Yahoo mail?

      I agree with you that given the opportunity, both companies would hold onto their proprietary networks forever, but the reality is that the decision won't be up to them. Maybe if merging would give them the single largest customer base by far, they could force the issue, but it won't. (And if they already had that kind of market share, they wouldn't need to merge.) Even after they merge they'll have about 2/3 the users of AOL's instant messenger service. So if (and this is a big if) every one else switched to an open protocol, they would have to follow suit, or they would face a long steady loss of users as the customers gradually jump ship.

      It really comes down to AOL (who of course have a questionable past themselves), because right now AOL is the only other player that matters. I think the most likely situation will be that we will see an AIM vs. MSN/YIM standoff for the next who knows how many years until somebody (Google?) manages to shake things up enough that both are eventually forced to adopt an existing open protocol. Slightly less likely (IMO) will be that AOL will eventually agree to join up with Yahoo and Microsoft and then we will see the giant unified closed protocol that you fear. Even so, other people will be motivated enough to write third party clients to interoperate with the network, so while the protocol may be undocumented, it won't truly be 'closed'. They may try legal threats, patents, etc. but really, I don't think chat is enough of a money maker for them to care that much. All the networks have certainly had plenty of time to lock out third party users in the past, but all we've seen so far are half-assed challenges at login time which have been trivially discovered in every case.

      --
      If I don't put anything here, will anyone recognize me anymore?
    8. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Microsoft already does use an open standard for it's IM client (SIP).

  11. Which client to choose by Space_Balls · · Score: 1

    It will definately be interesting how long it will take them to implement a shared network in their IM clients.
    And now I can also choose which client to run Yahoo....or MSN?
    Let's hope they don't just open up their networks to each other but also allow compatibility for webcams, audio, etc..

    --
    this.showSig(false)
  12. That's right by mattbot+5000 · · Score: 4, Funny

    This merger will only affect those browsing on the intarnet.

  13. Coming soon to Gaim by tqft · · Score: 5, Informative


    http://gaim-vv.sourceforge.net/
    LATEST NEWS:
    Oct 07, 2005 - Forward potr of gaim-vv 1.2.0 to gaim cvs head is working. I would like to clarify that gaim-vv isn't completely dead, we're working on merging with gaim. There will be no further gaim-vv releases, as code will be added to the main gaim program.

    For those who don't know gaim-vv was a friendly fork to get stuff like webcams working - last release allowed users to view webcams from MSN, yahoo

    --
    The Singularity is closer than you think
    Quant
    1. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      which is the status/roadmap for audio support in gaim?

    2. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by larry+bagina · · Score: 2, Funny

      it's open source. That means audio support will happen when you stop picking your pud and start writing code.

      --
      Do you even lift?

      These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.

    3. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by ilyaaohell · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "You" meaning the "user", or "you" meaning "him" specifically? I'm personally a "user", not a programmer, and I have no ability to contribute to Open Source software. However, when Open Source software is advertised to the masses the way GAIM is, I would like to use it. Just because it's open source, does that mean I waive any right to complain about lack of features or to request features for someone else to include? Are there no users of open source software and only developers?

      GAIM has a ton of features (more than the official clients), but it lacks some of those features which many of us find necessary or, at the very least, useful. Webcam support is one of them.

      --
      UNIX: A computer user is defined as a programmer. WINDOWS: A computer user is defined as a consumer.
    4. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by Lucractius · · Score: 1

      Gaim is useable, i got used to the options (Just), got used to the layout (agian only just), but i cant get used to its for lack of a better word, CRAP font implementation. i cannot get to grips with having no idea what my text is going to look like on the other end.

      I remember the reasons for this as being something to do with system useability and not having non default fonts shown... i think its a load of crap that makes it ugly and crude. If gaims gonna get better, fix the damn font someone, i cant code well enough or id do it myself.

      --
      XML - A clever joke would be here if /. didn't mangle tag brackets.
    5. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by jrumney · · Score: 4, Informative
      Just because it's open source, does that mean I waive any right to complain about lack of features or to request features for someone else to include?

      As a developer of open source software, I welcome requests for features, but complaining about a missing feature which you were never promised, in software which you haven't paid a cent for nor contributed your own effort to, is not going to get you far.

    6. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think that th GP wsa talking about complaining about bugs in software that's been released in a stable version. I see no problem with that, as long as it's constructive critisim, and not mindless whinging (i.e. "feature x isn't working properly, could somthing be done about it", *not* "your software is a piece of %£!*ing s$#& because feature x dosn't work"). However I do agree that complaining about "missing" features is not appropriate.

    7. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by Mongr · · Score: 1

      The point of using only standard fonts, is that you are guarranteed that the message >will look the same on the receiving end.

      --
      -=Mongr=-
    8. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by FooBarWidget · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      By using a free program you waive any moral rights to complain. This has got nothing to do with open source, and everything with it being free. Heck, even Windows users are more polite than the average bitching Slashdotter! When I release an open source program for Windows, my users are very polite when they request a feature or bug fix. Slashdotters on the other hand call developers names and bitch, as if developers are somehow their slaves.

    9. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by X0563511 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Or you could just set it to ignore all incoming formatting, and send your's without any included. You see what they type, they see what you type, no BS (im thinking dark brown on black - i have a dumbass friend who sends that)

      Smilies go out the window as well. Useless.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    10. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by Slime-dogg · · Score: 1

      Mmm... I appreciate a highly modded troll every now and then. It is delectable, like a fine wine.

      --
      You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.
    11. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by megarich · · Score: 1
      As a developer of open source software, I welcome requests for features, but complaining about a missing feature which you were never promised, in software which you haven't paid a cent for nor contributed your own effort to, is not going to get you far.

      Yea but if its a feature that many people do want it wont get you far in other people using your software either. Before I get flamed troll what I just said is no way indicative of my full opinion on open source, of course i love open source! I'm just trying to play devil's advocate here :).

    12. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by fupeg · · Score: 1
      complaining about a missing feature which you were never promised, in software which you haven't paid a cent for nor contributed your own effort to, is not going to get you far.
      Advantage: Commercial Software

      Seriously, Bill Gates would love to use a comment like this to "prove" why proprietary/commercial/closed software will always be superior to FOSS. Commercial software will always concentrate on giving the consumer what they want, because that's what drives sales.
    13. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by ilyaaohell · · Score: 1

      You're confusing non-violent dissatisfaction with a product with people lashing out against the arrogance of many in the Open Source community.

      See, on the one hand, you have hard-working developers who try to basically make their product for themselves and other developers. On the other, you have Open Source evangelists who frequently bash commercial software and generally call people stupid for not running Open Source alternatives instead (OpenOffice instead of MS Office, GAIM instead of AIM, GIMP instead of Photoshop, etc). Those of us who, rather than taking "sides" simply look for the best solution to our needs, look at this and are quite frankly taken aback by this continued arrogance on the part of some.

      See, they promise us a better product, and many times that product is worse. Even when we point this out, they still insult us for being "sheep" or any number of other things. It's at THIS point that we start to outright complain that the products they shove in our face isn't up to par.

      Sure, you need evangelists to promote your community's software. However, those evangelists are generally putting the entire community in a bad light, making all you guys look like arrogant (and sometimes ignorant) children. So, look at this very Slashdot discussion. You have people left and right saying people are stupid for still running the official IM clients instead of Gaim. Then you get someone who's fed up with it start to basically say, "Oh shut up, you idiots! GAIM still doesn't have X feature working, I won't use it until it does!" While this is a rude response for a GAIM developer to hear, it is an understandable response to the rabid evangelicals.

      --
      UNIX: A computer user is defined as a programmer. WINDOWS: A computer user is defined as a consumer.
    14. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can see it now, "Your free software won't support X? Just buy our new version due in 1 year from now and we will definately have that feature." maybe, if our shipping dates don't slip too far....

    15. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by someonewhois · · Score: 1

      Likewise, providing software that lacks features and uses the scapegoat that you get what you paid for and anyone can contribute isn't going to get you far.

    16. Re:Coming soon to Gaim by humina · · Score: 1
      complaining about a missing feature which you were never promised, in software which you haven't paid a cent for nor contributed your own effort to, is not going to get you far.

      That's putting it lightly.

      --
      check out the best blog ever:
      http://oehlberg.com
  14. Good news by reiggin · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have no buddies on MSN. Most are on either AIM or Yahoo. But I hate the fact that Yahoo seems to not want to develop for Mac OS X anymore. The Mac MSN client is pretty darn good, though, so it would be great to be able to use the MSN client to chat with my Yahoo buddies.

    1. Re:Good news by Space_Balls · · Score: 1

      Good point!
      I'm sticking to Adium for my Mac messaging needs right now, though the integration of MSN Messenger 5.0 with Entourage is certainly nice.
      One thing the Yahoo messenger for mac has going for itself is that it does offer webcam support, which MSN messenger is lacking, and it probably wont be getting anytime soon

      --
      this.showSig(false)
    2. Re:Good news by Abstract_Me · · Score: 1, Funny

      Abstract says....
      ya the new os x msn client is great

      Abstract says....
      it looks so good and [CONNECTION LOST]

      Abstract says....
      the new msn client is aw[CONNECTION LOST]

      Abstract says....
      NEW VERSION SUCKS!

      Abstract says...
      ha.. that one went through

      WARNING: the following messages may not have been delivered
      Abstract says....
      NEW VERSION SUCKS!
      Abstract says...
      ha.. that one went through

    3. Re:Good news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      This may also lead to an official MSN Messenger client for Linux (Yahoo already has an official Linux client for a while). This will be good news indeed, since that means things like MSN audio chat will be available for Linux users.

    4. Re:Good news by Phroggy · · Score: 3, Informative

      But I hate the fact that Yahoo seems to not want to develop for Mac OS X anymore.

      I spoke to an engineer from Yahoo a couple months ago and asked him about that. He couldn't give me any details, but did say that despite appearances Yahoo is actually very interested in the Mac platform, and that this is the reason they acquired Konfabulator - they weren't interested in the software, they just wanted to hire Mac developers to work on exactly this sort of thing.

      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
    5. Re:Good news by Phroggy · · Score: 0, Redundant

      I hope you're joking, because if not, you must be pretty dumb.

      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
    6. Re:Good news by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      "I have no buddies on MSN."

      Unfortunately, I have two: my mother and my father. It's easier to walk them through the process of making a remote assistance request from there.

      I've got a few people on my Y!IM account, but I haven't been on in months and months anyway. Might be worth running into some of them again.

    7. Re:Good news by NormalVisual · · Score: 1

      I certainly hope that's the case - I gave my Launchcast subscription the heave-ho after getting fed up with only being able to use it at work or on only one of three machines that see regular use at home, and the one it works on is an XP/Linux dual boot box, so even there Launchcast was usually unavailable. If they supported OS X, I'd have bought two subscriptions - one for myself and one for my wife to use with her iBook. As it is, they get nothing.

      OS X has been out for five years now, so I think Yahoo's had plenty of time to find someone to write an up-to-date Cocoa client for them if they were really serious about it. Writing for Cocoa is not particularly difficult once you get used to Objective-C.

      --
      Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
  15. Seems pretty obvious by ReformedExCon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There isn't much money to be made in instant messengers. Maybe a little revenue from advertising in the window corners, maybe a few bucks from premium games, but in all it's mostly a net loss. And you also have the problem that your users may be drawn away from your IM client to another one because of an established group of friends with the other one.

    Bringing these two IM clients into compatibility isn't a way to make a stronger IM network, but rather to eliminate the drain that both companies must be feeling. It also helps that it marginalizes AIM and its premium services, which benefits both Yahoo and Microsoft.

    I always thought Microsoft would get around to doing this one day. It just seemed the logical next step. Hopefully their next next step will be the ability to have different statuses for specific people in your contact list, and be able to contact people even though you appear offline. Back in the day (get off my lawn, you crazy kids) ICQ had this feature, but since ICQ has been dragged down into a hole by AOL, it's been on my IM wishlist.

    --
    Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
    1. Re:Seems pretty obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FYI, You can contact people on your buddy list while appearing offline with AIM.

    2. Re:Seems pretty obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can contact people while appearing offline in Yahoo Messenger. They've had this feature as far back as I can remember.

    3. Re:Seems pretty obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, I think they could make money off of instant messaging, but they're going to have to have to do more than just supply a message routing network. RSS feeds and other services, for example, but think bigger.

    4. Re:Seems pretty obvious by ilyaaohell · · Score: 2, Interesting

      What makes you think that they aren't making money from their IM services?

      It seems pretty obvious to me that the main reason these companies offer these services is to attract people to more of their services. Have you looked at Yahoo Messenger lately? It's filled with links and features to various Yahoo services. Same with MSN and AOL messengers. They give you links up the ass to basically everything that their company offers.

      Additionally, many people on Yahoo, MSN, and AOL messengers often use that company's e-mail services. If you took a look at AOL's upcoming replacement for AIM that's currently in beta (called Triton), you'd see that they have integrated AOL Mail with the client, along with AOL Radio, and many many other features. Hell, they actually automatically bundle extra software when you run the installation (including AOL Explorer, which is a very decent replacement for IE).

      Basically, the IM clients are gateways to the services of each respective company, and I think this business plan has been quite successful so far. Otherwise, they'd've abandoned these services years ago.

      --
      UNIX: A computer user is defined as a programmer. WINDOWS: A computer user is defined as a consumer.
    5. Re:Seems pretty obvious by sgtrock · · Score: 1
      It seems pretty obvious to me that the main reason these companies offer these services is to attract people to more of their services.


      In marketspeak those are called "loss leaders". As in, we don't make money offering that, but we hope to make up for it with other products or services. So yes, the IM services probably do lose money. :)
    6. Re:Seems pretty obvious by megarich · · Score: 1

      Granted I'm not big into marketing but my initial assessment is I would think they do make money off of instant messaging services. Millions upon millions use instant messenger services so who wouldnt want to pay for advertising space on the client? Certainly there's some money to be made from it somewhere. If not they wouldnt be free.

    7. Re:Seems pretty obvious by ilyaaohell · · Score: 1

      Is a TV commercial for a product considered a "loss leader"? After all, a company can spend ten million dollars to air the commercial, and no one pays them for watching it.

      This is what Instand Messengers are. They're commercials and "portals" to the company's services.

      Of course, I don't know much about marketspeak, so maybe commercials ARE loss leaders. But that seems like a very broad term.

      --
      UNIX: A computer user is defined as a programmer. WINDOWS: A computer user is defined as a consumer.
    8. Re:Seems pretty obvious by danpsmith · · Score: 1

      Let's be honest here, there's quite a few things that aren't very profitable.

      Internet browsers are no longer profitable, they are free, they come with your OS and if the one you like doesn't, you can download it for free.

      FTP clients are as such also unprofitable. When's the last time you ever even saw an advertisement in one of these? They'd probably all be free if it weren't for the fact that the average joe doesn't even see the need for one of these anymore (the browser does it, stupid).

      IRC clients I can't think of as being much of a business.

      Usenet clients are mostly free to shareware. There might be money to be made in spamming usenet, although I don't see how... Most users don't even use this either.

      E-mail clients are again not very profitable. Most are freeware, some are inexpensive and all of them have a little thing in common: that they don't do much to stir up business.

      Now when you look at the things I just listed above, why do you think that IM clients should be any different? My opinion is that the internet has progressed to a stage, like the stage when other standards were invented, where IM needs a complete, open, and defined protocol. The only way people should make money off IMs is by people buying their client for extra feature sets.

      The way I look at it is that IM has progressed to the level where it needs a defined standard and has probably been at this point for years. Just think what the internet would be like if every web browser only was able to access a certain sub-net of pages instead of having one web simply because every company decided to make their own HTTP type protocol incompatible with everyone else's. For those of you who remember old school Compuserve and AOL the image isn't too pretty...

      This is yet another thing that companies are going to have to take on the chin and not make much money on. The truth is that the power should lie in the hands of the companies to make people want their particular IM client. Right now, people are forced to either use an all-in-one client or download a million clients not for additional features or innovation, simply because they can't talk to their friends.

      AOL had the idea, fine, but AOL also needs to learn that sometimes in this particular business having the idea isn't quite enough to make a fortune on it. If you need an example, ask Xerox how they are feeling right about now.

      IM has grown beyond segregation, and it's about time we had an Internet standard in this like we have for every other established protocol...

      I would almost argue the same about P2P networks, but that issue is a little more complex.

      --
      Judges and senates have been bought for gold; Esteem and love were never to be sold.
  16. What incredible innovation! by shma · · Score: 5, Funny


    Microsoft and Yahoo are set to announce on Wednesday a blockbuster interoperability deal that will reshape the landscape of the fragmented instant messaging market.

    I can't wait to message all my friends with gaim to tell them the good news.

    --
    I came here for a good argument
    1. Re:What incredible innovation! by apathy+maybe · · Score: 1

      I know that it has been said before, but Gaim doesn't let your AIM friends talk to your YIM friends. It only lets you talk to both of them with a single client. Hopefully this deal will let anybody already with a Yahoo idenity talk with anyone with a MS identity. This is what people want. (Add in Jabber and AIM support too.)

      --
      I wank in the shower.
  17. now, more widely reported... by Raleel · · Score: 1

    http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=&ie=UTF-8&nc l=http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx %3Ftype%3DtechnologyNews%26storyID%3D2005-10-12T01 3551Z_01_MUN205613_RTRIDST_0_TECH-MICROSOFT-YAHOO- DC.XML

    Perhaps surprisingly, I've only really recently started using yahoo regularly, and I find that it's pretty nice. I would _really_ prefer a widespread jabber net, complete with client->server and client->client encryption, but that seems to be a pipe dream. I've used the transports and stability is somewhat lacking.

    --
    -- Who is the bigger fool? The fool or the fool who follows him? --
    1. Re:now, more widely reported... by Phroggy · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I would _really_ prefer a widespread jabber net, complete with client->server and client->client encryption, but that seems to be a pipe dream.

      All hope for this lies with Google - if enough people start using Google Talk, Google will extend the protocol to make it support the features people want, and third parties will update their clients to add support (and then other third parties will update their servers to add support for the new features in the updated clients). If Google Talk doesn't take off, Jabber will continue to suck.

      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
    2. Re:now, more widely reported... by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      if enough people start using gtalk why would they need to add stuff like client->client encryption?

      don't they actually have MORE of a reason to improve it when people are not yet using it.. because it doesn't offer them anything really?

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    3. Re:now, more widely reported... by rileyjt · · Score: 1

      Except it doesn't work like that. Google Talk basically sucks compared to any mature IM client out there at the moment. It will get better of course, but right now it doesn't have many features and just will not cut it. Nor is the Google IM network open so there is very little reason to switch to their very small closed network.

      Google Talk will not take off until Google makes it worthwhile for people to make the switch. If the MS, Yahoo and AIM networks start opening up, then there is even less reason to switch unless Google also can communicate to those networks. Trust me, you don't want to be a Google exec going to ask MS to join their IM network right now... this will be an uphill climb for Google to break into this market.

  18. blah... by evil_marty · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is gonna put alot of pressure on Google and Jabber. I mean Google just entered the market, with MSN and Yahoo and Possibly AIM, there wont be a need for a new contender. I dont think its bad coz that will bring more ppl close together and save installed 100s of IM apps just to talk to all your friends. I do wonder how they will connect them all and whether you will use screennames or e-mail address or whatever.

  19. Typo by Ohreally_factor · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can't believe the editors let this one slip by. Yahoo and MS exchanging massages is big news. Maybe MS will finally get laid.

    --
    It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
    1. Re:Typo by 2674 · · Score: 5, Funny

      What do you mean Maybe MS will finally get laid. They have been getting laid for a long while now. Or is screwing someone not the same as getting laid?

    2. Re:Typo by Eric_Cartman_South_P · · Score: 5, Funny

      Maybe MS will finally get laid.

      What do you mean FINALLY? They've been fucking people for years.

    3. Re:Typo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      is this your homework larry?

    4. Re:Typo by hkmwbz · · Score: 2, Insightful
      "What do you mean FINALLY? They've been fucking people for years."
      Isn't there a saying about how people who enter partnerships with Microsoft, and how they always end up getting screwed?

      It will be interesting to see how this one turns out...

      Not to mention the rumors that Microsoft is buying AOL. Suddenly Microsoft will basically own the IM market?

      --
      Clever signature text goes here.
  20. Oh! Good. But... by zhangyong · · Score: 1

    But does that mean I'll have to read ads from both sides? I'd prefer Gaim for that. Besides, it's interesting to watch if Yahoo Messenger's share will be sucked by MSN.

  21. FAQ: "What's a messanger?" by melquiades · · Score: 4, Funny
    mess-an-ger [from MESS + ANGER]: The emotional state induced by using any of a series of software products suffering from feature bloat, as typified by Microsoft Word. An "instant messanger" is a piece of software so obnoxious to the user that it induces rage immediately on contact.
    And I'll bet you all just thought that Slashdot's editors don't spell check the articles! Silly readers.
  22. ONE CLIENT TO BIND THEM by HushedTruth · · Score: 1

    We need just one internet chat client. And I find multi-protocol chat clients like Gaim to be annoying. Perhaps Google will win over all....

  23. I don't use any real time messengers. by elgee · · Score: 1, Funny

    I use email. I look at it when I want, I delete it if I am not interested in answering it, I answer it when I want.

    Of course no one ever wants to communicate with me anyway. Beer is my only friend and it doesn't do the 'net.

  24. Isn't Microsoft trying to buy AOL? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So.. MSN+Yahoo...+AOL.....great?

  25. Where are we heading? by heelios · · Score: 1

    I don't know how to take this news.

    It seems like Microsoft managed to gain a kinda big share of the IM market with this move (Because honestly, I don't believe the whole 'merger' thing. Microsoft is going to swallow Yahoo! on this deal) which is pretty bad. I don't want to see Microsoft gain monopoly over the IM market.. Their greed is well known.

    But at the same time it's a pretty good move since more people will be able to communicate regardless of client.

  26. Google IM project by MavEtJu · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Do the Google IM servers already know how to talk to other Jabber servers or is it still an open protocol in a closed environment?

    --
    bash$ :(){ :|:&};:
    1. Re:Google IM project by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 1

      Is there any significant use of the Google IM product? What are the stats? It was in the news, and than POOF! It was gone.

      --
      "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
    2. Re:Google IM project by strider44 · · Score: 4, Informative

      At the moment you need to get permission from them first to interoperate (federate) with their server. According to the developer faq:

      4. What other communication services will you federate with?

      We plan to support open server-to-server federation. We do believe, however, that it is important to have the safeguards in place to ensure that we maintain a safe and reliable service that protects user privacy and blocks spam and other abuses. We are using the federation opportunity with EarthLink, Sipphone and other partners to develop a set of best practices by which all members of the federated network can work together to ensure that we protect our users while maximizing the reach of the network. We are also eager to hear from other people in the industry about how best to build a federation model that is open, scalable, and ensures best-in-class user experiences. If you have thoughts on federation or suggestions for how we can better enable open communications, please share them with us at the Google Talk Interoperability Google Group.

      5. I am a communications service provider and want to federate with the Google Talk service. How do I proceed?

      Please contact us at federation@google.com.

    3. Re:Google IM project by tapo · · Score: 2, Informative

      Joe Beda, a Google Talk developer, posted his response to this question. If you're lazy and don't want to read the whole thing, they're working on it. Blog posts from other Google developers say the main reason is trying to get decent spam prevention, and the fact that they wrote their server from scratch, so s2s support hasn't even been written yet. Joe's post is as follows, from his website eightypercent.net:

      There have been a lot of questions around Google's approach to federation -- both in the comments on this blog and in other forums (the jdev list, slashdot, etc). I apologize for the delay in responding to these questions head on.

      We've updated our FAQ to clarify some changes. To save everyone having to look it up in the Google cache, here is the before:

              We look forward to federating with any service provider who shares our belief in enabling user choice and open communications. We do believe, however, that it is important to balance openness with ensuring that we maintain a safe and reliable service that protects user privacy and blocks spam and other abuses. We are using the federation opportunity with EarthLink and Sipphone to develop a set of guidelines by which all members of the federated network can work together to ensure that we protect our users while maximizing the reach of the network. [...]

      Here is the new text (changes in red):

              We plan to support open server-to-server federation. We do believe, however, that it is important to have the safeguards in place to ensure that we maintain a safe and reliable service that protects user privacy and blocks spam and other abuses. We are using the federation opportunity with EarthLink, Sipphone and other partners to develop a set of best practices by which all members of the federated network can work together to ensure that we protect our users while maximizing the reach of the network. [...]

      On top of that, one of my fellow Google Talk developers, Gary Burd, has introduced himself to the Jabber developer mailing list. You can read his first post here.

      I, personally, look forward to a long and fruitful partnership between Google and the Jabber community.

      --
      "Joy is contagious," he said, peering into the microscope.
    4. Re:Google IM project by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, no. Still a closed environment.

    5. Re:Google IM project by humina · · Score: 1

      Your links and colors didn't work.

      --
      check out the best blog ever:
      http://oehlberg.com
  27. Re:Suddenly I don't like. by aussie_a · · Score: 1

    Why? Because they're making a pact with the devil? That's bullshit. Judge the IM clients based on their capabilities and your needs, not based on whose making them.

    Having said that, I have never liked the IM client for Yahoo, and have always wavered between like and dislike on the msn client.

  28. What does this do to... by ZachPruckowski · · Score: 1

    The Microsoft-AOL talks? I mean, weren't they in some sort of limited merger discussions? And wasn't Google competing with MS for AOL? I mean, if there were to be MS-AOL collaboration anywhere, shouldn't one of the areas be IM? Or is MS trying to push Google and AOL together?

    Could this lead to a total takeover of Yahoo by MS? I mean, they start with the IM service, then merge the email client somehow, then the next thing you know, the search stuff. Is this MS's reaction to a company they can't buy out? Buy out the company's competitor?

    Not that I'm overly anti-MS, just that I don't understand the logic here. But then again, I am a liberal arts major, not a Commerce School major.

    1. Re:What does this do to... by cybergrunt69 · · Score: 1

      Well, TFA says the MS-Y! messengers would compete with AOL. I don't think so! MS is in the process of trying to buy AOL, and they generally get what they want. I think this is an early truce between two companies (in at least one area) to take on Google. The IM protocols/clients are the first integrated, and I'm guessing they may soon include AOL in that mix. They're thinking that Google won't stand a chance as the only little IM client in a world by itself. I don't think this will happen soon, but I wouldn't be too surprised to see MS and Y! merging and/or sharing some search capabilities and technologies, in the name of google-bashing. They both want to kill those f**kers, and the only way they see to do it is to gang up on them. This will hurt Yahoo in the long run, but I'm sure it will help them out a little in the 'now'

      --
      --- "To ignore race and sex is racist and sexist!" -- Jesse Jackson
  29. Apps like Trillian... by GiorgioG · · Score: 5, Insightful

    make this type of stuff completely irrelevent for techies anyway.

    I own a copy of Trillian 3.1 Pro and I can say that it's the best thing since sliced bread ;-)

    1. Re:Apps like Trillian... by magicchex · · Score: 0, Troll

      I especially liked the inability to log onto AIM via your main account feature they packaged with the unimportant accounts connected to AIM fine feature. Now of course they've replaced both with the ever popular everyone's been online for at least 108 days feature.

      --
      How many fulltime jobs can one man have?
    2. Re:Apps like Trillian... by JoshRosenbaum · · Score: 1

      It'd help if you spoke normal english. I have a hard time understanding what you are saying. (ie. I'm not sure if you are complaining or praising. ) If you are having troubles with the AIM connection in 3.1 pro (and maybe normal) you may want to go to "Help->Update" and see if there is an AIM plugin update. If not, then nevermind. ;)

    3. Re:Apps like Trillian... by DavidD_CA · · Score: 1

      I love Trillian, too... but it still it's the magic bullet that it likes to pretend it is.

      There are many times where I have to launch the "real" application to do what I want. File sharing, video conferencing, and multi-user chat, rarely work (if ever) with Trillian. And IRC is a joke.

      Still, I pay my $20/year for Trillian because I think it's great to have when I just need normal messaging.

      --
      -David
    4. Re:Apps like Trillian... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Trillian is nice for interoperability, but short on features. Where is remote desktop?

    5. Re:Apps like Trillian... by magicchex · · Score: 1

      Sorry about the wording, I was joking about issues 3.1 Pro was having recently. I was making fun of Trillian but I generally love it. The joke I was making was that one bug only affected your most important account somehow, and then that the update created a new bug.

      --
      How many fulltime jobs can one man have?
    6. Re:Apps like Trillian... by JoshRosenbaum · · Score: 1

      Ahhh, gotcha. Thanks for explaining. :)

    7. Re:Apps like Trillian... by japhmi · · Score: 1

      it's the best thing since sliced bread

      Do you know how many chemicals it takes in order to keep sliced bread from going stale?

      Get real bread (maybe even bake it yourself), and cut what you need, put in a zip-top bag until you cut again.

      Oh, and I use Trillian at home because I have different groups of friends on different networks (oddly enough, nobody uses MSN, but that's what we use at work).

      --
      "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys" P. J. O'Rourke
    8. Re:Apps like Trillian... by danpsmith · · Score: 1

      Trillian is great and everything. But the fact that this client is popular should show industry leaders that it's addressing a common need here. It is almost like a hack to get around the fact that we aren't all freely able to communicate with each other simply because greedy companies want you to have to stare at their particular company name in order to communicate with their particular user set. I'll tell you what a successful IM client could do. Build a trillian like interface that imports all your old contacts while also establishing its own free protocol. Allow you to backwards communicate with the people who haven't caught up yet and then people from other networks eventually stop using what they are using as everyone migrates to the same client, without losing any information.

      --
      Judges and senates have been bought for gold; Esteem and love were never to be sold.
  30. I don't get it ... by manastungare · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Why would this be better than all of them starting to use Jabber/XMPP (which is an IETF standard anyway), if interoperability is all they want? Google Talk already uses it.

    Hmm, I wonder if Google is a competitor to either of them in other markets ...

    1. Re:I don't get it ... by aussie_a · · Score: 1

      Why would this be better than all of them starting to use Jabber/XMPP (which is an IETF standard anyway), if interoperability is all they want?

      Because they want interoperability, amongst themselves and no-one else. XMPP allows anyone to set up a server that allows anyone to talk to anyone else. Right? So if I register on serverWoo and I want to talk to my friend whose registered at serverBoo I can. But serverBoo forces it's users to get ads, I won't see those ads because I'm on serverWoo, who don't make me see them (and I use a client that doesn't display ads). If they were interoperatable with any client and any server, then there'd be a hell of alot of people talking to their customers, that aren't seeing annoying ads. That isn't a good thing, because word will get round and people will eventually move to the non-ad servers.

      By combining their protocols they get to show a united front against non-Microsoft-Yahoo clients (such as Trillian) and people who won't help support them by annoying their customers as much as Microsoft and Yahoo annoy their own.

      You can gurantee if Microsoft and Yahoo were the only IMs left in the world, they would not have combined in this manner.

  31. The intarnet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's AOL, I thought. Or is that different from the intardnet?

  32. Download Adium. by Inoshiro · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's a version of the GAIM source designed to work within the framework of MacOSX. It will integrate with your address book, supports MSN/Yahoo/ICQ/Bonjour/AIM, and is generally pretty darn spiffy.

    I haven't had any of the problems I've had with other clients. It's the closest I've come to Kopete on MacOSX, plus it has some of the problems of Kopete fixed.

    --
    --
    Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
    1. Re:Download Adium. by MustardMan · · Score: 1

      Biggest problem with adium and other os x clients is their lousy webcam and audio support. A nice feature of yahoo messenger on windows is the fact that you can start an audio conference and have many people using mic's and cams to talk together. You can do this with ichat if all your friends have macs and isights, but yahoo's setup is much more flexible - allowing one person to have up to 30 viewers on the cam, and allowing a conference full of people to take turns talking on mic.

    2. Re:Download Adium. by kurtmckee · · Score: 1

      You can get Adium from Adiumx.com.

    3. Re:Download Adium. by Morgalyn · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the tip, I've gotten tired of using iChat...

      --
      You say you got a real solution
      Well, you know
      We'd all love to see the plan
      (The Beatles)
  33. Suddenly I like. by NineNine · · Score: 0, Troll

    Wow. I'm impressed. That was such a smart decision on both of their parts (Yahoo and MS)! I didn't see that coming at all. That's gonna be it for AOL. It'll take a while, but that put the last nail in the coffin for those fuckers.
     
        This is gonna give Yahoo a hell of a boost simply because Yahoo is the best in the industry with integration. No other web portal/brand integrates nearly as well as Yahoo. They're gonna turn that IM traffic into ad revenue, I guarantee it. They're gonna be around to give Google a run for it's money for a long time.

    I'm surprised that MS did it, but it was smart. Their MSN properties have always been weak, even with the bonus of the first thing new users see. They've been hoping that that would do it for them, which is why they never really perfected Passport or the web versino of .Net. MS is going to really get some more consumer street cred by hooking up with Yahoo. I don't know where they're going with it, though, since MS isn't going to collect nickels and dimes like Yahoo and Google have to with their advertising revenue.

    1. Re:Suddenly I like. by magicchex · · Score: 1

      That's great but it doesn't change the fact that out of ~250 people I talk to online, only 3 use something other than AOL IM. So let me know when this convinces everyone of those people to switch. NOBODY I have ever met in person has ever had anything other than AOL IM.

      I live in East Lansing and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

      --
      How many fulltime jobs can one man have?
    2. Re:Suddenly I like. by elgee · · Score: 1

      Someone is a newbie and has no idea what a troll really is.

      I think this was smart for MSN, but not Yahoo. If I am missng something, let me know.

    3. Re:Suddenly I like. by MysteriousMystery · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It depends in the area and quite frankly in certain cases the age of the users. Yahoo! seems to have an older (in terms of age) user base than does AIM. Also I've noticed in certain areas one client is more popular than others. I was part of a now defunct web based chat system that had a large number of users from a few towns in Indiana (not that I am from there) which spread via word of mouth, a large majority of them seem to have migrated over to Yahoo! messenger (there is a way on the now defunct site to share contact info with other ex-users so they can get in contact with you). In my experience AIM is far more popular, but Yahoo! has a user base as well.

    4. Re:Suddenly I like. by kg4czo · · Score: 1

      I don't get it.... Why would anyone use AIM? It's limited in so many ways. You can't leave offline messages. You can't transfer files reliably. You get very little extra functionality and plugin support. No voice or cam functionality either. WTF?

      On the other hand, it's simple to use without all the crap that comes with MSN and YIM. But I highly suggest, if simple is what you and your friends want, use GTalk. Get your friends to at least try it and I'll be they might even like it. One easy way to get them to try it is to send each of them a Gmail invite. ;)

      Me? I've pretty much quit using IM services, save GTalk. The client is simple, fast, easy to learn, has decent voice support, and is going to grow. I have no doubts that Google will make this a beast to be reconed with. And a huge plus to top it all off, I don't have a million 13 year olds adding me to their list all the time.

    5. Re:Suddenly I like. by usmc.spitfire · · Score: 1

      Funny that. Nobody I've ever meet in real life uses AIM. AIM appears to be popular in the US and nowhere else - I might be wrong though. Yahoo is big in the Philippines I hear, and MSN is popular in New Zealand and Australia.

    6. Re:Suddenly I like. by Achromatic1978 · · Score: 2, Informative
      You can't leave offline messages. You can't transfer files reliably. You get very little extra functionality and plugin support. No voice or cam functionality either.

      Whilst I agree, hating the lack of offline messages - likewise with MSN, when was the last time you used AIM? I've used both audio and video on it for a long long time now.

    7. Re:Suddenly I like. by ParticleGirl · · Score: 1

      It depends in the area and quite frankly in certain cases the age of the users.

      It also depends on geography. Here in the US, or in much of the US, it does seem to depend on age-- but it's really just about groups. Groups of different sizes made up of different people in different places use different services. I have a big group of friends in the US and Canada, and most of them use AIM and some use Yahoo! or ICQ, if ICQ still counts. And I have a big group of friends in Latin America, and all of them use MSN. When I travel between the US and Latin America, I plan to start using Google TALK! whenever I can find compatability. Gaim or Trillian has been the only way for me to go for a while now.

      --
      Do something about world hunger. Click here
  34. Re:One Word Gaim by Seumas · · Score: 5, Insightful

    its all Transparent to me cause i use Gaim

    But, it's not.

    Going to Yahoo!, creating an account, dealing with their spam emails and offers all the time in the future and then logging into Yahoo! with that special Yahoo! account is not transparent whatsoever. And not enough people use Yahoo! to justify creating a special account just to talk to them.

    Yahoo! probably realized this and gave up the ship.

  35. As long as they make the video MSN, audio Yahoo's by saskboy · · Score: 1

    I hope when they merge code, they keep Yahoo's voice system which I've found to be easier to make connections with, and MSN's video, as Yahoo's video system crashes my Windows XP system. It hangs Y! Messenger and it won't End Task even.

    --
    Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
  36. 44% of the IM market? by liangzai · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Is that the _domestic_ market?

    Since what I see here in China, who has the second largest internet user population in the world after the USA, the vast majority uses QQ, which is basically ICQ adapted to a full-fledged Chinese client (all Western IMs have questionable language support and transparency).

    1. Re:44% of the IM market? by dirtsurfer · · Score: 2, Informative

      Well, in Japan MSN Messenger is far away the most popular, followed by Yahoo messenger. Merging the two together will easily give them close to 90% of the market here.

    2. Re:44% of the IM market? by daninbusiness · · Score: 1

      In China QQ may be the most popular protocol, but MSN has to be right up there as well - nearly every one of my Chinese co-workers has an MSN account (and most of them have QQ accounts as well).

      Since Windows is by far the dominant operating system in China (probably helps that pirate copies are available everywhere for around 1 USD) and MSN is the defualt messenger client there, I don't think that MSN Messenger's market share is hurting in the PRC, relatively speaking.

      I don't have many Chinese friends that use Yahoo Messenger, however - unless they need to chat on it with clients in the USA who prefer it...

    3. Re:44% of the IM market? by dirtsurfer · · Score: 1
      Well, Yahoo! advertises HEAVILY in Japan, and they hold a big chunk of the market. In fact, the biggest home broadband provider is YahooBB. They know what they're doing, too; they always hire the cutest girls to hand out the tissues, bags, and free modems at the busy train stations and electronics stores.

      Another thing that's knid of surprising, Excite is still a very popular search engine in Japan. A surprising number of people here who have never even heard of google use it every day.

  37. woah by sirvulcan · · Score: 1

    Is it april 1st already?

  38. I dont get it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    With Microsoft's long history of screwing their strategic partners, why would *anyone* want to do business with them?

  39. That's cool, but it will never be "The One" by fyrie · · Score: 2, Informative

    There is chat, and then there is chat in a specific context. MSN is fine for chatting with my co-workers, but Yahoo is better for chatting if I am trying get a date. There is no one-purpose-serves-all protocal.. sorry. Bad Idea... I can't wait to see what picks up the slack.

    1. Re:That's cool, but it will never be "The One" by vga_init · · Score: 1
      Yahoo is better for chatting if I am trying get a date.

      Gone on any interesting dates lately? :D

    2. Re:That's cool, but it will never be "The One" by fyrie · · Score: 1

      Yup. e-dating has turned this non-dating guy into someone who rarely goes without a date for more than a week or two. I was thinking about changing my name to Jack Tripper.

  40. Lack of a standard IM protocol? by Reality+Master+201 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Like Jabber? XMPP is an open specification IM protocol with support for all kinds of neat features (encryption, for one, network bridging for another). The problem isn't in having a protocol, but in convincing everyone to use it and support it. (Yeah, I know, the spec was only finalized more recently than the MSN and Yahoo! networks were created. The point stands, though.)

    1. Re:Lack of a standard IM protocol? by pohl · · Score: 1

      Jabber is gaining some serious steam. It was already a growing market on its own just with no major players involved, but then Apple's iChat server started supporting XMPP, and now Google's chat client speaks XMPP. That's some serious weight behind Jabber.

      --

      The "cue the foo posts in 3, 2, 1..." posts will commence with no subsequent foo posts in 3, 2, 1...

    2. Re:Lack of a standard IM protocol? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      MSN Messenger does use a standard protocol (SIP).

      Jabber has created it's own standard protocol as well, but it doesn't really offer any advantages over SIP.

    3. Re:Lack of a standard IM protocol? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's Windows Messenger, which can be deployed for corporate use and runs over SIP. Then there's MSN Messenger, which is proprietary and offered to end users. They actually had to put up gateway servers to let the MSN backend talk to SIP networks, including their own.

  41. AIM compatible now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wish they would make it compatible with AIM, so I can use ichat with Yahoo IDs.

  42. From a guy... by deezilmsu · · Score: 1

    ...that started on Yahoo, added MSN a year later, and was so tired of running two different messenger systems that when he found Trillian he liked it so much he paid for it, this has been a long time coming for me. The feature sets are almost the same, so really it's not that surprising.
    It'll be interesting to see if we have to add '@yahoo.com' to our YID's to sign in.

    --
    It's not that I'm asking the big questions, it's that I'm asking lots of small ones.
    1. Re:From a guy... by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      I've seen @yahoo.com MSN addresses, all you have todo is signup at passport.net with the address.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  43. I have only one thing to say. by Spy+der+Mann · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    :D :-o ^o) *-) :o) :-P (&)

    Any questions?

    1. Re:I have only one thing to say. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have a question. Can anyone guess what this emoticon is?

      =E(_)3=

    2. Re:I have only one thing to say. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Appears to be Goatse.

  44. This could turn out to be bad by Admiral+Burrito · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If they can get AOL in on this too, it could be very bad.

    Everyone being able to talk to everyone else would be nice, but there are big downsides if it's a closed network. If it ends up that 9X% of users are on a single A/M/Y-IM network then it would be very hard for anyone else to break into the market.

    Google is in very direct competition with Yahoo, and Microsoft sees Google as the biggest threat to their dominance. Now, a couple of months after GTalk's release, Yahoo and MS are ganging together. They aren't doing this because they want their users to benefit (if they really cared they would've done this a long time ago). This is MS and Yahoo trying to keep Google from gaining a foothold in IM.

    I really hope Jabber will take off, but this move makes it less likely. With everyone split up over AIM, MSN and Yahoo, Jabber could at least offer a means of unification. Now it's looking like we could get stuck with a single closed network.

    If a handful of players lock up the network, innovation will die.

    1. Re:This could turn out to be bad by metamatic · · Score: 1

      That's why Google should get a clue and link up to the rest of the Jabber network.

      --
      GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
    2. Re:This could turn out to be bad by WillyMF1 · · Score: 1
      If they can get AOL in on this too, it could be very bad.

      Everyone being able to talk to everyone else would be nice, but there are big downsides if it's a closed network. If it ends up that 9X% of users are on a single A/M/Y-IM network then it would be very hard for anyone else to break into the market.

      Yeah, whatever.... But imagine the AIMFights!

    3. Re:This could turn out to be bad by Baloo+Ursidae · · Score: 1

      Please see 13771302 for why precisely that would be a huge win.

      --
      Help us build a better map!
  45. A brief and largely incorrec summary of things by cgenman · · Score: 4, Informative

    A brief and largely incorrect summary of the current state of things:

    MS Messenger: Ships standard on all Windows PC's. Pops up every five minutes asking you if you would like to sign up for service. Causes your computer to explode if you try to uninstall it, or indeed just try to get it to shut up. The fact that this still isn't the #1 instant messaging client should tell you something. I have the most luck with voice chat through firewalls on Messenger.

    Aim: Comes automatically with AOL, or you can download it free from aol.com. Also comes free with LOTS and LOTS of ads. Ads pop up on your screen. Ads are built into your client. Smart a$$ movie executives send you ads directly. Sex chatbots try to lure you into filthyness before posting the transcript on Fark. Everyone's personal icon is loud, animated, and obnoxious. In short, AIM is a lot like the internet. And like the internet, nearly everyone uses AIM.

    ICQ: Still the greatest communications medium of all time. Really. Greatest ever. (There, I said what you wanted Mr. 3098014563. Now give me my family back, like in the deal.)

    Yahoo: No really, Yahoo has a chat medium. I was shocked too. Isn't Yahoo just adorable sometimes? On a side note, I've had better luck getting webcams through firewalls over Yahoo. This leads to great situations where I'm videoconferencing with someone over Yahoo, but the audio stream is in MSN and the chat is happening in Jabber.

    Google Chat: Google chat is based on Jabber, the open source next-generation world dominating chat protocol of the fut-- hey, why are you laughing? No seriously, Jabber, which can communicate with AIM and MSN through... Yes it says so on the box. No, I don't care if almost never works. Ok, fine, Jabber, which can sometimes communicate with AIM and MSN through server-side plug ins, is the basis for Google Chat. Unlike all of the other protocols Jabber is an encrypted medium, meaning that even the server doesn't know what is being said. psi is the jabber client of choice, though there are a lot out there. It's also the only reason to buy Trillian Pro. What was that about Google Chat again?

    Now if I remember correctly, AIM, as a condition of its merger with Time Warner was required to open its chat network to everyone. It then proceeded to shut out all 3rd party clients and other protocols that had the nerve to try and connect with it. MSN tried to connect to AOL without permission, but kept refusing 3rd party clients that tried to connect to it. We thought Yahoo was shutting out 3rd party clients as well, but it turns out they just broke their system a few times. Oops. Jabber will sleep with anyone, and Jabber servers will sleep with other Jabber servers. Jabber servers will even sleep with AOL and MSN, but only if they're really happy or really drunk. ICQ... I refuse to say anything about ICQ on the grounds that ICQ users are even more insane than Apple users.

    All of this is very close to e-mail, circa 1992... Back when AOL, Compuserve, and all of the rest of the providers thought that locking their users into their system would keep the most people. Then AOL bought them all, and the whole thing seemed kind of moot.

    1. Re:A brief and largely incorrec summary of things by rsidd · · Score: 1
      And like the internet, nearly everyone uses AIM.

      Am I the only one who doesn't know any AIM-users at all? Everyone I know uses Yahoo or MSN -- sometimes both -- and absolutely nobody I know uses AIM. Maybe AIM is used only in America?

    2. Re:A brief and largely incorrec summary of things by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Indeed, in America AIM/ICQ is big, but in Europe it is mainly MSN that's the larger part.. but I guess for the parent of your post, the internet is American and not global.

    3. Re:A brief and largely incorrec summary of things by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      No seriously, Jabber, which can communicate with AIM and MSN through... Yes it says so on the box. No, I don't care if almost never works

      You have no idea what you're talking about. I've been communicating with AIM and MSN through Jabber for years and I've never had a problem.

    4. Re:A brief and largely incorrec summary of things by duguk · · Score: 1
      No seriously, Jabber, which can communicate with AIM and MSN through... Yes it says so on the box. No, I don't care if almost never works.


      I set up a jabber server myself last night - adding MSN? Took me 5 minutes and works perfectly. Ok, file transfers don't but I've had no trouble at all.

      Hopefully this merger will go ahead and should make things easier for the developers - I'm quite sure it did when AOL + ICQ did their thing :)

      Dug
    5. Re:A brief and largely incorrec summary of things by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, the answer to everything is Bitlbee.

    6. Re:A brief and largely incorrec summary of things by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here in Toronto exclusive AIM or Y! usage is unheard of: *everyone* uses MSN, if only in combination with other services.
      Amongst us youngters it's more common to ask for one's MSN than for one's phone #.

    7. Re:A brief and largely incorrec summary of things by randyflood · · Score: 1

      I haven't seen anyone use ICQ in several years. I don't know anyone who uses AIM. Everyone I know uses Yahoo/MSN.

      --
      Randy.Flood@RHCE2B.COM
    8. Re:A brief and largely incorrec summary of things by Asgard · · Score: 1

      The jabber protocol is not end-to-end encrypted by default. The client/server communication can be encrypted using TLS, but that does not preclude the server from eavesdropping. If you want to protect against server eavesdropping, your client needs to support some sort of message (not just protocol) encryption. Psi supports OpenGPG, I don't know what the other clients support. You may have to use the same client as your contact to get that part to work as there isn't a defined standard for that layer.

    9. Re:A brief and largely incorrec summary of things by Webz · · Score: 1

      To my (limited) knowledge, this is true. I've had a couple international friends, or at least friends of friends, and the consensus seems to be that AIM is never used outside of America. MSN and Y! seem to dominate, so to extrapolate (?) and say that AIM is used everywhere across teh Intraweb would be incorrect. Unless America *is* the Internet.

    10. Re:A brief and largely incorrec summary of things by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      In Poland Gadu-Gadu is pretty popular.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  46. OmnIM by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 1

    Is there a server that can IM with this new merged network *and* the others, like Jabber? One happy result of this merger is that it will take MS/Yahoo longer to switch protocols to lock out reverse engineers, and might be too complex to switch without cutting off one or another of MSN or Yahoo's clients. Are we looking at a day soon when these IM nets will compete on client features and app integration, rather than just jealously guarding partitioned access to their own little kingdom?

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  47. Jabber networks and Google, the future too by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 2, Interesting
    As long as we can all communicate and don't have to pay to do so, then I really can't see too much of an issue with this.

    What I would like to see is active adoption of Jabber by the big players. Jabber for the most part is still like Ogg Vorbis: "interesting, but who's using it?". Google using it is certainly helping push its adoption, but at this point in time I haven't heard of any ISPs, or Fortune 500 companies, actively taking it up and connecting. Apple has also chipped into the effort, by providing a Jabber server as part of MacOS X, but how long before we see that rub off I am not sure.

    Voice chat and video chat are the next two aspects that need to become part of the Jabber portfolio and adopted.

    Looking at the road ahead voice chat is going to be migrate into telephony, but before it does certain things must happen first. Telephony needs to support emergency services, until then players like Google will state 'this is not a telephony service', in order to avoid FTC type regulations. The steps I see are:

    • building a large 'voice chat' network, with no single player controlling all the communications
    • working out a way for nodes to identified geographically. Remember the geographical identification should be controlled by the user, so that they can decide when to advertise their location
    • incorporate emergency service support
    • Declare that yes the are now indeed a telephony servce

    We can't predict what the future will hold, but we can influence the journey getting there.

    --
    Jumpstart the tartan drive.
    1. Re:Jabber networks and Google, the future too by unity · · Score: 1
      • building a large 'voice chat' network, with no single player controlling all the communications
      • working out a way for nodes to identified geographically. Remember the geographical identification should be controlled by the user, so that they can decide when to advertise their location
      • incorporate emergency service support
      • Declare that yes the are now indeed a telephony servce


      Man.. If they do all that, then they WILL start charging us for usage. Although it is definitely a thought worth contemplating on. I use trillian all day long for business communications. I encourage customers to use it instead of the phone (That way I can multi-task better). And they like the instant access they have to me.

      And, you gotta dig the messaging logging feature in trillian. That feature is awesome....
  48. Yahoo just got screwed by apt_user · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Yahoo will never be able to go independent again.

    If they tried, too few would stay on their side of the divide. Microsoft is too predatory this way; looks like a coy maneuver to get Yahoo out of the way of MSN messenger. Maybe Yahoo thought that their messanger was doomed anyway and Redmond made it worth their while?

  49. Google Ads - But not.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    One solution i can hear certain executives talking about/(rubbing their hands together) is monitoring your chat and then inserting ads into your conversation based on what you are talking about to "more closely target" their ads... and i'm not talking google ("Do no harm")

    1. Re:Google Ads - But not.... by mrselfdestrukt · · Score: 0

      Ads based on what you're talking about, hey???
      MistaSelfDestrukt says: I'm gonna kill my fucking boss!
      *BING* Popup AD:
      http://www.popup-purger.com/kill_popup.html
      MistaSelfDestrukt says: I don't want a freaking popup killer with a boss-key. I want to kill my fat fucking boss!
      *BING*
      http://www.stephenelliott.com/myfat.html

      --
      "I used to have that really cool,funny sig ,but it got stolen."
  50. Even Further Proof of... by eno2001 · · Score: 1

    ...Yahoo's suckage. I still can't believe that anyone ever gave Yahoo any credence. What exactly is it that they do again? It certainly was never a decent search engine to being with. I was an Altavista fan in the early days of search engines and then I moved to the current and permanent king of searches: Google. I find it interesting that Yahoo has been so anti-Google for so long and has yet to offer anything that surpasses Googles new entries into various web apps. People money hummed around Yahoo during the dot bomb bubble. Again... why? Their search engine sucked then and it still sucks now. Their "portal" was pretty much next to useless. Face it Yahoo, About.com does it better. So go join in Microsoft in a unified war against Google (because that's what this really is). Let's see you both come up with something that is actually new and different. I'll bet you can't.

    --
    -"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
    1. Re:Even Further Proof of... by carlivar · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Please explain:

      -Why Yahoo's search "sucks". Please give examples of a specific Google search outperforming Yahoo.

      -Why Google maps won't print right.

      -Why Yahoo has traffic on their maps when Google apparently invents every new feature on the Internet.

      --
      Vote Libertarian
    2. Re:Even Further Proof of... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, Yahoo! search sucked in the dot com bubble times. Especially when using Google results. (Yahoo! did not have a search engine back then.) Yahoo! was also one of the initial investors in Google, and I believe they held aprox 10% of the stock until well after Google went public. This really shows the amount of hate.

      I don't really see where the "new" Google web apps surpasses Yahoo's. The Google web search was much better so Yahoo switched to using that. Then found it better to have an inhouse search engine, and bought Inktomi, Altavista and Alltheweb. So now they have the technology of three web search engines, and the results, while maybe not better than Google's, are really quite good.

      Merging the IM clients of Microsoft and Yahoo is really not a war on Google, even though you seem to think that everything revolves around the company in your heart. It's a war against AIM. Google's messenger client is insignificant at this point.

      But hey, live in your bubble where nobody can do anything better than Google, and that Google actually invents everything. Things like multimedia search, news search, web mail, instant messaging, maps... Yahoo has them all, some of the better than Google's versions.

    3. Re:Even Further Proof of... by rileyjt · · Score: 1

      Yahoo actually used Google's search engine for a long time (among others - they switched a couple times in the early days and ended up with Google since it was the best). Yahoo has hardly been anti-Google until much more recently when Google has decided to compete directly against Yahoo. They actually owned a fairly large stake in Google and were one of the initial investors in the company. They made in the neighborhood of $900 million when Google went public. Times have changed with Google's emergence of a portal and competing web site, but this was competition was something that Google initiated.

      All that being said, Yahoo is still the most popular site on the internet - by far. They have more than twice the amount of traffic than Google and Microsoft COMBINED! (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details ?&range=6m&size=medium&y=p&url=www.yahoo.com#top). Yahoo is lacking in a lot of areas and I don't always appreciate the approach they have taken with advertising, etc, but they do have the most comprehensive set of internet services out there and have been doing this for a lot longer than Google has. Bash them all you want, but I wouldn't write them off :)

    4. Re:Even Further Proof of... by eno2001 · · Score: 1
      First off... I think libertarians are idiots, so we're already off to a bad start. Next, a real world example of how Yahoo fails where Google succeeds:


      Winner based on first result:http://www.google.com/search?q=%22get_firmw are%28%29%3A+Firmware+not+available%22&start=0&sta rt=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mo zilla:en-US:official


      Loser overall. Not even close: http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22get_firmware%2 8%29%3A+Firmware+not+available%22&sm=Yahoo%21+Sear ch&fr=FP-tab-web-t&toggle=1&cop=&ei=UTF-8


      I was trying to find out why my Echo Layla 20 wasn't loading firmware last night and Google got me the answer. Had I tried Yahoo, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere apparently.

      Printing maps has worked fine for me every time I used it this Summer. I don't know about you, but I'm using Firefox within GNOME on RedHat 9 printing to an Epson Stylus 800 printer. Works for me.

      Regarding Google maps overall, it's all about the directions. I used to use Mapquest because they still beat the pants off of Yahoo maps. Of course their directions were sometimes the long way around. Everytime I've used Google maps, it has chosen the most efficient route by local standards. I even tested by using examples of routes I know and it always chose my way of going rather than the "main roads". Usually this equates to the most efficient path.

      Your turn.

      --
      -"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
    5. Re:Even Further Proof of... by carlivar · · Score: 1
      First off... I think libertarians are idiots

      Yeah that Thomas Jefferson... what a dumbass.

      Anyway, thank you for the search example. Please note that nowhere did I say that Yahoo search was better. I've used both Google & Yahoo for my searching needs. Up to this point, both have been up to the task. It's simply that when a stranger tells me something, I tend to be cynical when there's no proof given. Now, proof provided. (Looks like the parantheses goof up Yahoo's search... that indeed is lame).

      It would appear Google has fixed their printing problem. I tried it a few times when Google Maps first came out and it wasn't pretty. But now, results of my directions from 1060 W. Addison to 2120 S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago seem to have come out okay. (Bonus points if anyone knows the significance of these addresses, though the first one is easy).

      Actually it's not my turn yet... you didn't acknowledge that Yahoo has a real-time traffic overlay available on their maps. In other words, something that I would say isn't "suckage" (to use your word). I believe they are working on custom directions based on traffic conditions as well.

      My overall point is that both Google and Yahoo (and others) offer interesting and original features. On slashdot it's always "yay Google, Yahoo sux!" and I get a little tired of it.

      The Creative Commons search on Yahoo is pretty cool too.

      Carl

      "I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it."
      -Voltaire (a French "libertarian idiot" I guess)

      --
      Vote Libertarian
  51. Download Fire by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 1

    There are plenty of third party clients, like Adium mentioned previously or Fire. When the official messenger client, for the given messenger system, on your platform only supports text chat, then you have nothing to lose by going with multi-messenger client.

    --
    Jumpstart the tartan drive.
  52. Does that mean... by Malc · · Score: 1

    ... MSN Messenger will gain offline messages and the ability to logon in invisible mode? Two features of Yahoo Messenger I find extremely useful. The only reason I use MSN Messenger is because it seems standard at the office. I have to keep my status set to away though to make it easier to screen my messages and to avoid the dreaded "hey dude" and "waaaasup" messages one seems to get as soon as one's status goes to available. The interruptions caused by IM can be so bloody annoying, but Yahoo makes them easier to manage.

    1. Re:Does that mean... by Utopia · · Score: 1

      You can mark yourself as 'Appear offline' in MSN Messenger.
      Even offline messages are available.
      May be you haven't upgraded in quite a while.

    2. Re:Does that mean... by mikael_j · · Score: 1
      It's not "offline messages" if you're still connected, "offline messages" means (like with ICQ in the late 90's) that others can send messages to you when you're not even connected and the server will deliver deliver them the next time you connect.

      As for "Appear offline", it makes you appear offline for everyone, with ICQ you can/could use the "invisible" mode to appear offline to some people and online to others (no, this is not like blocking them, that's another feature, this means just what I wrote, that you appear to be offline to those on the offline list and online to those on your "people who don't annoy the crap out of you while you're trying to work" list).

      /Mikael

      --
      Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
    3. Re:Does that mean... by Malc · · Score: 1

      I've tried using Appear Offline in MSN Messenger in the past. I don't remember why I stopped using, but it had problems. Perhaps people couldn't send me IMs? IIRC, it's pretty much useless other than for keeping an eye on who's on line, and who isn't. That's almost creepy!

      These days I use Trillian. Are you saying the newest MSN client (isn't it still in beta?) offer these features?

  53. Instant Messaging.. So what! by Vskye · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wow, just what we need now days. I realize that it was popular in the past, but really... we have VOIP and did that like 3 or 4 years ago, so whats the great deal about IM? (at least for me it sucks) I generally gab with my bro via a cell phone and there ya go. Painless, free (if you have a decent plan) and that's about it.

    --
    Life was hell, then I discovered Linux...
  54. Re:Suddenly I don't like. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    anymore?

  55. What about outside the US by Tsaac · · Score: 1

    So, how many people outside of the USA and over 15 actually use AIM ?

    I'd like to see the market statistics not including Americans.

    --
    eXemplary Abstract
  56. Re:As long as they make the video MSN, audio Yahoo by Phroggy · · Score: 1

    Yahoo's webcam support isn't stable on Mac OS X either (or perhaps it's the macam drivers that aren't stable, I'm not entirely sure), but it's the only IM client I've found that actually works cross-platform for video. Of course they haven't released a new version in over two years, and that was only a minor update....

    --
    $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
    $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
  57. meh by BortQ · · Score: 1
    This will change nothing for me. I will still be using Adium to connect to all the networks and avoid reliance on any one system.

    These guys don't seem to get it, or they don't want to. A standardized 'open' IM system (similar to how email is open and standardized) would explode the IM possibilities. It doesn't matter how big your network is, if it's centralized and controlled by one company then certain users will never use it.

    An open, de-centralized IM network where anyone can run their own identity node is what jabber has been focusing on. Google really missed the boat big time by not embracing it with their client. Now it's just business as usual: centralized IM networks fighting with each over for the same lowly slice of pie. All while ignoring the giant tasty cake that surrounds them.

    --

    A Multiplayer Strategy Game for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux
  58. Saw this coming by ewe2 · · Score: 1

    ...and so did a few others. Remember all the footsie with AOL in weeks past? Methinks the price for merging AIM might have been a tad high, so they've gone the other route with yahoo. The point of all this isn't to attack AOL, it's Google they're worried about. They've no doubt settled on a no-compete deal with AOL, so it's a sort-off united front.

    --
    insecurity asks the wrong question irritation gives the wrong answer
  59. Title misleading? by deltalimasierralima · · Score: 1

    Doesn't the title seem to suggest that there is going to be one YahooMSN messenger? This is different from having MS and Yahoo just allowing interoperability between their own clients

  60. Re:One Word Gaim by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 1
    I could care less ...

    So you are saying that although you use Gaim exclusivly, you still care about the MSN / Yahoo situation? Please explaine...

    --
    "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
  61. Who are you? by lanced · · Score: 1

    [to the company known as microsoft] Who are and what have you done with my ne'er-do-well, soulless big brother?

    Really now. An MS two-fer: first they agree to help real networks distribution, and now they're doing the same for yahoo. Now you can't even trust the back-stabber to do his job properly. What's next--is the mob going to start threatening to ruin credit scores if you fail to pay your debts?

    1. Re:Who are you? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The enemy of my enemy is my friend. This is the first of many attempts at killing google.

  62. 1,2,3,4 - I Declare IM War by Mr.Progressive · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Just so you know, Drunkenbatman had this pegged.

    Within the last few weeks, there appears to have been a meeting between MSN, Yahoo and AOL. They'd all been talking amongst themselves -- and sparsely with each other -- about how to respond to Google, but were still trying to make up their minds...

    The Cow Abides

    --
    Okay, so a philosopher, a philologist, and a philatelist walk into a bar...
  63. Sheesh...... by Rank_Tyro · · Score: 1

    .....and to think I had to download GAIM tonight because my MSN messenger wasn't working right. Does this mean that when one service gets screwed up, they will both go down?

    --
    Today's show is brought to you by the number 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0: 25
  64. Can't we ever get a universal protocol... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    ...without a monopoly?

  65. hmm by spx · · Score: 1

    What about the most recent update (for trillian pro) that had aim/icq update together, is the next one going to be 'aim/msn/icq'

  66. Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Baloo+Ursidae · · Score: 5, Interesting
    MSN, Yahoo, ICQ and AIM buddies

    Disclaimer: I run the ursine.ca Jabber server.

    The yahoo transport sucks donkeyballs. It's unreliable and crashes for no reason, usually while I'm trying to get other work done. As evil as Microsoft typically is, they're doing us a favor: Now Jabber only has to maintain two or three transports and none of them involving some bletcherous hack from jabberd's transports if you're using the otherwise far easier to deal with ejabberd. Microsoft has to have their way, so you can pretty much kiss the YIM protocol good bye and everybody with a YIM ID suddenly having @yahoo.com Passports instead, and good riddance. Now there's only two proprietary protocols left: Oscar (AIM/ICQ) and MSN.

    The 80 gajillion Google fanboys are suddenly able to access the rest of the IM landscape that isn't stuck in the last millennium with their Google Talk JID. Google users and the rest of the Jabber network rejoice, AOL shits itself seeing headlights coming from both directions.

    Microsoft and Time Warner are going to strike a deal that will be kind of like AOL announcing that October 1993 would effectively follow January 2005 on the Usenet calendar. Except instead of AOL continuing to exist, Time Warner flushes AOL like an unwanted fetus on prom night, selling it out to Microsoft. Microsoft has to have their way, so you can pretty much kiss the Oscar protocol goodbye. Everybody with AIM IDs suddenly get @aim.com passports. Everybody at ICQ gets @icq.com passports.

    And then there was one. MSN Messenger fights to the bitter death, losing mindshare bit by bit until 10 years from now, Microsoft's holding an empty bag and wondering how the hell they missed the boat on IM. Everybody loves Google, and many will switch to Google Talk on basis of name recognition alone. Thank God that they don't abuse that power.

    (And in other news, the Portland Winterhawks probably won't make the playoffs this year. Again. Dammit.)

    --
    Help us build a better map!
  67. New from Microsoft and Yahoo! by Proc6 · · Score: 2, Funny
    Double Your Privacy Invasion, Permanent Chat Logging, User Profiling and Targetted Marketing for the Same Low Price!

    Hurry, While Supplies Last!

    --

    I'm Rick James with mod points biatch!

    1. Re:New from Microsoft and Yahoo! by littlem · · Score: 1

      Yeah, Microsoft and Yahoo, hardly a pair you'd trust with your life...

  68. "44% of the instant messaging market" crap, I say by l3v1 · · Score: 1

    44% of the instant messaging market

    Typical microsoftish pr talk, one of those that makes me puke this time early in the morning. My point is that e.g. among all my friends and other people I know only quite a limited number of them uses yahoo's or microsoft's im applications for messaging. Even if they have msn and/or yahoo ids. Quite a lot of people (fortunately) know alternative, lightveight, less obtrusive, nicer, faster, etc. applications which they can use instead, and quite a lot of them support many different im networks simultaneously
    At the end, I don't think that merging the two im clients would necessarily mean increased client-using userbase, unless they think the users do not use anything else besides msn or yahoo, and their respective clients.

    --
    I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
  69. Re:One Word Gaim by Frogbert · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I could care less
    So your saying you do care?
  70. Re:One Word Gaim by Michael+Wardle · · Score: 2, Informative

    I have a Yahoo account, and I've never received spam from Yahoo.

    The other steps you mention (creating an account and having to log in) are standard for any service. How is Yahoo different?

  71. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  72. At least gaim will be able to keep accessing MSN.. by mikefe · · Score: 1

    ..through yahoo.

    So even if gaim can't access msn directly it will work through yahoo.

    --
    There: Something at a specific location.
    Their: Owned by someone.
    Please make sure your english compiles.
  73. INCORRECT summary of things by Tezkah · · Score: 0, Redundant

    MS Messenger: Ships standard on all Windows PC's. Pops up every five minutes asking you if you would like to sign up for service. Causes your computer to explode if you try to uninstall it, or indeed just try to get it to shut up. The fact that this still isn't the #1 instant messaging client should tell you something. I have the most luck with voice chat through firewalls on Messenger.

    Wrong. Windows Messenger comes standard on Windows XP computers. It is the Corporate edition of the Messenger protocol. Very lean, nice on the eyes, but rarely updated. MSN Messenger is another program, currently at version 7.5 with many more bloated features.

    Aim: Comes automatically with AOL, or you can download it free from aol.com. Also comes free with LOTS and LOTS of ads. Ads pop up on your screen. Ads are built into your client. Smart a$$ movie executives send you ads directly. Sex chatbots try to lure you into filthyness before posting the transcript on Fark. Everyone's personal icon is loud, animated, and obnoxious. In short, AIM is a lot like the internet. And like the internet, nearly everyone uses AIM.

    Doesn't pop up ads on your screen, only shows ads on the buddy list. These ads used to include movie trailers to those with broadband, but there are hacks to remove it and you can always use a third party product like GAIM. Comparitively, the client for AIM is less capable than the others, but the protocol is very nice, allowing things like underline in the middle of a message unlike MSN Messenger. You can use animated buddy icons, but you are not forced to use an "obnoxious" one, and you can obviously hide them. Only 56% of IM users use AIM. RTFA.

    ICQ: Still the greatest communications medium of all time. Really. Greatest ever. (There, I said what you wanted Mr. 3098014563. Now give me my family back, like in the deal.)

    ICQ is an abandoned program that used numbers instead of usernames. Bought out by AOL you can now send messages to ICQ users from AIM. I don't know of anyone who uses ICQ, so I don't know how popular this pioneering IM service is.

    Yahoo: No really, Yahoo has a chat medium. I was shocked too. Isn't Yahoo just adorable sometimes? On a side note, I've had better luck getting webcams through firewalls over Yahoo. This leads to great situations where I'm videoconferencing with someone over Yahoo, but the audio stream is in MSN and the chat is happening in Jabber.

    Is this really worth responding to? Yahoo! uses some strange webcam sharing thing so you can share your webcam with more than one person. Other than that the client is pretty standard, much like AIM as it uses yahoo! email addresses.

    Google Chat: Google chat is based on Jabber, the open source next-generation world dominating chat protocol of the fut-- [...]What was that about Google Chat again?

    Google Talk is like a stripped down MSN Messenger with voice and very uncustomizable text. It obstensibly uses jabber, but Google hasn't set it up for others to connect server to server, so you need a gmail account.

    I wont bother responding to the last two paragraphs where you start going on a tangent about jabber's sex life. +5 Insightful? Hah.

    1. Re:INCORRECT summary of things by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wont bother responding to the last two paragraphs where you start going on a tangent about jabber's sex life.

      Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out why you responded to the first 5 paragraphs. After all, it's labeled as both +5 funny and incorrec.

      I'd shout "duck" but it's clearly not necessary.

    2. Re:INCORRECT summary of things by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out why you responded to the first 5 paragraphs. After all, it's labeled as both +5 funny and incorrec.

      I'd shout "duck" but it's clearly not necessary.


      "A brief and largely incorrec summary of things (Score:5, Informative)"

      It's not funny, and its labelled as informative. I like how i got modded into the ground for correcting it though.

    3. Re:INCORRECT summary of things by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They probably gave him informative so that he could get karma points. They modded you down offtopic because there is no "-1: no sense of humor" modification.

  74. A better Mac client by GrahamCox · · Score: 1

    I hope this will lead to a better Mac client, since both of them suck on Mac. Recently what features were there stopped working properly because a new version was required (Yahoo) but they haven't yet bothered to update the Mac version. MSN looks better, but still lacks lots of features that Windows version has. To be honest, it's all a pile of s**t - what we need is an open, widely adopted protocol that anybody can write a client for... oh, wait. Yeah, well, "widely adopted" is the thing....

  75. Re:One Word Gaim by DavidD_CA · · Score: 2, Interesting

    When you set up a Yahoo! account for IM, you can give them a "spammy" email account that you only check whenever you need to supply an email address for something.

    I did that when I linked my Trillian into Yahoo! and it's worked great. Except for very recently when Yahoo upgraded it's file sharing and now Trillian needs to play catch-up or something.

    --
    -David
  76. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by toddhunter · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Thank God that they don't abuse that power.
    Oh ye of too much faith. Google is a company. Wait till their share price starts dropping and then we'll see if we thank them for not abusing their power.

  77. huh... i don't feel like trusting this by mastmallu · · Score: 1

    how many of u actually think this is true. and just in case if it is, how many feel itz really gonna work out between these two?

  78. 44% of which market? by Sarbandia · · Score: 1

    Considering that QQ messenger has almost the entire current overseas market (at this point nearly 400 million vs AIM's 100 million) I'd say that claiming 44% of the market may be over-reaching.

  79. You'd be surprised by Trejkaz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Recent usage statistics actually look a bit like this:

    • AOL (sum of ICQ, AIM and AOLIM) = 41.6 million
    • Yahoo = 19.1 million
    • MSN = 14.1 million

    Of course, there is also Jabber which was 10 million at last count which was a couple of years ago but more than likely growing. There is also QQ messenger, which supposedly has over 100 million users, but every news story like this conveniently ignores.

    --
    Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
    1. Re:You'd be surprised by notthe9 · · Score: 1

      Linky linky?

    2. Re:You'd be surprised by fbroooooz · · Score: 1
      From their FAQ: http://www.qq.co.za/features.aspx

      QQ is battle-tested
      We've had over 100 million QQ registrations in the last four years.

      QQ is local
      A complete QQ infrastructure has been set up in South Africa, designed to serve the African continent with a world-class Instant Messaging platform.

      So they have over 100 million registrations not active users. and it looks like many of those registrations may have been part of the "infrastructure" that they setup for South Africa. Who knows how many people are actually using qq...
    3. Re:You'd be surprised by larz · · Score: 2, Informative

      QQ is a product produced by Tencent, Inc, located in Shenzhen, China. The south african website to which the parent linked seems to be some third party attempt to get people in south africa to use QQ's english client. Here's the real download website http://im.qq.com/ and an english about page for those who don't read chinese. http://www.tencent.com/about/about_e.shtml

    4. Re:You'd be surprised by AttillaTheNun · · Score: 1

      I'm still on ICQ - where did everybody go? Hello? :)

    5. Re:You'd be surprised by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

      I just left ICQ for Jabber. Or rather, I started using Jabber ages ago and just recently ditched all the legacy services.

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
    6. Re:You'd be surprised by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

      9 million at any one time, according to Wikipedia. But note that the official figures from the other companies are the number of users which logged in over a month, not the number which are logged in concurrently.

      On my own, tiny instant messenger service, Jabber.ZIM, we typically have between 100 to 150 users online at any point in time, but 500 accounts are active each month. I'm not going to say that we can assume the same ratio will apply elsewhere, but if it does, then you can expect QQ's actual monthly usage statistics to still be higher than the entire AOL cluster combined.

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
    7. Re:You'd be surprised by Trejkaz · · Score: 1
      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
    8. Re:You'd be surprised by humina · · Score: 1

      Can you quote your source for those numbers please.

      --
      check out the best blog ever:
      http://oehlberg.com
    9. Re:You'd be surprised by Trejkaz · · Score: 1
      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
  80. MSN Messenger 7.5 isn't bad (*) by soul_hk · · Score: 1

    (*) when combined with :
    - Messenger Plus http://www.msgplus.net/
    - Mess.be thingo http://www.mess.be/

    Actually, now that I have tabbed MSN chats, it's very good indeed.
    However, I do run Trillian also, but only because I need to run several accounts at one time (work/personal etc.).
    The problem with trillian is I lose messages from time to time, check the trillian forums, this has always been their weakness.

    Yahoo, just plain ugly but has always been the most reliable in terms of files/webcam getting through firewalls.

    ICQ, they have finally succeeded... in making the client as bloated and ugly as their website, I credit AOL for this amazing effort.

    Google Talk - excuse me?, are you kidding, I haven't seen such a feature-less messenger since 1997.

    So, I am quite happy with my MSN(*) these days.

  81. Re:One Word Gaim by Doppler00 · · Score: 1

    only if you want to send basic text messages. I don't know how many times I've been annoyed at Gaim because it has super flacky file transfer support, font support, etc. Oh not to mention it uses 16.6Mb of memory on my windows machine.

    But... at least it's better than seeing those stupid ads on MSN messenger.

  82. Jabber is not the transports by Trejkaz · · Score: 5, Informative

    I think you're mixing topics a bit here:

    1. A widespread Jabber net is already in place, it just needs the users to come to it. As more users come to it, the network will grow;
    2. Client -> Server encryption has been around for as long as I can remember. It used to be just plain TLS negotiated over port 5223, but turned into STARTTLS over standard port 5222. Every client supports this in one way or another, or more accurately, a client which doesn't is a joke;
    3. Client -> Client encryption has been here for ages now. The fact that people don't seem to want encryption or can't be arsed setting it up, doesn't mean that there is no encryption. OpenPGP works over Jabber already, and has been implemented in multiple clients, though by no means all. And finally;
    4. Transport stability has NOTHING to do with Jabber stability. Repeat after me: Jabber is not the transports. Transports actually impede Jabber progress in by giving newbies the false idea that Jabber is a means for connecting to multiple networks at once. They then proceed to dismiss it as an option because "I already have Trillian."
    --
    Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
  83. Hmm... by Trejkaz · · Score: 0, Troll

    I wouldn't mind knowing how running Trillian makes it possible for me to invite an MSN and an AIM user into the same chat...

    --
    Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
  84. What about BitchX you foolz!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Back in the days, I used to connect to Internet Relay Chat networks to talk to my buddies and I still use IRC by now...

    Yeah maybe IRC clients aren't supporting video or voice chats but can you tell me any better place to have multi-users public discussions? MSN and Yahoo public chats sucks! And I dont think google will do better on this side...

    BitchX anyone ?

  85. Namespacing by Trejkaz · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I wonder what they'll do about user IDs for transporting between the two services. What I mean is, from MSN's side, you want to add a Yahoo user, say he's called "Bob" on Yahoo.

    Maybe they'll let you add him just as "Bob" on MSN, which would be a significant problem for MSN because they assume that all IDs are emails for various purposes.

    They can't let you add him as "bob@yahoo.com", because Bob might actually be using that Yahoo email address as his username on MSN.

    Maybe they'll have to go about it to the extreme and add to both the IDs. So you would add Bob as "bob@Yahoo", but you would add your fellow MSN contact as "jane@example.com@MSN".

    --
    Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
    1. Re:Namespacing by Baloo+Ursidae · · Score: 1
      They can't let you add him as "bob@yahoo.com", because Bob might actually be using that Yahoo email address as his username on MSN.

      Sure they can. "Just start using your MSN Passport password for your passport ending in @yahoo.com instead of your previous Yahoo Messenger password"

      --
      Help us build a better map!
    2. Re:Namespacing by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

      My point was that Bob might not even be signed in on MSN at all. And it's not really my choice which service all my contacts are on (if it were, we would have solved the interconnectivity issue years ago using Jabber.)

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
  86. Re:One Word Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You mod him off, but that's exactly what I thought. It's the cam. Especially with the Philipino crowd. I've even seen a wedding come out of Philipino camming on Yahoo!.(should there be a period after that?)

  87. Re:At least gaim will be able to keep accessing MS by AnimeFreak · · Score: 1

    Funny, I am on my Mac running Adium, which uses GAIM as a base, and it works fine with MSN.

  88. Re:One Word Gaim by CProgrammer98 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I can't understand why Americans say "I could care less" - the sentence makes no sense... what does it mean? I could care less if I tried? If I wanted to? It always seems to be used in the context of "I could NOT care less" or, "It doesn't bother me", "I'm not interested." It means the exact opposite though! Are you just too lazy to type the extra 3 characters? (n't)?

    Any there American Etymologists around who can explain this?

    --
    And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour Isaiah 3:5
  89. Go Microsoft! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Keep it coming microsoft, I love you! Stupid kids will bitch and still use your shit, but I embrace it all. Theres plenty of freeware out there, but it doesn't compete. You'd think they could make it free for Windows just as easy, but it ain't that simple. It takes a company motivated by reward to make something work, not these commie bastards!

  90. Re:One Word Gaim by stevencbrown · · Score: 3, Informative

    Have a look about half way down this page

    http://www.word-detective.com/061405.html

    Basically, the sarcasm that the "could care less" form uses, implies the missing negative - probably shouldn't be used online given sarcasm is harder to do in written text.

  91. Re:One Word Gaim by drsquare · · Score: 1

    No it's not. With things like Gaim you need logins for all the different services. If services merge, that's less logins you need.

  92. no chance for mac users ? by marx2002 · · Score: 1

    ..since i am researching for my project i was really embarased about microsoft because there is NO ability to broadcast video from a mac , i was looking for other solutions found jmeeting.com , there is also no mac support at least yahoo worked some times. Its like they are cutting the world in two pices......see what happens. just my 2 cents

  93. Re:One Word Gaim by lav-chan · · Score: 4, Informative

    The phrase supposedly started in America a few decades ago, but it's spread to the rest of the world by now. The etymology isn't entirely clear (some people think it could've been intended to be sarcastic, or that it was misread in print), but it's probably the simplest one -- it's the same reason people say 'case and point' and 'for all intensive purposes' and 'supposively'. People say it so often that eventually some of them become ignorant of the actual meaning and just repeat it however.

    I don't think most people actually intend to say it incorrectly but, in my experience, they also refuse to change when they are told that it's wrong. I guess they just... couldn't... care less....

  94. Re:One Word Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    you couldn't care less

    COULDN'T CARE LESS

    Godamn it. I hope you fall down some stairs.

  95. Re:One Word Gaim by timmarhy · · Score: 1

    you only have to create the account once, and gaim logs you in. it's fucking easy. i have people on both and it never bothers me.

    --
    If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
  96. Will Yahoo Chat Follow MSN Pay Model? by BlueStrat · · Score: 1

    Just wondering if that might be a likely outcome of the 2 services merging.

    I chatted occasionally on MSN chat in the Computers/Programming rooms, but dropped it after they went pay. I could afford it, just not enough value for me to spend cash for.

    I recall Yahoo having some trouble with user-created chat room topics recently..someone bringing some of the more sensational ones to the attention of advertisers, which pressured Yahoo to drop user-created rooms.

    I'm thinking that the MSN pay-chat model might be adopted by Yahoo either on their own, or with pressure from MSN in order to both be consistent between the 2, and to also cover their butts legally and with advertisers.

    Anyone see this as likely?

    Strat

    --
    Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
  97. Could some IM maker finally allow roaming.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    MSN and yahoo! to allow cross-border messages, good. But what was the last time somebody in the IM biz actually added something new to their clients? Been using IM applications since 1998 or so, but I still have to live with the fact that my home IM logs/history are not available to me when I use my IM application (currently Miranda) at work. Or when I take my laptop with me. Or when I use ICQ with my PDA. Etc.

    Now, why can't someone finally make an app that would allow true roaming for instant messaging logs, user data, etc? If, due privacy stuff, not on vendor's server, allow it on your own server? Its 2005, for god sakes and Netscape 3.x had roaming for user profiles and everybody has been touting the "you dont need computer, you need Net" ideology for years, but apart from IMAP4 and/or web-based emails, I still fail to see this materialize. Firefox removed roaming for profiles, none of the open source IM projects have managed to do remote profile/history roaming (that wouldn't just export XML to FTP server, but truly keep your IM history in synch, no matter where you launch it).

    Tired of backing up four different IM logs and when I need to search them, to export them to four XML files and copy them to one location and go through all of them for the one goddamn message I need to retrieve...

    1. Re:Could some IM maker finally allow roaming.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I wrote Organizator with this in mind. Unfortunately I did not have enough time to make the modules to connect to the other IM services.

      Any help in coding those would be appreciated. The project license is GPL, programming language Java.

    2. Re:Could some IM maker finally allow roaming.. by pixel+fairy · · Score: 2, Informative

      at least your contact/buddy list is stored server side. anyway, heres an answer,

      http://thekonst.net/centericq

      ssh home when you want it.

      if you want to keep it running, see http://www.gnu.org/software/screen/screen.html

      also see http://gaim.sf.net/
      gaims chat logs can simply be copied into eachother since each "conversation" is a seperate file.
      its probably runs on all the platforms you need (the latest always compiles out of the box on os x with fink)

      there are a few remote file shares you can use, some of which work over ssh, and thus your prefs/logs etc
      can be kept with them. or you can simply script your client to sync whenever it starts / stops / whenever,
      which would thus be transparent (and probably faster with something like rsync)

      so anyway, yea, its sad that in this day and age, we dont have software working together much, but at least
      you can work around it. centericq is a pretty simple way to not have to worry about any of it, all you need
      is ssh. thus the beuty of remote apps. if you dont like centericqs interface, check out http://bitlbee.org/
      to use an irc client instead.

  98. IM by Joe+Random · · Score: 1

    Am I the only person on the planet who doesn't use instant messaging? I find that it allows my online life to intrude into my real life just enough to be annoying. If you have something important to say to me, call me on my cell phone. If it's not that urgernt, or you don't know me well enough to have my cell phone number, email me.

    If you don't know me well enough to have my phone number, and you still think that what you have to say is so important that you have to get in touch with me right now, then you're probably mistaken.

    1. Re:IM by technomom · · Score: 1

      The telephone is useful for a chat until you need to give the other person a long URL or spell out name. IM trumps the telephone when you want to give the person the correct spelling for Mrs. Czarnowschuyvlzski's name or want to point them to
      http://www.incrediblylongurlthathasrandom3rirhfhas kdfhjkad.com./

      JoAnn

  99. Re:"44% of the instant messaging market" crap, I s by trash+eighty · · Score: 1

    well it all depends on your circle of friends, i personally know dozens of people who use Yahoo every day. and don't use anything else, which is the way with non-geek users i think.

  100. Finally.. by EngLee · · Score: 1

    I've always wanted to install Yahoo Messenger because I don't want to limit my contact list to MSN Messenger only. However, till now, I still haven't install it. (Probably because most of my friends are using MSN, only few of them active in Yahoo IM)

    Anyhow, it's always a good thing to merge both networks.

    --
    http://blog.enrii.com - a web tech blog
    1. Re:Finally.. by polyp2000 · · Score: 1

      "I've always wanted to install Yahoo Messenger because I don't want to limit my contact list to MSN Messenger only."

      Have you tried GAIM ?

      http://gaim.sourceforge.net/

      Not only does it support MSN and Yahoo, its also supports others like irc and icq transparently from within the same application. That makes it even better in my book!

      --
      Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
    2. Re:Finally.. by EngLee · · Score: 1

      Even if it supports both, I don't think GAIM can make a chatroom with people from both networks.

      I guess this is supposed to be the main advantage after merging?

      --
      http://blog.enrii.com - a web tech blog
  101. Re:Errm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    slash.. who?
    WTF?

  102. Re:One Word Gaim by TheoGB · · Score: 1

    Dammit. Why do I never have mod points to push up posts like the above when I really need it! :-D

  103. Fix the programs first, Y! and MSN by Khyber · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Or at the very least, fix your webcams streaming and audio, guys. Audio's generally fine (minus Yahoo's sudden stopping if it detects a period of constant volume level, so sometimes I'm playing my guitar with hands-free on and the damned program stops streaming my audio,) but when I want to videochat with my mother, I don't want super mode dropping out on me, suddenly, without any reason or cause, and we both know we've touched nothing that would make it stop.

    MSN fares no better with it's astonishingly fast 3-6 fps. Screw that. Camfrog does this better. IM, voice, video, and even has some pretty awesome video chat rooms. It's good enough for deaf people to speak using sign language on cam. Does that tell you how good it is? You two should strive to be more like that program, Yahoo and Microsoft. It's small, (compared to Yahoo's 10 meg install size and MSN's 11.5 meg install,) it's fast, and it WORKS. Camfrog's only downside is it's 2k/XP only, though I understand there may be an OSX version in development.

    MSN's audio sucks even more. MSN needs to be like Yahoo, and add a PUSH TO TALK BUTTON. Nothing is more annoying than feedback in my headphones, thanks to my Logitech's mic/webcam combo (quickcam messenger) having an uber-sensitive microphone. It's almost at it's lowest possible level and it's still getting feedback off of my headphones, with me sitting about 4 feet from the microphone.

    Can we fix our programs first, guys?

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  104. Distributed IM with open specs? by fernique · · Score: 1

    Suppose it would be really great to have a single generic protocol for instant messaging, but if there will be no dictator like Microsoft behind it. This system should be distributed and with opened specifications (as Jabber/XMPP). Clients for it's network should be exist for various platforms, not only for win32 and mac. The ability for running own server is also important.

    --
    igor
    1. Re:Distributed IM with open specs? by jacksonj04 · · Score: 1

      As long as the protocol itself is capable of doing everything useful (Voice, video, file transfer etc.) all other clients can do at the moment, bar the incredibly annoying "Nudge". That way in a transitory period you could have 'relays' which turn MSN protocol into Generic protocol, without losing anything mid-transaction.

      --
      How many people can read hex if only you and dead people can read hex?
  105. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Darkman,+Walkin+Dude · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The yahoo transport sucks donkeyballs.

    And how much did you fucking pay for it? I seriously don't know why everyone here is so down on yahoo. Besides overcommercialising everything, they provide absoloutely great services for free, the best of which is their yahoo messenger. Its the only place where the relatively uninitiated can log in and chat to complete strangers a planet away. MSN won't let you do it without paying them. And don't talk to me about the IRC channels; yahoo is to them what a concorde is to a guy jumping off his house.

    Trillian, jabber, all of these might be technically slightly better under the hood, but in terms of end user experience, the slick and FREE package offered by yahoo is so far ahead that these chat clients will in all probability never catch up.

    I have met some fascinating people and turned up a great deal of commercial opportunity by the use of yahoo. Where else can you click a button and chat to people from Vietnam to Africa to Brazil to the US? I was talking to an Iranian woman there the last day. She astounded me with her quick witted and very together responses. Not at all what I expected from what I assumed would be a trampled-upon muslim female. Then again, she was astounded to hear the US was threatening to invade her country, so you live and learn, eh...

    Yahoo isn't sharp enough to be google, and its not evil enough to be microsoft. Its like the bumbling uncle of the internet. Yahoo mail is solid as a rock, and so simple to use that it beats most client side interfaces hands down. And did I mention free? Honestly, most of the crying about yahoo comes back to their use of advertising. If you don't like advertising, give back your TV. Because its not much use without any programming. And you may as well return your DVD collection too. And polish up your credit cards for slashdot's coffers, because you can bet Taco and co aren't going to fork over the fees for bandwidth so you can whine publicly about advertising and its evils. And google, everyone's favourite, would not be here tomorrow if you turned off the advertising (unlike M$).

  106. No s2s in GTalk by fernique · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately Google implements lesser that 10% of Jabber/XMPP features (excluding their proprietary voip), even offline storage is not realised at this time, not even speaking about s2s, the ability to communicate with people from other servers.

    Anyway Google promised to implement s2s one nice day and describe their voice feature specification.

    --
    igor
  107. Webcams in Jabber? by fernique · · Score: 1

    Hello.

    Is it possible to make camera working between to Jabber/XMPP endpoints in gaim-vv?

    --
    igor
  108. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    The yahoo transport sucks donkeyballs. And how much did you fucking pay for it? I seriously don't know why everyone here is so down on yahoo.
    He was referring to the Yahoo transport provider in Jabber, not Yahoo.

    Now you look like an ass-hat.

  109. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by digitalsurgeon · · Score: 1

    you cant predict the future, nobody can. i like firefox jabber and other oss software but u have to hand it to microsoft, their software is much more easy to use then any body else's, and lately firefox has been pissing me off too and ie is again my default browser. ff wont show many pages, swf java wont show for some pages and then there are times that it is like a hog. ie might be un secure but hey i'm not an idiot and i dont visit crap sites. google talk ? i am not sure about that, but msn msngr is my choice of im

  110. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1
    Note that Google doing this would require more than simply installing the transports. For one thing, the legacy IM networks tend to block anyone who creates too many connections from a single IP (how often do the Jabber.org transports work?) to prevent this kind of thing. Secondly, unless they want to force people to separately register an AIM / MSN account, they would need a mechanism for automatically registering their users on other IM networks.

    Both of these would require an agreement with the legacy network owners.

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  111. Re:One Word Gaim by -brazil- · · Score: 1

    And I could NOT care less, because I don't use instant messaging at all. Honestly, what's the point? It combines all the worst points of phone (intrusive, no time to compose your thoughts) and email (have to type = slow, only works when online).

    --

    The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.
    --Henry Kissinger

  112. Re:One Word Gaim by MTO_B. · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I could care less as well...
    But 99% of my friends would trash Gaim as soon as they opened it.
    It's missing the features that makes msn messenger special, all those neat winks, backgrounds, packages and more. It's what makes it fun for them.

    I understand Gaim will soon have video but that was a requirement more than a year ago, messengers have continued advancing and now there is much more catchup to do.

  113. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Darkman,+Walkin+Dude · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Now you look like an ass-hat.

    Grow some balls and sign in, son. Then maybe we can talk.

  114. Re:One Word Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What after the wedding?

  115. Open protocols by gilesjuk · · Score: 1

    Why can't they just release all the protocols?

    I mean the web, ftp, email, news and the core stack (TCP/IP) are all open and pretty much free to use by anyone.

    Can you imagine the mess the net and LANs would be in if all of these had been proprietary? you'd have WindowsLAN, MacLAN, SunLAN, IBMLAN etc... yes I know Apple had AppleTalk, but that will die.

    1. Re:Open protocols by mforbes · · Score: 1

      When consumer access to the internet first started succeeding in the US, there were several protocols. Novell had IPX/SPX, Microsoft had Netbeui (sp?), you already mentioned Apple's Appletalk, Unix had what became the standard, TCP/IP, although there were already drivers for TCP/IP under Windows & I have no idea what else. I don't know what else was out there as I'm not & have never been a network guru.

      To make matters more interesting, Token Ring was still a viable & fast network topology (esp if used in a star configuration rather than a physical ring), although it was much more expensive than the 10mb ethernet of the time. By 1994, 10/100mb switchable ethernet cards were out, with an average throughput capable of competing with Token Ring but at a much better price.

      --

      Allegedly real newspaper headline from 1998:
      Man Struck by Lightning Faces Battery Charge

    2. Re:Open protocols by billcopc · · Score: 1

      By my memory, Windows didn't have TCP/IP in the early days. I'm talking Windows 3.1. We had to install a 3rd party TCP/IP stack, the one I remember was Trumpet Winsock. It was bundled with a dialer and once you were connected, every net-aware application simply tapped into WINSOCK.DLL and did its thing. It's hardly any different from the dialers embedded into the OS today, except networking is now ubiquitous, whereas back then it was an add-on.

      The best part about early 90's internet was that it wasn't all about the web. You had email, usenet, gopher.. just gobs of condensed information without garbage, spam, nor porn *shudder*. I had a far easier time finding what I needed back then.

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com
    3. Re:Open protocols by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

      > Can you imagine the mess the net and LANs would be
      > in if all of these had been proprietary?

      They tried, son, they tried.

      > WindowsLAN,

      Never heard of IPX/SPX?

      > MacLAN,

      AppleTalk you've mentioned.

      > SunLAN,

      Sun's RPC protocol used to be pretty proprietary.
      I think they had other proprietary networking stuff,
      but I can't dredge the particulars out of my memory.

      > IBMLAN

      Oh, you poor, poor man. You've never heard of the
      joys of SNA?

  116. Re:One Word Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Couldn't care less!

  117. Goverment regulation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe it's time for goverment regulation. By using closed protocols large companies are stiffling innovation in the IM-market. In order to be successful upstart in the IM-market you need to reverse-engineer those closed protocols and tap into their user base. In order to be successful in the e-mail or telephony market one would only be required to implement well documented protocols.

    Maybe there should be a law that any communications protocol whatsoever used by a large number has to be opened.

  118. Re:One Word Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You mean there are really people who don't Yahoo!???

    I thought they were just figments of peoples imaginations, except of course for AIM users. But then AIM users don't realy count (no one who needs Computers for Dummies really counts as a computer user).

  119. propoganda by singpolyma · · Score: 0

    "...head to head with... AOL"

    What is this, incompatability in the name of compatability? Y!IM is the only IM system that I DON'T need to be compatable with, sounds like a publicity stunt to me.

    --
    - Singpolyma
  120. Create a stripped down IM, no fancy gadgets or ads by digitaldc · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Trillian works because of its simplicity, these companies need a standard IM protocol and then let the best interface win!
    I prefer the stripped down versions like 'DeadAim' where only the most basic features work. I have no need for stock updates, sports scores and directed advertising. Is this too much to ask?

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
  121. Re:One Word Gaim by Fallus+Shempus · · Score: 3, Funny

    Is this the worlds first example of a British person not understanding
    American sarcasm?

    I knew our education system was getting worse but...

  122. Yahoo! + MSN + AOL? by sydbarrett74 · · Score: 1

    Could this be a harbinger of a more 'intimate' relationship amongst MSN, Yahoo!, and AOL? Perhaps a 'merger' of the three (or at least a very tight alliance) is what each one feels it needs to contend with the oncoming Google juggernaut.

    --
    'He who has to break a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.' -- Gandalf to Saruman
  123. Head to Head? by fury88 · · Score: 1

    Isn't Microsoft in talks to purchase AOL? I think they know what they are doing. I think it really pits them head to head against Google.

  124. merge or link? by nurb432 · · Score: 2, Funny

    If its link, sure that might be ok.

    If its merge, this will be the beginning of the end of yahoo. Next will be yahoomail/hotmail.. then more an more until they are absorbed by microsoft.

    Is google really hurting yahoo that much to want to sell out to the antichrist?

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  125. Hello, Mr. FancyPants! by Whizzmo2 · · Score: 1
    (There, I said what you wanted Mr. 3098014563. Now give me my family back, like in the deal.)
    <ash>It's a trick. Get an axe.</ash>
  126. Wow... by Edd!3 · · Score: 1

    Can you imagine something with more ads and "features" than MSN? the file will probably be about 100mb.

  127. Re:One Word Gaim by kyhwana · · Score: 1

    Well, load up all the "official" clients and log on with them all and then add togeather all the memory and CPU time they use up?

    I'm guessing it's going to be more than gaim. (It was for me, at least)

    --
    My email addy? should be easy enough.
  128. What about AIM and ICQ by jonwil · · Score: 1

    When will AOL merge AIM and ICQ so people on both networks can talk to each other?

  129. MS agrees to align with, destroy Yahoo! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    AP - Microsoft today agreed to align with, then destroy, competitor Yahoo!

    A Microsoft spokesman said that the company would follow its traditional formula

    1. Select one of two competitors to align with

    2. Use its illegal OS monopoly to destroy both new ally and competitor

    3. Laugh while the new ally says "???????"

    4. Profit

    Microsoft spokesmen, responding to questions, said that the company welcomes praise for this move and hopes that customers will continue to frame discussion of this move in terms of product features and communications glitches between different clients.

  130. LOTM by chord.wav · · Score: 1

    ...One MSN to rule them all...

  131. Re:One Word Gaim by kniLnamiJ-neB · · Score: 0

    people say 'case and point' and 'for all intensive purposes' and 'supposively'

    Um, that would be

    "Case IN point" (Make my whole case IN 1 point)
    "For all INTENTS AND PURPOSES" (It's my INTENT/PURPOSE)
    "SupposEDLY" (It is supposED)

    Congratulations on batting .000 today.[/EnglishNazi]

    --
    Windows isn't the answer... it's the question. NO is the answer!
  132. unlikely threesome by chrisnewbie · · Score: 0

    Ouf! msn with Yahoo!

    what next? Yahoo search is already in mozilla, are we to think that maybe ,Just maybe it will disapear from firefox?

  133. Since it runs on Google's proprietary servers, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you dumbfuck moron.

    1. Re:Since it runs on Google's proprietary servers, by metamatic · · Score: 1

      That doesn't make it a proprietary PROTOCOL, which is what was written.

      --
      GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
  134. Re:One Word Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That was incredibly silly. What you are saying was exactly his point.

  135. Microsoft grappling onto Yahoo! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sure Yahoo! would be much better off without this marriage. They provide better IM services, rarely gobble up your contact list or give you a "User doesn't exist" message. I see no reason why they should be willing to integrate with Microsoft except through a jabber server (or equivalent.) MSNger's hook to OE and the underlying Network interface (is normally irritating) and they have never bothered to consider other desktops for clients. Yahoo does provide (though limited in features) a client for GNU/Linux users too. They took Hotmail and made a mess out of it. Now they want to merge with Yahoo! Sometimes I log onto a Yahoo account just to make sure people on my MSN account ain't seeing me online, most people using multiple chat accounts may frequently alternate - even if they use Gaim or a Jabber client or kopete.

  136. Re:One Word Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Another way of putting this is that Americans just can't read, and refuse to be corrected even when the errors of there ways have been pointed out in great detail...

  137. Re:One Word Gaim by kniLnamiJ-neB · · Score: 1

    [rereads the post] Dang it.

    --
    Windows isn't the answer... it's the question. NO is the answer!
  138. Anecdotally, this is already done... by robmandu · · Score: 1

    At my workplace, we're using the Microsoft Office Communicator (MOC) as an internal IM client primarily to prevent company confidential info from being sent across the 'Net in the clear and stored on someone else's (AOL, Yahoo!, MSN, etc) server.

    The fun thing is, there's an optional module that we can elect to install which allows it to contact AOL, Yahoo!, and MSN users directly. Even better, it does not require you to first establish accounts on those services... merely enter in your AOL buddy's name and it will establish an AOL account for you.

    For us /.'rs, the only drawback I see if that it's a little too automatic... I cannot specify what I want my AOL screenname to be... it simply uses my company email address.

    Anyway, the point is it appears that MS has already merged with their IM tech with AOL, Yahoo!, and of course, MSN.

    --

    --
    Break the rules. Keep the faith. Fight for love.
  139. Haven't they learned? by intangible · · Score: 1

    Hasn't anyone learned: You get in bed with Microsoft, you end up being killed no less than three years down the road. That's one hell of a STD.

  140. It was already happening by srid · · Score: 1

    One of my friends' id in my yahoo buddy list is . When I asked, he (who is working for Microsoft) said that he could do this with the help of Microsoft Outlook.

    --
    - srid
    1. Re:It was already happening by srid · · Score: 1

      I was about to say .. One of my friends' id in my yahoo buddy list is "sriramk@microsoft.com". When I asked, he (who is working for Microsoft) said that he could do this with the help of Microsoft Outlook.

      --
      - srid
    2. Re:It was already happening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Methinks "sriramk@microsoft.com" will be doing a lot more with the help of Microsoft Outlook now that you posted his email address where spam crawlers can grab it.

  141. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by shish · · Score: 1

    Their income comes from not being evil -- given that being evil will lose them money, why would they do it?

    --
    I mod down anyone who says "I will be modded down for this", regardless of the rest of their comment
  142. MSN more popular in the UK by astralbat · · Score: 3, Informative
    I live in the UK and 90% of all my friends use MSN. Thats friends from home, friends from uni and friends I've met on the net.

    As far as I know, MSN is more popular in Europe and AIM/Yahoo more popular in the states

    1. Re:MSN more popular in the UK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I also live in the UK and all of my friends use MSN. Never even come across someone who used something else.

    2. Re:MSN more popular in the UK by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      In my contacts list there are 12 ICQ users (mostly people I know from the real life), 15 MSN users (mostly people I know from the internet) and three Jabbber users (exclusively geeks I know from the 'net). For some reason no one I've first met offline uses MSN as their primary IM client and all people I've met online don't use ICQ - it's either MSN only or both.
      I have yet to meet an AIM/YIM user.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    3. Re:MSN more popular in the UK by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

      Sure, MSN is more popular in some locations and AIM or Yahoo are more popular in others. But the statistics I posted were, of course world-wide statistics. If you ask AOL directly, they will actually give away their statistics to you directly, and are quite proud of it. If you ask MSN or Yahoo, you will have less luck, so the figures I quoted above are actually from a newspaper a few months ago which had a story about the increasing use of IM.

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
  143. Re:One Word Gaim by GungaDan · · Score: 1

    Gotta love the great language debates on /. All you word-wardens can take that suppositorily. :P

    --
    Eloi are stupid, throw morlocks at them!
  144. Crypt Keeping by Mateo_LeFou · · Score: 1

    Anybody remember Me Head? This was discussed there. Hilarity ensues:
    Problems with Common Expressions

    --
    My turnips listen for the soft cry of your love
  145. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by mdwh2 · · Score: 1

    The 80 gajillion Google fanboys are suddenly able to access the rest of the IM landscape that isn't stuck in the last millennium with their Google Talk JID. Google users and the rest of the Jabber network rejoice

    Except I didn't think that GoogleTalk was on the Jabber network?

    And then there was one. MSN Messenger fights to the bitter death, losing mindshare bit by bit until 10 years from now, Microsoft's holding an empty bag and wondering how the hell they missed the boat on IM. Everybody loves Google, and many will switch to Google Talk on basis of name recognition alone. Thank God that they don't abuse that power.

    Google may seem a nice company, and it may be convenient not to have several different networks, but a single network controlled by one company is not a good thing. The better solution by far is an open network that anyone can add their servers (ie, exactly what the Jabber network is, but it's not clear whether GoogleTalk will be part of this).

  146. Re:One Word Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Umm...isn't that what he was saying? that people use these incorrect terms without thinking about it?

  147. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by aonaran · · Score: 1

    ...they provide absoloutely great services for free, the best of which is their yahoo messenger. Its the only place where the relatively uninitiated can log in and chat to complete strangers a planet away. MSN won't let you do it without paying them. And don't talk to me about the IRC channels; yahoo is to them what a concorde is to a guy jumping off his house.

    Um, check again, I've never had to pay for access to hotmail or MSN Messenger. I think you are thinking of the MSN Network (similar to AOL) where the "good bits" of the internet (as chosen by MS) get spoon fed to the masses. Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger and AIM/ICQ are all free (ad supported) services, and they'll all stay that way until ad revenues disappear, then more than likely the client will disappear with them.

  148. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Baloo+Ursidae · · Score: 1
    how often do the Jabber.org transports work?

    When was the last time jabber.org had transports installed?

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    Help us build a better map!
  149. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

    On the contrary, I think this merger is a bad thing, because the fragmentation illustrates the clear advantage of Jabber. If the market consolidates to MSN IM as you suggest, what makes you think that it won't become the standard instead of Jabber, rather than the other way around?

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  150. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Baloo+Ursidae · · Score: 1
    And how much did you fucking pay for it? I seriously don't know why everyone here is so down on yahoo.

    First, I was talking about the transport, not the company (though it does work both ways now that you mention it). Second, "because it's free" is no excuse when the free competition does it better already.

    *snip a bunch of irrelevant crap*

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    Help us build a better map!
  151. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Baloo+Ursidae · · Score: 1
    Except I didn't think that GoogleTalk was on the Jabber network?

    I'm reading the future on this one, since they're already working on it, and at this point we're talking sometime around now or soon rather than sooner or later.

    Google may seem a nice company, and it may be convenient not to have several different networks, but a single network controlled by one company is not a good thing.

    Google would control Jabber in about as much sense Microsoft controls email: They don't.

    The better solution by far is an open network that anyone can add their servers (ie, exactly what the Jabber network is, but it's not clear whether GoogleTalk will be part of this).

    You're only missing what they've been saying on their website about this for weeks now.

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  152. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Geoff-with-a-G · · Score: 1

    Their income comes from not being evil

    No, it doesn't.
    It comes from the companies that pay them for ads.
    They get those ad contracts because they are effective.
    They are effective because they are targeted well, and because Google has a ton of users.
    Google has a ton of users for many reasons, of which "name-recognition" and "technically-superior features" are at the top, and "not evil" is in the niche frequented by a minority even amongst hardcore geeks.

    It's good that they are good, and it helps them court users, but as it starts to slide away, they'll still do fine. They don't need to be good, they just need to be better than their competition.

  153. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1
    When was the last time jabber.org had transports installed?

    Some time after the last time I used the jabber.org server, which was about three years ago.

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  154. Unified protocol doesn't mean unified networks by Geoff-with-a-G · · Score: 1

    Could this be a step towards a single IM protocol? Not XMPP, but good enough for me :-)

    It's not about protocol, it's about networks. Even if MSN, Yahoo, and AIM all switched to XMPP, that wouldn't really help the users, only the developers of software like GAIM and Trillian.

    Users would still have to sign up for accounts at all the different providers, and would have to keep track of which of their friends had which user IDs on which networks. As long as a user has to download a third-party application and enter all their different user IDs and buddies from all the different networks so it can connect to several different services at the same time, the user doesn't care what protocols those services are running.

    Network peering is far more important here than protocol.

  155. Correction by fulldecent · · Score: 1

    That is supposed to be (44%)% of the total marketshare.

    --

    -- I was raised on the command line, bitch

  156. Printing Google maps by metamatic · · Score: 1

    Google maps print fine, so long as you don't use the print button they provide. Just print the regular page and it's great. Use their print button and it comes out crap. (At least, that's my experience with Firefox and Safari, maybe it works with IE?)

    --
    GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
    1. Re:Printing Google maps by carlivar · · Score: 1

      This can't be right. You are saying that something provided by Google does not work? It that permitted on Slashdot?

      Seriously, I'll check out the regular Print button, but I could have sworn that's what I tried (Firefox).

      --
      Vote Libertarian
  157. Re:One Word Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Your just testing people, write?

  158. GIMP by Kadin2048 · · Score: 3, Funny

    We'll have to name it "GIMP Isn't a Messaging Protocol" to prevent confusion. :)

    --
    "Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
    1. Re:GIMP by kahanamoku · · Score: 1

      Well, GIMP will have to claim that one first to prevent the use of their acronym.

      err... too late! they have it already! ;-)

      We cant make it specifically a 'Linux Instant Messaging Protocol' either, as the acronym doesn't promote linux that well at all!

      --
      ----- Concentrate on promoting more than demoting.
    2. Re:GIMP by kahanamoku · · Score: 1

      Damn my hands and thier quickness over my brain!.. clicked Submit and thought of a comeback to my own comment!

      a LIMP protocol (for Linux) is better that an WIMP protocol!

      Gold I tells ya!.. Absolute Gold!

      --
      ----- Concentrate on promoting more than demoting.
  159. Idiots. by Kadin2048 · · Score: 2, Insightful
    it's the same reason people say 'case and point' and 'for all intensive purposes' and 'supposively'


    Yes, because they are idiots.

    Seriously, just because a bunch of people do something, doesn't make it acceptable or even defensible if you want to be taken seriously.

    Any of the examples that you mentioned would be unacceptable for an 8th grader; any adult who uses them ought to be subject to whatever amount of public ridicule is required to keep them from doing it again.
    --
    "Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
  160. Re:One Word Gaim by Slime-dogg · · Score: 1

    I don't think any of those are quite as bad as "same difference." I hate that usage, since it really ought to be "no difference," given the actual intent of meaning.

    --
    You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.
  161. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I used to live in Portland. Loved going to those Hawks games. Probably the most fun I remember having at any sporting events. Go Hawks!

  162. hmm 2 by spx · · Score: 1

    Someone speaking last night in regards to something completly differant but today I think it works here: "And we say that we are not a monopoly".....

  163. The new service is called... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    (wh)YMSN!?!

  164. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > ... Time Warner flushes AOL like an unwanted fetus on prom night, ...

    <snort> Dude, there's something so totally wrong with you.

  165. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by crowdofone · · Score: 1

    Oh ye of too much faith. Google is a company. Wait till their share price starts dropping and then we'll see if we thank them for not abusing their power.

    And what...? Google Talk is based on the open source Jabber protocol .. anyone can use it/make a client.

    ...which btw is a great reason to get others to use it.

  166. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by jschoenberg · · Score: 1

    Actually, I believe Google's reputation is definitely bordering on the "evil". I have tried many many times to get friends on Gmail and all but one of them said NO, for fear of giving too much information to the internet giant. Its probably already too late to save Google from this rep. They are a for-profit advertising company that has several boatloads of money. That kind of description usually engenders skepticism rather than faith that they will do the right thing.

  167. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Baloo+Ursidae · · Score: 1

    Yeah, the Jabber.org guys got tired of whipping the transport developers and told all their users to use the transports on other servers a couple years back, they haven't run transports in a couple Moore generations now.

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    Help us build a better map!
  168. Re:One Word Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Same difference

    Perfectly acceptable use

  169. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Baloo+Ursidae · · Score: 1

    And digitalsurgeon demonstrates the apparent intelligence of a 4th grader failing English while writing his post. No wonder he's on MSN...

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  170. Re:One Word Gaim by nytmare · · Score: 1

    I've always taken "I could care less" to mean "As little as I care, you are lucky for the amount of caring that I have because it is possible for me to care even less". I don't know if that's correct, but at least I have the luxury of not getting bothered by that particular phrasing.

  171. what about yahoo IM client on Linux?? by chiku · · Score: 1

    will M$ force yahoo not to support messenger on Linux? And the Linux users will have to give up their IM contacts?
    If not .. how can M$ tolerate linux users chatting with MSN users?

    1. Re:what about yahoo IM client on Linux?? by spx · · Score: 1

      http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/12/ 1354254&tid=215&tid=106 LU's still use IM, see :) I have used (for aim only) kopete on my suse box, but it seemed to flake out when right before my video card died, so right now, Im back on windows. Alot of people I know prefer gaim, but Im still willing to give kopete another try once I get a new card.

    2. Re:what about yahoo IM client on Linux?? by spx · · Score: 1

      Another opt. if everything flakes on nix for IM's (for me, I dont know how many others can do this, pending they have the space).....this household is full of computers, our (shared office w/fiance, another huge geek) is our office that is 22' X 15', once installed we will have two desks like this http://pengi.org/img001.jpg And make them back to back T shaped instead....with plenty of room for more than one computer. Right now I have a KVM switch between the dead suse (vid card) and the windows box, so I can flip between the two. Both mine are play toys, but when I am doing anything useful (freelance something or another) Im using windows, nix is just a play toy til abit down the road. He has two monitors and two towers (one for linux for his business server, another for personal use) and a lil bigger desk. Who knows, just be all 'yeah honey, we need to add on to the house b/c I need more computer room since we cant get good IM with linux' lofl

  172. Microsoft already does by osssmkatz · · Score: 1

    MSN Messenger supports SIP for text messaging. While it is admittedly not fully supported (ie. no voice or video), it is supported and Google will soon support SIP in addition to Jabber.

    According to Wikipedia, Session Intiation Protocol is an IETF standard, although it was not originally intended for instant messaging, which is what I remember as well.

    http://www.iptel.org/ietf55/use_msn.html -- instructions for setting up SIP with MSN (or SIMPLE, the instant messaging subset)

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIMPLE

  173. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by japhmi · · Score: 2, Funny

    And digitalsurgeon demonstrates the apparent intelligence of a 4th grader failing English while writing his post. No wonder he's on MSN...

    Don't insult the 4th graders, it takes several more years of schooling in America to get that bad at English.

    --
    "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys" P. J. O'Rourke
  174. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by digitalsurgeon · · Score: 1

    may be Baloo Ursidae can show the iq of a 5th grader by replying with a response that is more about the topic at hand and less about me. So you are using jabber eeh, good for you. Is it better then msn messenger ? simple answer please.

  175. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Its the only place where the relatively uninitiated can log in and chat to complete strangers a planet away. [...] And don't talk to me about the IRC channels; yahoo is to them what a concorde is to a guy jumping off his house.
    Maybe if you're one of the "uninitiated".
    I have met some fascinating people and turned up a great deal of commercial opportunity by the use of yahoo. Where else can you click a button and chat to people from Vietnam to Africa to Brazil to the US? [...]
    IRC.
    If you don't like advertising, give back your TV. Because its not much use without any programming.
    Premium channels. You don't see ads on HBO (you do see promos for their programming).
    And you may as well return your DVD collection too. And polish up your credit cards for slashdot's coffers, because you can bet Taco and co aren't going to fork over the fees for bandwidth so you can whine publicly about advertising and its evils.
    I don't mind the advertising on Slashdot; it's really noninvasive.
    And google, everyone's favourite, would not be here tomorrow if you turned off the advertising (unlike M$).
    Google ads are pretty decent, too. They aren't giant flash animations that would probably cause an epileptic fit, they're text with a little formatting.
  176. Re:One Word Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Swing.. and a miss.

    That was the point. That all those phrases, like "could care less", are incorrect.

  177. Re:One Word Gaim by syrinx · · Score: 2, Funny

    But 99% of my friends would trash Gaim as soon as they opened it.
    It's missing the features that makes msn messenger special, all those neat winks, backgrounds, packages and more. It's what makes it fun for them.


    You know, you probably don't want to let on that all your "friends" are 14 year old girls. The FBI usually doesn't look too kindly upon that.

    --
    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
  178. Re:At least gaim will be able to keep accessing MS by mikefe · · Score: 1

    The epitome of slashdot. You didn't read my the page I linked to did you?

    Summary: It says that MSN's IM uses non-standard encryption now and there is a certain future date where it will be required.

    It is not known if gaim will work with msn after that date.

    --
    There: Something at a specific location.
    Their: Owned by someone.
    Please make sure your english compiles.
  179. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Baloo+Ursidae · · Score: 1
    Dude, there's something so totally wrong with you.

    Come on, I know you've been saving some bad-taste one-liners for lower forms of network life...

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  180. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by mysticalreaper · · Score: 1

    Hey dude, i can see you like Yahoo's IM. You tell us, over and over, how great it is, how nothing will ever beat it, and, if i can quote you, "And did I mention free?" It's free, you boast. Free!

    Free, eh? Tell me, what software besides Yahoo IM are you running? Is it Windows? Is Windows free? If so, please be quiet, and listen to was the Free Software guys are talking about, when they talk about open protocols, and Free (really) software.

    Additionally, "...you may as well return your DVD collection too." DVDs are not sponsored by advertising, which is why they aren't free. Compare with your TV example. (Strangely, most people pay for TV, though... ;)

  181. Re:One Word Gaim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No shit, Sherlock. RTF Thread. Only 3 other people beat you to the punch... and he already acknowledged that he missed it.

  182. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Baloo+Ursidae · · Score: 1
    If the market consolidates to MSN IM as you suggest, what makes you think that it won't become the standard instead of Jabber, rather than the other way around?

    Email, TCP/IP, and HTTP won over everything else because they were an open standard. There is no evidence supporting the theory that anybody can win against an open standard.

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    Help us build a better map!
  183. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Kethinov · · Score: 1

    All right, then I'll talk to you in his place. That guy just pwned your argument.

    --
    You're right, I wouldn't steal a car. But if it were possible, I sure as hell would download one!
  184. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Baloo+Ursidae · · Score: 1
    Don't insult the 4th graders, it takes several more years of schooling in America to get that bad at English.

    Glad I got my education in Oregon instead. Now if Canada would call the fraud in the election at Champoeg already and demand the US cede Oregon, Idaho and Washington to proper Canadian rule now that the US has not the manpower to stop them...

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  185. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

    For me it is. It allows for several concurrent logins and distinguishes between the clients - so you can say that all IMs should be received by your desktop unless your laptop is connected, in which case IMs should go there. It also offers access to other IM networks like ICQ/AIM and, of course, Jabber.
    Audio/Video chat is not supported, depending on whether you need that Jabber might or might not be suitable for you. I'm not sure if it's possible to use a video chat capable client via an MSN transport.

    Note that I've discussed the protocol here. There are multi-protocol clients that support video chats via MSN/ICQ/whatever already (for example Trillian or a modified version of Gaim). They also tend to shove less flashy candy-colored graphics in your face, thus integrating with the rest of the desktop better than the MSN Messenger does... I prefer the plainness of Gaim (or Psi, now that I do everything via Jabber), but YMMV, of course.

    --
    USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  186. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

    Email, TCP/IP, and HTTP also all came about when the majority of Internet users were still bearded geeks who understood and cared about these issues, and also before commercial interests discovered it. There's a vast difference between then and today.

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  187. Re:One Word Gaim by djp928 · · Score: 2, Funny

    You know, you probably don't want to let on that all your "friends" are 14 year old girls. The FBI usually doesn't look too kindly upon that.

    It's cool if "he" is also a 14 year old girl. But in that case, what is "he" doing reading Slashdot? Everyone knows Slashdot is entirely peopled with ugly nerdy dudes.

    -- Dave

  188. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Darkman,+Walkin+Dude · · Score: 1

    Um, check again, I've never had to pay for access to hotmail or MSN Messenger.

    Well unless you have friends or contacts already using MSN, lets just say its relatively worthless.

  189. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Darkman,+Walkin+Dude · · Score: 1

    Better like the code is better commented, or better like the user has more fun and can use it more easily?

    Second, "because it's free" is no excuse when the free competition does it better already.

    Couldn't have said it better myself...

  190. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Darkman,+Walkin+Dude · · Score: 1

    Free, eh? Tell me, what software besides Yahoo IM are you running? Is it Windows? Is Windows free? If so, please be quiet, and listen to was the Free Software guys are talking about, when they talk about open protocols, and Free (really) software.

    Sense you are making not, young jedi...

    And Jedi you will not be, until sense you make!

  191. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by aonaran · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately I do have friends using it. ...and a handful that still use Yahoo too.
    Luckily Gaim and Trillian (and other clients based on Gaim like Adium) exist.
    I personally can't stand either Yahoo or MSN's clients. They are loaded with more useless features than I can deal with. (backgrounds, animated backgrounds, nudges, etc. )

    I don't mind if you like using a gaudy purple flower skin with red text, but don't make me look at it on my end.

  192. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Darkman,+Walkin+Dude · · Score: 1

    That was more of a rant really, and you can't pwn a rant. You can 0wnz0r a rant, but pwning is just not an option.

    All right, then I'll talk to you in his place.

    That looks really suspicious, you know.

  193. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Darkman,+Walkin+Dude · · Score: 1

    Whoa that was quick. Well I've used both gaim and trillian, and they just don't hold a candle to yahoo, IMHO. I'd rather have the option to use features and not use them, than not have them at all. If you want to use yahoo as a bare chat client, its as easy as 1-2-3, no need to use any other features. Besides neither gaim nor trillian have their own servers, and believe me thats a useful option. Besides its got lil animated yeller faces. How can you not love the lil yeller faces?

  194. MSN Messenger is NOT shipped with desktops by JhohannaVH · · Score: 1

    MS Messenger: Ships standard on all Windows PC's. Pops up every five minutes asking you if you would like to sign up for service. Causes your computer to explode if you try to uninstall it, or indeed just try to get it to shut up.

    Actually, this is a misstatement. Windows Messenger is part of the Microsoft Operating System. I do not know of any OEM that ships their desktops with MSN Messenger installed. This is a separate 11mb download from messenger.msn.com. Because of this, I can uninstall MSN Messenger, continue using Windows Messenger (like on my PC here), or I can uninstall them both (windows components in Control Panel).

    Everything else I agree with.

    --
    Sorry man... the Internet pooped on me.
  195. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by mdwh2 · · Score: 1

    You're only missing what they've been saying on their website about this for weeks now.

    Do you have a link?

    All I've found is http://www.google.co.uk/talk/developer.html , which suggests that whilst they will choose to connect to some other servers, they won't be connecting to all Jabber servers. So it will still be their separate network, albeit with some overlap with the Jabber network. An open network means we shouldn't need to have Google's permission to join the IM network.

  196. Wrong Answer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Useless to you, perhaps, but useful for others.

    As with any other new technology, people like to be unique, or at least feel unique.

    An IM client with avatars, rich text, voice and webcam supports allows them to do so.

    The same applies to message boards, where a user can choose an avatar, signature, etc.

    The same applies to cell phone. Wallpapers, ringtones, and other goodies allow a person to be unique.

    Annoying, but unique.

    It's all about the user experience.

  197. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Kethinov · · Score: 1

    You might want to speak to someone about your clinical paranoia.

    --
    You're right, I wouldn't steal a car. But if it were possible, I sure as hell would download one!
  198. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Baloo+Ursidae · · Score: 1
    Email, TCP/IP, and HTTP also all came about when the majority of Internet users were still bearded geeks who understood and cared about these issues, and also before commercial interests discovered it. There's a vast difference between then and today.

    OK, well, there's two ways you can handle this situation, and you always have a choice:

    • Persuade them to care. Help people make the switch, get to know a couple good clients and show people how to get started and use the transports. Do the footwork you know the Obsolete Three (formerly Obsolete Four) networks are doing, because you are the caring, user oriented face of the free software/open source/open standards movement.
    • Whine, piss and complain, then wonder why your world is a corporate hell while waiting for your daily IT diaper change.

    Now which did you choose, hmm?

    --
    Help us build a better map!
  199. Google The Messenger of the Future by thexgodfather · · Score: 1

    http://www.google.com/talk/
    Still needs a lot of work but the way google is spending money it will get the attention it needs soon.

    I wouldn't be surprised if google talk spawns itself from gaim since it refrences gaim on its homepage. Anyone know how the legalities would work out of google talk kidnapped all of its code from gaim? lol

  200. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Darkman,+Walkin+Dude · · Score: 1

    No, if I tell anyone, it might get back to Them. At least thats what the voices tell me.

  201. Re:At least gaim will be able to keep accessing MS by iamsure · · Score: 1

    Typical slashbot.. read your own link. That was from *2003*, and the change has already taken place - with no ill effect.

    Sigh.

  202. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

    I picked #1. I only whine, piss and complain to fellow techies. ; )

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  203. Maybe Yahoo already knows... by PabloHoffman · · Score: 1

    Maybe Yahoo already knows that, in the end, Jabber/XMPP will be the only messaging protocol on the net (not even the email will survive), so they just don't care who their partner their IM service with... even if it's Micro$hit.

  204. Add ICQ, bash Linux by Crayon+Kid · · Score: 1

    Maybe not so much. How about the prospected merger of AOL and Microsoft's Internet divisions? Once MSN and AOL Internet are one, won't that effectively bring ICQ in the same boat that MSN and Yahoo Messengers are getting into?

    Next step would be a tight lock on the protocols, so those Linux bastards can't follow it anymore. Not that any of the major players (MSN, ICQ, Y!) has tried to keep Linux clients up to date recently, but at least they had stopped the "break it, fix it" chase with Gaim and Trillian.

    You could say that this will throw people into the arms of Google Talk, just like lack of Internet Explorer on Linux lead to the rise of Mozilla & Firefox. But these aren't browsers, they're messengers. I reckon a much more realistic reaction would be "What, Linux doesn't have ANY of the cool messengers? Screw that."

    --
    i ate crayons when i was a kid and now i have two braincells and the blue ones taste nicer
  205. I have a grude against multi-platform clients by adamgolding · · Score: 1

    it was a heady time, back in 1998 or so--i thought something like Trillian would be amazing since i would have ONE im client running rather than 3-4. Trillian said it 'worked' with ICQ. I get it all set up. ICQ contact list looks hunky dory. several days later i discover that my girlfriend had been sending real-time chat requests and they *simply did not appear* in trillian. not only did it lack a basic feature of ICQ (i used real-time mode almost exclusively), but it blocked it *silently*, which can have all sorts of unintended social connotations.

    i have not gone back to multi-platform clients since. do they support MSN handwriting on my tablet? yahoo game plug-ins? gretting cards in ICQ? remote assistance in MSN real-time chat in ICQ? voice chat in google talk? how do they translate emoticons? i choose a specific emoticon graphic for subtle expressive reasons, i don't want GAIM or Trillian putting words in my mouth and maping emoticons etc. and the bottom-line is that, if you don't support EVERY feature of the 'canonical' client, claiming interoperability, without qualification is a LIE. the truth is that these all-in-ones are POS versions of the various canonical clients.

  206. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by japhmi · · Score: 1

    Glad I got my education in Oregon instead.

    As a fellow Oregonian, I laughed when I read this.

    Now if Canada would call the fraud in the election at Champoeg already and demand the US cede Oregon, Idaho and Washington to proper Canadian rule

    Canada can call the election at Champoeg whatever the hell they want, the US isn't going to be cedeing nothing to 'em (besides the fact that Oregon, Idaho, and Washington were ceded to the US by Briton).

    --
    "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys" P. J. O'Rourke
  207. Re:At least gaim will be able to keep accessing MS by mikefe · · Score: 1

    I stand corrected. Though I remember having to go to that page only a few months ago to sign up for MSN IM without the native client.

    That was the first hit for "gaim msn" on google too. :(

    --
    There: Something at a specific location.
    Their: Owned by someone.
    Please make sure your english compiles.
  208. smileys by rupert0 · · Score: 1

    the question is .. what smileys are they going to use ?????

    --
    RUPERT! I TOLD YOU TO WATCH THE BAGS! You were looking at the boys again, WEREN'T YOU.
  209. Yeah. Is Yahoo allergic to Cocoa? by danielsfca2 · · Score: 1

    OS X has been out for five years now, so I think Yahoo's had plenty of time to find someone to write an up-to-date Cocoa client

    Amen. I will never use that piece of crap software until they rewrite it for OS X. The OS9 port they're trying to pass of as an OS X version of their IM client is pathetic and just freakishly ugly.

    (for the record, I can't stand the MSN Mac client either, and I use Adium)

  210. Re:One Word Gaim by humina · · Score: 1

    I could care less if he fell down those stairs.

    --
    check out the best blog ever:
    http://oehlberg.com
  211. Re:Trillian is irrelevant. Jabber is the future. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    "Sense you are making not, young jedi...

    And Jedi you will not be, until sense you make!"

    What's going through his head:

    I don't understand his argument....Make a star wars joke. That's it! A star wars joke will get me modded up. That way I don't have to understand what the free software movement is about. God I am so smart. They should hand out prizes for responding to posts on slashdot cause I'd totally win.