Preview Yahoo! Messenger 10

Yahoo today announced availability of the Yahoo! Messenger 10 beta. What’s in the new beta? High-quality video calls, a “Y! Updates” view of your contact list that turns Messenger into a Twitter stream, new ways to sort your contacts and support for 16 different languages.

High-Quality Video Calls

They have revamped the one-to-one video calls, building it right into the chat window, improving the video quality and synchronizing the audio with the video. You can swap window positions (between your preview and the person you are viewing), display both windows side-by-side, and put the call on mute or hold.

There are some caveats. The new video call requires both parties to be running Yahoo! Messenger 10, and the changes don’t apply to one-to-many webcam broadcasting.

Y! Updates View

The new Y! Updates view of your contacts is more interesting to me, as it is a unique way of displaying your contacts, sorted in a live stream of updates that will be familiar to Facebook and Twitter users. The most recent updates will appear at the “top” of the contact list. Updates can come from Twitter, Last.fm, Yahoo! Buzz, Flickr, nearly 20 non-Yahoo web sites, and (of course) Y! Messenger status updates.

Why is this interesting? Yahoo is incorporating Twitter and co-opting the real-time update stream in way that other IMs have not quite done. Other IM programs like Digsby and Trillian Astra allow you to see updates from Twitter, but they display them as pop-up alerts, not as a view of your contacts. By turning the contact list model into a real-time stream sorted by the latest updates,  Yahoo has transformed the contact list into something more dynamic and engaging.

The features are interesting, but keep in mind that this is still beta software and there probably are bugs. If that puts you off, stick to version 9.

Resources

• Download Yahoo! Messenger 10 (Windows)
• BigBlueBall Yahoo! Support discussion

Pidgin 2.6.1 Update

Pidgin, the best multi-network instant messenger for Linux just got better. John Bailey provides all the details, which include two notable new features:

• Voice and Video - Thanks to Mike Ruprecht’s Summer of Code project last year, libpurple has been updated to support voice and video. Pidgin 2.6.1 supports this for XMPP currently, but they are working on updates for other protocols.
• Theme Support – Another Summer of Code project, this one from Justin Rodriguez, adds theme support for the buddy list, sounds and status icons.

While these features are great news for Linux users, they have not yet been implemented in the Windows version. There is a long list of updates, fixes and changes. If you’re using Pidgin, it’s worth updating.

Resources

• Pidgin web site

Adium Update Fixes Vulnerability

Adium, my favorite multi-network instant messaging app for the Mac, has released version 1.3.6. The new version includes an updated libpurple to fix a vulnerability with the MSN protocol as well as an updated version of the Facebook chat plugin and numerous bug fixes.

If you use Adium, I highly recommend upgrading.

Meanwhile, work continues on Adium 1.4. If you’d like to help beta test, you can change your preferences to automatically download the latest beta, or visit the Adium beta page.

Nimbuzz Launches on Android

Nimbuzz has launched an Android version of their “mobile social messaging” application.  Like it’s iPhone sibling, the Nimbuzz Android app lets you connect to multiple IM and social networks, including Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Skype, Facebook and others.

The interface is compact and efficient, complete with avatar display, online awareness (to determine if your contact is available) and an icon to show what network they are on.

The Android version has some unique features:

• Time Sensitive User Interface – Touch a contact’s icon lightly to see their profile. A stronger touch starts a new chat.
• Auto-reconnect – Keeps you connected using whatever signal is available. If you leave the range of your WiFi, Nimbuzz will automatically reconnect using your data connection.
• Support for some location-specific networks. Not a big selling point for me personally, but Nimbuzz even supports social networks such as Hyves from the Netherlands, StudiVZ from Germany, Gadu-Gadu from Poland, and Giovani from Italy.

I like the UI for the contact list. If you’re running Android, you’ll want to give Nimbuzz a try.

ICQ 6.5 HTML Injection Bug

The venerable IM is vulnerable. SecuObs.com reports that popular instant messenger ICQ (”I seek you”), version 6.5 is vulnerable to HTML-injection attack.

What does this mean?

The incoming message window in the vulnerable ICQ client works like a mini web browser. An attacker can try to exploit the vulnerability by sending specially crafted message to the remote ICQ client. The malicious message can contain text data which will be interpreted and displayed in the incoming message window as a HTML code. Potentially an arbitrary HTML code could be injected.

There are two risks that have been identified:

1.  Information disclosure

For example, an attacker can inject <IMG> tag that could lead information disclosure (such as remote client’s IP address, browser version, OS version, etc.)

2.  Spoofing

An attacker can spoof ICQ client software’s system messages, interface elements (buttons, links) in the message window, etc. For example, it could be used for forcing of the ICQ users to click on attacker’s malicious link.

The vulnerability exists in the lastest build of ICQ 6.5, and may affect older versions as well.

As of yet, ICQ has not issued an update to fix this vulnerability. To be safe until they do, I suggest using an alternate, compatible IM client  such as Trillian, Adium, Pidgin or Digsby.

Trillian Astra 4.0 Launches

After an extensive public beta, Trillian Astra has officially launched. Trillian Astra is a popular multi-network instant messenger and communication tool that has been around for a long time. This new version brings a much-needed update to that Trillian legacy.

Competition is good for the consumer, and now (at least on Windows) you have two choices: Trillian and Digsby.

Cerulean Studios, the developers behind Trillian Astra, are working on a version for the iPhone and iPod Touch, as well as a cross-platform web client and a dedicated client for OS X. I’ve been testing Trillian Astra for the iPhone, and I like it so far. It leverages push notifications allowing you to stay connected even when it’s not running. If they can improve the time to connect it will be my favorite IM on the iPhone.

Trillian Astra comes in two versions, a free version with basic functionality, and a paid, Pro version that adds additional features. The Pro version sells for $25 (or $10 to upgrade for existing Pro owners). I own a Pro license, and found it was well worth it several years ago. I haven’t yet decided whether I’ll spring for the upgrade, as now I tend to use IM for more basic collaboration, which the free version supports quite nicely.

You can download Trillian Astra for Windows or learn more about it here.

Digsby Adds Real Time Web

dotSyntax released a new version of Digsby, the popular multi-network instant messaging and social networking program. This update provides three new features, and sports a new look for Windows 7.

• Digsby now integrates with MySpaceID, providing real-time notification from your MySpace activity stream, status updates, and photos.
• OneRiot integration provides real-time search, giving users quick access to what’s buzzing in news, videos and blogs.
• And a new Global Status feature lets you update your status across all IM and social network accounts at once, much like Ping.fm or HelloTxt.

“People want instant access to the content their friends are sharing,” said Steve Shapiro, president of dotSyntax, “Our partnerships make Digsby the premier desktop client to discover and participate in social conversations that are taking place right now.”

The new Global Status feature also allows you to share links (via their own URL shortener digs.by) and pictures (via pic.im). I’m not real fond of URL shorteners, especially after this week’s drama surrounding tr.im, but Twitter makes them practically unavoidable. This integration at least makes it easy to shorten URLs when posting updates to Twitter.

It is great to see the competition heating up between Digsby and Trillian Astra. If only Digsby had an iPhone version…

You can download Digsby at www.digsby.com

Digsby Passes 1 Million Users

Today dotSyntax announced that their popular multi-network desktop application Digsby has surpassed a major milestone: 1 million users. The desktop client integrates instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter, text messaging and email into a single desktop client, making it an attractive choice for people connected to multiple networks and social media sites.

Steve Shapiro, president of dotSyntax said, “We built Digsby to simplify people’s lives so they can focus less on signing in and more on staying connected. Our rapid growth shows the utility people find in Digsby and why it’s become the preferred platform for high efficiency digital communication.”

To fuel growth to the next million users, dotSyntax also announced the launch of an affiliate program. The program is designed to encourage people to spread the word about Digsby, and will pay affiliates up to $1.00 for every new Digsby user they sign-up.

Here at BigBlueBall, we helped break the news about Digsby when it first emerged on the scene and I’ve been a big fan. The desktop application is currently only available for Windows. Versions for Mac OS X and Linux have been promised, and you can sign-up here to be notified as soon as they are available.

Download Digsby.

Trillian for iPhone Screenshots

Cerulean Studios has begun beta testing Trillian for the iPhone, and BigBlueBall has new screenshots.

The closed beta began tonight, and requires the iPhone OS 3.0. I’ve been running this Trillian beta on my year-old iPhone 3G for less than an hour, and I’m already impressed.

Trillian for iPhone allows you to swipe to switch between open chats. Like the Trillian Astra web client which is now in public beta testing, this retains the groups you have already setup for your Trillian account and keeps them in sync.

Of course, it supports push notification so you can appear signed in even after you close the app (it’s configurable) and receive incoming instant messages. If you want to reply, it automatically launches Trillian and restores your chats.

Trillian for iPhone integrates with your iPhone camera, allowing you to take and send photos to your contacts, or to use it to create a new avatar or buddy icon.

Currently, there is no file transfer capability (other than for photos) and emoticons appear as plain text.

Being a beta, it’s still a little buggy. I tried sending a second photo and it crashed on me. Starting it back up I tried again, and it went through just fine.

Cerulean Studios has left the door open to add a few small enhancements before the launch this (apart from fixing any bugs found).

If you’re interested in signing up for the Trillian for iPhone beta, you can learn more here. They currently aren’t accepting any new testers, but that will change as they get closer to launch.

If you already use Trillian and have an iPhone, this could be an IM worth getting… when it becomes available. There is no word yet on when it will be ready for submittal to the iPhone App directory, or what the pricing will be.

Screenshots

Trillian Astra for Web Now Here

Cerulean Studios is celebrating the 9th birthday of their multi-network instant messenger Trillian, and giving all of us a present. They have opened up their web-based version of Trillian Astra for beta testing. Unlike their Trillian Astra desktop client for Windows, the web version will also work on other operating systems, include Linux and Mac OS X.

This new beta is open to anyone with a Trillian Astra account (which you can get for free), however they plan to make the web version a premium service when it is officially launched. No word on what the cost might be.

If you already use Trillian Astra, the web version will look very familiar, using the beautiful Cordonata skin. Trillian Astra for the web uses Flash to give you a smooth, application-like feel. On top of this, all of your contacts, groups and other settings are synchronized with your desktop client.

This really is a Beta

As noted when signing in, this is very much a beta, and shouldn’t be relied on as your primary instant messaging program. In fact, I was able to login earlier today, but minutes later and without warning, the access was closed with the message “The web client is temporarily unavailable while we finalize it for beta access. It will re-appear at this spot when we’re ready to accept testers!” UPDATE: Access is open again.

Feature List

• Single sign-on capable
• Messaging across Astra, WLM, Yahoo!, AIM, ICQ, MySpaceIM, Jabber, Google Talk
• Typing notifications
• Smooth vector-based emoticons
• Buzz support
• Set status message
• Offline contacts folder
• Update browser tabs/taskbar with message alerts
• Profile integration
• Color themes
• Email notifications
• Suspend / resume sessions
• MetaContacts and groups
• Set and view user avatars
• Change displayname
• Mutable sounds
• Add and remove contacts
• Contact authorizations
• Generic “system tray” notification framework
• Basic mail alerts; click alert to open web mail in browser
• Basic keyboard controls

For more details, read the announcement on the Cerulean Studios blog.

Happy Birthday, Trillian!

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