IM Is More Than Chatting
Check out the latest news and tools for this maturing technology.Steve Bass
In addition to writing PC World's Home Office column, Steve Bass is the author of "PC Annoyances." Sign up to have Steve Bass's Home Office Newsletter e-mailed to you each week. Comments or questions? Send Steve e-mail.
So I IMed my wife, who was still at work, "Heading out for sushi. Join me?" And in a flash, she said, "Yup. Usual spot. See you at 7."
For most messages, e-mail's just dandy. But for those quick, respond-to-me-now back-and-forths (like telling my editor my column's gonna be late, or asking my wife to meet me for dinner) nothing beats instant messaging. And don't annoy me and ruin this column by suggesting I could have phoned her. It's so old-fashioned. And if I pick up the phone, I may be forced to actually talk, something that just exhausts me.
In the next few minutes I'll tell you what's new in the world of instant messaging, show you a new IM tool to try, and provide details about an updated version of my favorite messaging product.
Dig This: There are days when computers are a royal PITA. [Note to Editor: pain in the, uh, derriere.] If you're having one of those days--and can get online--ApeLogic will make you feel better.
IM: E-Mail's First Cousin
A few weeks back I mentioned the instant messaging features in collaboration tools. See "Got a Group? Keep Them Working." I got lots of mail asking what I thought about instant messaging in general. (Okay, so it was five messages. But who's counting?) I love instant messaging, and I use it daily.
There are many reasons I use instant messaging. For example, I know exactly which of my colleagues are online and if they're available. If they are, I can reach them lots faster than with e-mail. Communication is quick--"Rod, you have experience with CoolWebSearch.msaps yet? I'm not sure that anything's able to handle it." Rod can fire back an answer about his experience with this new spyware right away.
If necessary (and most all IM clients can do this) I can zap a file to Rod without worrying about the size limitations for e-mail attachments.
Bass International's IM Prediction
I'm guessing that unless there's a tremendous reduction in spam, IM will take the place of e-mail for staying in touch with key people in the next year.
You think not? The way we use the PC and Internet to communicate evolves, and does so fairly quickly. For instance, not too many years ago, bulletin board systems were the chief way we disseminated information. We all used dial-up connections, and we were limited to connecting with one BSS at a time. Check out "A Look at the Dawn of PC Communications," a short blog entry from PC World Editor in Chief Harry McCracken. He includes terrific links to the annual Vintage Computer Festival and to "BBS: The Documentary."
Predictions aside, I suspect you might be worried about people abusing IM--kind of like how I harass and hassle Rod. Rest easy, I have just the thing for you to read. Scott Spanbauer, a PC World buddy I often annoy via IM, wrote "A Grown-Up's Guide to Instant Messaging."
If you don't have enough to worry about, there's IM spam. Andy Brandt, our privacy and security maven, tells you how to stop spam cold in "Cut Off Instant Messaging Spam."
Dig This: So you weren't thrilled with the idea of throwing a bowling ball into your monitor? Okay, how about trying to keep from losing your cursor? (Have some fun: Aggravate the little guy by keeping your cursor just out of reach.)
Pick Me, Pick Me
No matter which IM client you decide to try--AOL's Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, IRC, or ICQ--I promise it'll be easy to use. The learning curve on all of them is minimal: install, launch, and start using it. For the top IM programs, check our Downloads library, where we've got two different collections:
The IM client I use is Cerulean Studios' Trillian. It's versatile, letting me talk with people using AOL, Yahoo, MSN, IRC, and IRQ. Like the rest, Trillian's free, but unlike some of the others, there are no ads, no pop-ups, and there's no spyware, either.
Once you've tried the free version, consider spending $25 for Trillian Pro. Among other things, you get access to dozens of free plug-ins, each of which helps you be more productive. For instance, the URL grabber is a handy way of managing links that are embedded in conversations. And the Gmail alert does just what it says: It lets you know when you have Gmail. More important, by plunking down your cash, you support the authors--who will be motivated to update the software.
The motivation has worked, because there's good news for Trillian fans. By the time you read this, new versions of the software, both free and Pro, should be available to play with. Among other things, the beta version beefs up both video and voice chat. Find out more at the Cerulean Studios site. You can read "A Sneak Peek at Trillian 3.0" for more details.
I haven't had a chance to try it, but Microsoft's Messenger is getting an overhaul. Find out more in "Microsoft Tests MSN Messenger 7.0."
OTOH, you may want to try the latest instant messaging product to hit the market. If that's the case, check out Qnext, a person-to-person IM program that lets you chat with text messaging (how old-fashioned), video conferencing, and voice over Internet Protocol. It also lets you do file transferring and sharing, and, if you have the gumption for it, remote PC access. All this can take place among people using MSN, AIM, Yahoo, and ICQ. Read PC World Staff Editor Laura Blackwell's review for more details.
The Future of IM
In the last few months, there's been movement in the industry to beef up IM's features. For instance, AOL's AIM team is working towards a new way to let you manage news and stock alerts, as well as take advantage of Yellow Page listings. See "AOL Builds AIM Robots" for details.
As with everything else in computing, you need to stay alert for nasties. For instance, in "AIM Hole Invites Attacks," you'll learn about a security hole in AIM--and a patch to close it. But it's not only AIM users at risk, and the issue won't go away. Read "How Can We Stop IM Worms?" to see what's being done to beat the problem.
Dig This: From the it's-hard-to-believe-department: A fishing lure package warning label that says, "Harmful if swallowed." (Maybe it's meant for the fish.) And if that tickles your funny bone, you'll want to check out some weird technical documentation.