Ever wish you could chuck out your RSS reader, instant messenger, bookmarks, and network of social networks? Streamy wants to replace all of those services with a single web page.
Streamy's in private beta right now, but it looks promising. It doesn't require you and all of your friends to sign up for a totally new service. Rather, like Meebo, it lets you communicate with friends using services like AOL Instant Messenger without leaving the web site.
But unless there's some pretty amazing keyboard shortcuts in there, it looks like Streamy requires a lot of mouse-work to read your news, which would make it much slower to navigate than Google Reader.
Web-based instant messaging startup Meebo has just upped the game with a new Meebo Rooms feature. Meebo's basic service acts like a web-based version of Trillian or Pigin IM, allowing users to chat with anyone on AOL, MSN, Google Talk or Yahoo! Messenger.
But Meebo Rooms lets you create chat rooms that can not only be seen on Meebo's site, but which can also be embedded onto your own website. You can customize the theme of the chat room, and users can join whether they have Meebo accounts or not.
Probably the coolest feature is support for embedded video. If you post a link to an online video from YouTube that video will be embedded in the chat window, allowing every user to watch. Each room can hold up to 80 users at a time.
Check out a little Download Squad chat room we made after the jump.
You can access your account from any computer without installing software or changing account settings.
Your company's IT department probably won't be able to block you from spending all day messaging your friends instead of working.
The web client supports Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Netscape web browsers.
The new interface seems to work great, but if your friends are scattered across multiple platforms (Yahoo!, AOL, MSN messenger), you might be better off trying out Meebo or Trillian's upcoming web client.
Chat client Pidgin IM (formerly known as Gaim) version 2.00 beta 7 is out, with a final 2.0 release scheduled for later this week.
The program performs very similarly to GAIM 2.00 beta 6, with some cosmetic changes, including a new Pidgin logo (which unsurprisingly looks like a pigeon). The redesign does include some under the hood changes as well, so the developers caution that this beta is actually less stable than earlier beta releases, and recommend backing up your Gaim directory before running Pidgin.
Some preferences may be lost, or buddy icons may not work, and some plugins may fail to work. In previous versions, you could easily tell whether your contacts were using AOL IM, MSN Messenger, IRC, or other chat protocols at a glance by looking at the color of their icons. Now you're presented with a green circle for each of your contacts. Hopefully this will be one of the items fixed before the final release.
Microsoft has partnered with 9 charities to donate a portion of ad revenue every time you send an instant message. You have to sign up for the i'm program, but this is the real deal, unlike the countless internet rumors about similar deals that offer cash rewards for sending messages or emails.
The American Red Cross, Boys & Girls Club, National AIDS Fund, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, ninemillion.org, the Sierra Club, StopGlobalWarming.org, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and the US fund for UNICEF are all working with Microsoft on the program. Microsoft says there's no cap on how much money will be donated, but the company has promised to send at least $100 thousand to each charity.
In order to participate you need to use Windows Live Messenger 8.1 (no Trillian or GAIM for you do-gooders), and you need to copy and paste some code into your settings to choose the charity you want to donate your proceeds to. You can change charities later.
Some web sites are reporting that you need to start instant messages with "i'm" in order to generate revenue for the charities. But in fact, it appears that when you add the script to your settings, an "i'm emoticon" will pop up next to your name. Now every message does start with "i'm," and a portion of revenue generated from that emoticon (it looks like you can click on it) will go to charity.
What's in it for Microsoft? Well, when you're a company the size of a small planet, any charitable donations are a good tax write-off. And this is a rather innovative way to get that deduction while giving users an incentive to use your product.
Can't get enough IM? If you use a Gmail account frequently, you know the benefits of being able to ping anyone for a quick chat quickly after receiving an email. Well it seems like Yahoo is going to be adding this to their email services as well. Yahoo! Instant Messenger will be built inside of Yahoo!'s free email service so users can chat and see when contacts are online. Yahoo has the largest free email user base which sits at about 250 million users, while Google's Gmail sits at the bottom with 51 million users. Supposedly the integration could be any day now for users that log into the Yahoo! Mail beta. Michael Arrington caught a peek of the new beta and reports that each new IM can be triggered when users are online, popping up in a new tab within Yahoo email.
Microsoft is doing some connecting with leading edge suppliers in Europe to boost its Live service. Soon 375 millions people are going to be able to IM each other using mobiles or PC's though a deal with Orange in France. The new service will be called Orange Messenger by Windows Live. The application will essentially allow Orange customers to either use the IM tool online, or on their mobile devices to connect to other Windows Live Messenger users. Microsoft and Orange will be joining users in Spain and the UK as well in the near future. Microsoft chose to work with Orange because they are the leading edge supplier in mobile communications in Europe, and there are not many leading edge communication developments being made in the US.
This morning I saw this over at Weblogs, inc. CEO Jason Calacanis's blog: AIM Light Edition has no extra frills, is bell-less and whistle-less, and has a tiny footprint (under 4K at idle, and at about 6K while in use). I am a huge fan of simple, stripped-down versions of my favorite software like this. I don't need all the extras, the backgrounds, the fun stuff. I just need to communicate with colleagues, clients, family, and friends. AIM Light Edition is even better than AIM 6.0 beta in my opinion. Not that it will uproot Trillian from my system, but if I had to use an AIM client, I would use AIM Light over anything else. Jason is onto something here as well, saying that AOL needs to cater to users, and elite users instead of being in the access business. I agree. It makes sense and is a sentiment I have echoed for a long time. AIM Light is a good example of what he is talking about.
The new beta is now available for public consumption and testing (AIM screenname sign-in required). AIM 6.0 should replace AIM Triton 1.5 as AOL's consumer IM product sooner or later. It clocks in at around 7K memory usage siting in the system tray, and has easy access to AOL Video, Radio, and other services at the bottom of the app. I like the new UI of recent releases, and the new way collapsible grouping is done feels nice too. The new AIM client is good, but I will stick to Trillian and GAIM, only because all the services I use are available all in one place, nothing against AIM, Yahoo, or MSN Windows Live.
What I have to ask myself when I use a new client version is where is IM going in general? Every time someone puts out a new IM client version (like this version from AOL) there are "new" features, but a lot of the updates are just adding features the other services already have. Everyone does it, so who will revolutionize IM for everyone? Enterprise IM seems to be the new hotness, but I don't care about enterprise so much as consumer IM. I personally think IM could be a much bigger part of communicating today. I think IM still has lots of potential for the future. The integration of VoIP and video-calling has brought us a lot closer, but I don't that we are quite "there" yet.
(Disclosure: AOL is the parent company of Weblogs, inc.)
Do you have contacts on MSN Messenger, but prefer to use Google Talk? Why not open one IM instead of two? GTalk2VoIP is an application that supposedly allows you to call regular phone numbers from Google Talk, as well as chat with MSN Messenger contacts. There is no software to install, just simple add the contact, service@gtalk2Voip.com, and you're ready to go. GTalk2VoIP is a free service, but there is a fee for outgoing calls to regular phone lines, which is determined by the provider your call is routed through.
The new Yahoo! Messenger version 8 with voice has been brought out of beta to stir the pot with MSN Messenger, and Google Talk.
Besides being able to tie into MSN Messenger contacts, the new Yahoo messenger is loaded with plug-ins and cool new features from both internal developers, and users, by using Yahoo Messengers Plug-in SDK. Top plug-ins for Yahoo Messenger include one for Coupons.com, Newsgator RSS feeds, and one from Jeteye that lets you store and organize your online world. Nothing tops the new Movie Trailer plug-in that allows you to catch the latest movie trailers while IMing though.
It looks like there is a full on IM war out there. And Yahoo!, MSN, and Google are stuffing their messengers with new features like crazy.
Google has just released a great new version of Google Talk. This new version has all the goodies people have been asking for.
This new feature list includes:
File Transfer - Send unlimited files and folders to contacts. With no restrictions on file size.
Voicemail - If your buddy isn't answering his/her call, leave a message. A voicemail message. And even if your friend doesn't use Google Talk, they can still receive it in a nice little attached audio file.
Music Status - Show what tunes you are currently listening to.
Google Talk is shaping up to be an ultimate player in the IM and VoIP world. They have come a long way since the launch of their first rendition of a barebones instant messenger. MSN Messenger look out!
Skype, that wild Instant Messenger and Voip tool, has apparently applied for a trademark that could be a move towards free calling to any phone, worldwide.
Russell Shaw talks about how this patent could include free outbound calling to anywhere in the world, and not only from Skype user to Skype user. This new feature could mean that any Skype user could call any phone anywhere.
Some great news for Skype users for sure, but some really scary news for telecommunications companies worldwide.
Yahoo! Scribbler - It does just what the name says, it lets you scribble. When you and you chatting friend launch it, you can collaborate on a whiteboard. It also lets you drop in a photo from Flickr and doodle on it. And, if your work is worth it, you can save and store it to your Flickr account.
iTunes Remote - Erm, it's a remote for iTunes. Requires iTunes.
Yahoo! News - This plugin was one of the initial offerings. Maybe this is a new version? Gallery listing says it's only hours old. Lets you quickly browse news categories and zoom in on stories within Messenger.
Yahoo! Sports Gamechannel - This is my personal favorite. It lets you see the current US Major League Baseball stats and action within a smartly designed space. Cute animation and easy to read text tells you everything about the game being viewed. Also includes current scores and stats around the league. This was released a while back and is presumably an updated version. Lets hope it handle US football just as well.
I mentionedSkylook a while back, when it worked really well to record your Skype calls and put
them into Outlook. The 1.5 release adds a bunch of features, and further "Skypifies" Outlook using IM, VoIP,
and email in one big happy frappe of functionality. One of the cooler things includes a voice mail feature, which will
place recorded messages in your inbox, without needing a Skype voice mail subscription. You can answer and hang up
calls right inside Outlook. It seems each iteration of Skylook brings Outlook and Skype together, so if you use both,
it just might be nirvana for you. Prices range from free for the basic edition, to $49.95 for the business class
version.
The folks over at Yahoo! don't want you to download the latest version of Yahoo! Messenger. That's not a typo. They've launched a 
Skype
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