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Skype confirms fix rolling out for instant messaging bug
When one of your main services throws up a pretty embarrassing bug, you're going to want to squash that quick. Skype has stepped up and done just that, according to its blog. The hotfix will be rolling out for version 5.10 for Windows, 5.8 for Mac, 4.0 for Linux and 1.2 for Windows Phone. Skype was also quick to point out that not all clients (and therefore users) were affected. If you were on 5.9 for Windows, version 2.8 for Android or Skype 4.0 for iOS, then the firm assures you that you won't be affected. The official line is that the fix should start arriving in the next couple of days, so still best to keep a lid on those office gossip chats for now. Let us know if you start getting the update in the comments below.
Skype confirms 'rare' bug that sends messages to unintended contacts, promises fix soon
Only a handful of Skype users have reported this problem over at the support forum, but what they're complaining about is pretty hair-raising. They say that, following an update in June, instant messages have repeatedly and unintentionally been forwarded to random people in their contact lists. In other words, third-parties are seeing stuff they were never meant to see, which constitutes a serious breach of privacy. Skype now tells us it's aware of the issue and is working on a fix. Here's the official response in full: "We are aware that in rare circumstances IM's between two contacts could be sent to an unintended third contact. We are rolling out a fix for this issue in the next few days and will notify our users to download an updated version of Skype." [Thanks, Kuldar]
Microsoft adds open standard support to Messenger, third-party clients now welcome
Windows Live Messenger may not be as popular as it used to be, but it's still accessed by 300 million users, and Microsoft is now hoping to grow that by making it a little more open. The service now supports XMPP and OAuth 2.0, paving the way for other chat software and services to connect more easily (some already do, but by using unofficial methods). XMPP is a messaging protocol (previously known as Jabber and used by Google Talk) and OAuth 2.0 is an open standard for authorization that both Google and Microsoft have stepped out with early support for. Maybe by opening Messenger up a bit, Microsoft is trying to avoid what happened with ICQ.
CEO bans email, encourages social networking
Who needs email when you have text messaging, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and a menagerie of alternative communication tools? Not Atos, a French IT firm that's planning to give email the boot. Over the course of the next eighteen months, CEO Thierry Breton hopes to ween 80,000 employees off of the old standby, pushing text messages, phone calls and face-to-face chats as alternatives. Breton strives to promote a collaborative social network similar to Facebook or Twitter to fill email's void and suffice as an easily accessible global network. Having himself been email sober at work for three years, Breton claims email is inefficient, and a burden to the workflow. Will this new social environment promote efficiency, or will pet photos and status updates become the new spam? If employees can't keep their social inclinations under wraps, Atos may have to resort to the Medieval carrier pigeon. Delivery estimates for long distance range from five days to never.
IM+ lite now available for iPad and iPhone
IM+ Lite is now available for iPhone and iPad as a free, ad-supported universal application. Our full review of IM+ for iPad is in the works and should be appearing shortly, so I'll just hit some highlights here: With the exception of Skype chat, IM+ Lite supports the same features as the full version of IM+: Twitter, Facebook, Google Talk, Yahoo, MSN/Live Messenger, AIM/iChat, ICQ, MySpace and Jabber. IM+ has a speech recognition option (as US$0.99 in-app purchase) and allows you to browse the Internet with a built-in browser so you needn't exit the app to follow links. IM+ will notify you via push notifications of new email in Hotmail, Yahoo, or GMail accounts, as well as sending push notifications of new IMs on all supported networks. The ad-free version of IM+ is $9.99, but if you haven't tried it yet, the lite version is a good way to do just that. Unfortunately IM+ still does not support group chats in AIM (although they do work in MSN, and in Skype if you have the paid version). If you rely on that feature you'll still need to stick with BeeJiveIM.
Anomalous AIM Activity Afflicts Adium, Aggravating All
For the past several weeks I've noticed some rather strange behavior with Adium, the free and open-source multiservice IM client. On random occasions I suddenly appear invisible or offline to contacts in my buddy list while logged into my AIM account. And I'm not alone. Not a day goes by that I don't find myself asking a friend or co-worker why they are not online, only to learn they share the same problem. Either that or they're all making this up in effort to avoid conversing with me -- I have that effect on people. The only cause to this problem, or pattern to its occurrence, I can come up with is a loose theory that it happens during periods of inactivity. My hunch is that when you appear "idle" AIM somehow misinterprets this as a disconnect. Locally you remain logged in, but AIM thinks otherwise. Luckily I may have discovered a workaround. Launch iChat (quitting Adium is not required) and go into Preferences. Click on Accounts. Make sure your AIM account is selected, then click on the Security tab. Changing any of the settings in this options panel, then returning them to their original state, somehow magically vexes the problem, at least so far as I can tell. I don't know whom to point fingers at in this case; AIM or Adium. Both begin with the letter A, so that makes each of them equally culpable in my opinion. Wherever the guilt may lie, I just want the problem fixed ASAP.
AIM and BeejiveIM updated for push support
AOL has updated both its free (download link) and paid versions (download link) of its AIM client for the iPhone. Besides push notification support, the paid version brings with it the ability to message in landscape mode -- although AOL says that the free version will gain this ability in a later release. And if these updates alone aren't enough to fill your Monday iPhone app updating appetites, multi-protocol (which also includes support for AIM) BeejiveIM has also been updated (download link) to support push notifications. Note: AOL Instant Messenger is a product from AOL, which is also the corporate parent of TUAW & Weblogs Inc.
ApolloIM and MobileChat join forces
Both ApolloIM and MobileChat were jailbreak applications for chatting on the go with your iPhone/iPod touch. Alex Schaefer, ApolloIM's founder, has recently joined the MobileChat development team. In a blog posting by the developer of MobileChat, he said that both applications underwent "friendly competition" and that, while there was no clear winner in the iPhone IM business, users got the benefit from the ongoing competition. Now that Alex has joined the other team, you can expect that MobileChat will only get better. The post goes on to mention that Alex will be working on stability and user experience for the application. MobileChat definitely got off to a rough start on launch day due to server problems, but seems to be working much better now.
FlickIM: A nice AIM solution for iPhone
Until Apple releases "iChat Mobile," developers will compete to produce the IM solution for the iPhone. So far, we've considered JiveTalk and Meebo. The former was definitely better than the latter, but neither was perfect. Today, we're looking at FlickIM. FlickIM supports AIM only, which is a drawback (JiveTalk allows simultaneous connections to AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, GoogleTalk, ICQ, and Jabber), but has the nicest UI of the three. Simple "chat balloon" icons keep tabs on multiple conversations, and your contact list is displayed as a dial selection tool. I did notice one oddity: After I thought I had logged out, iChat on my Mac complained that I was logged in at two locations. Again, it's not perfect, but it's still nice.
JiveTalk offers nice IM for iPhone
The race to see who will rule IM on the iPhone has begun. Last week, Dave wrote about Meebo. It works, but has flaws (the buddy list is very far from the chat window for some reason, and the chat window can't be resized).Today, I came across JiveTalk, which offers simultaneous login to AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, GoogleTalk, ICQ, and Jabber. The alpha release for iPhone worked pretty well during my brief testing. The UI resembles iChat. I had multiple AIM conversations open, and a small notification window told me when the inactive conversation had received an update. Also, two "chat bubbles" at the top of the screen let me toggle between conversations.It's alpha, as I said, but looks good so far. Check it out.[Via Gizmodo]
Trillian Astra chat / IM software for iPhone
Those hankering to get your chat on with that shiny new iPhone now have an option other than waiting 'til who knows when for a (potential) Apple update -- if you're cool with alpha software invading your handset, that is. According to Cerulean Studios', the Trillian Astra application has actually been "designed for iPhone, it doesn't just happen to work with it." The result is a polished interface that is "compact" and fit to the screen, meaning that you won't be dragging and moving windows in order to hold a decent text-based conversation. Currently, the software updates your contact list and message windows, and enables the sending and receiving of messages so long as your browser window is open. Interested? Curb your enthusiasm a bit, sign up to be an alpha tester, and exercise your patience "for the next few weeks."[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Microsoft Messenger 6.0.2 available
If you're using Microsoft Messenger, you can now download version 6.0.2. According to Microsoft, Messenger 6.0.2 lets you "...take advantage of the full power of instant messaging." Well that's exciting. Additionally, this version enables logging to ~/Documents. Never lose another conversation!Messenger 6.0.2 requires Mac OS 10.3.9 or later.Thanks, Raffi!
Mattel's IM-Me offers up lame-o messaging, guards against predators
Brand new toys sure have been popping up everywhere of late, and now Mattel's hitting us up with another gizmo being showcased at the International Toy Fair. Presumably designed to latch onto the hard-earned dollars of paranoid mums who watch entirely too many of those "internet predator" spots, the Girl Tech IM-Me is a very restrictive wireless instant messaging system that relies on parental okays in order to operate. Aside from only allowing texts to be sent and received from parent-approved usernames, the gal can only use her purple and pink IM machine within range (read: in the house) of the USB dongle, which must be plugged into an internet connected PC. So while we still prefer PictoChat, we imagine this $64.99 device will sell like hotcakes when it lands this summer -- only to never be used by any halfway sane (and understandably rebellious) teenage daughter.[Via Gadgets-Weblog]
Chatter Pillow, a glanceable and cuddly way to stay on IM
Some of the most popular items these days are internet-connected objects that contain glanceable information, such as the status of your inbox, the weather, or stock prices. Well, meet the latest addition to the family: the "Chatter Pillow." Designed by Rebecca Stern, an undergrad at the Parsons School of Design in New York, the Chatter Pillow is a midterm project for her "Making Wireless Toys" class. The pillow basically allows Stern to stay on IM from her bed or her couch, without the burden of a laptop -- one of the pillow's trio of icons will light up when one of three possible messages are received, so long as they're sent only from her boyfriend. If he sends "talk to me," "xo," or "on my way," then the icons (pictured) will glow blue accordingly. Now all we need is the cuddly lovechild of the Chumby and the Chatter Pillow for the ultimate in glanceable wireless cuteness gadgetry, and our geeked-out pad will be complete.[Via MAKE: Blog]
