AOL seems to recognize that sentiment and they’ve recently and unofficially dropped AIM 1.0.0.3 on us, dubbed “AIM Preview“. It looks like Skype, it chats like Skype, and it weighs like Skype. But it’s AOL Instant Messenger.

As you can see, I haven’t put much use to it as I’m not a very big fan. First thing you’re going to notice is that AIM has been completely redesigned. It looks nothing like it did in versions 5, 6, or 7. It’s nice and fat now, just like Skype. We’ve got a lot going on here.

1. Lifestream (which is your “status updates” of the AIM world) has been stripped away with and, well, replaced with real status updates (the Facebook kind). AIM updates still exist, they’re just a little more useless now.
2. As aforementioned, Facebook has now become integrated with your AIM experience.
3. Your buddy list has been transformed in a way that mingles Facebook buddies, contacts, and recent chats. It’s another overhaul that has AIM looking a lot more like Skype.
4. Along with Facebook, you can chat with Google Talk buddies through AIM. This already existed if you didn’t know about it.
5. Photos and videos are synced inline on the client. Chat histories are now stored remotely (rather than locally), which enables seamless synchronization between devices (at the expense of your security).
6. There’s a news feed, where AIM promoted their Huffington Post. Not much more to say here.
7. One-on-one video chatting and group messaging (more features pulled from Skype) are now with AIM. I guess this is what they decided to do with AV?

Nothing too unique or exciting is going on here. Maybe it was AOL jumping the gun on Microsoft acquiring Skype, maybe it’s AOL trying to salvage their last true-to-the-company web property that is still used daily by thousands of people.

In any event, it’s a breath of fresh air to a near-dead messenger and that’s about it. If you’ve instant messaged at all in the past couple years, this isn’t bringing anything new to the table. I can’t think of any real compliment here, though it seems as if this preview version isn’t as riddled with ads as others. You can get rid of ads in older versions of AIM quite easily, though.

It’s not worth your time, guys. Stick with Skype and let’s consider AIM an afterthought unless you, like me, need a barebones solution to IM-ing (in which case, I again recommend a much older version of AIM). Anyone else suddenly feeling nostalgic and missing those days when AOL was relevant? I can hear the modem dialing up now.

I’m not trying to beat up on poor old AIM. This is only a “preview” release, after all. Again, you can pick it up here: http://preview.aim.com/
Luckily, it doesn’t install over your old version of AIM and will write to a new directory, so there’s really no risk in at least giving it a shot.

It’s out on every platform: desktop, mobile, and web. You can get it on your iPhone or Android. I was really looking for AIM to be the first IM client that picks up the ball and adapts to the mobile world with a new release. I know you can send SMS messages from AIM, but adopting a more “permanent” solution like Textfree’s method would have been cooler.

Let me know if you guys find anything interesting with the new version that I may have skipped out on. I gave it a quick whirl after reading a few reviews and came to a pretty quick decision. Nothing new here!

That’s why I’m still on Windows Mobile, along with a massive portion of the rest of the world. Windows Mobile is one of the most-used mobile operating systems, but it’s been largely pushed aside as the iPhone has become more popular. The iPhone has all its great applications, but there are a number of fantastic, useful, fun and plain cool Windows Mobile apps as well.

Here are five free applications for Windows Mobile, many of which have iPhone counterparts, but that do their job at least as well as they do on that Apple-thing.

Evernote

My favorite “external brain”, Evernote helps you remember everything. With Evernote for Windows Mobile, all you’ll need on you is your cell phone. Just fire up the app, and you can create notes from pictures, text or voice. Search and browse your notes, share and edit them, and manage your head right from your Windows Mobile phone.

Unlike the iPhone (as best as I could tell), there’s also a link to upload a file, which means you’re able to send files to and from your Windows Mobile phone. It’s perfect for when you need to remember to buy something, how much something costs, something you need to do, or just about anything that comes into your head that you’d rather not fly right out.

Fring

Fring is the mobile IM client to end all mobile IM clients. It connects to most major instant messaging networks- AIM, Google, Yahoo, MSN, and the like. If you’ve got a Wi-Fi enabled phone, there’s even another killer feature- Skype. You can make VOIP calls with your cell phone, using Fring’s Skype support, and not use your minutes or plan, but simply by picking up a wireless signal.

Even without Wi-Fi, though, Fring’s a killer application for instant messaging, and can even update your Twitter status for you.

Tiny Twitter

Even though Fring can update Twitter for you, odds are Twitter users will want a bit more. That’s where Tiny Twitter comes in. It’s a Twitter cleint for Windows Mobile that also works on any Java-enabled device which covers some serious ground. Using Tiny Twitter, you can tweet without hitting your SMS bill (though you will incur some data charges without a data plan).

Tiny Twitter allows full access to your Twitter timeline, makes replying and messaging easy, and the “Inbox” view gives you a simple way to see and respond to tweets directed at you. Tiny Twitter’s the perfect Windows Mobile app for tweeting on the go, and is actually better than anything I’ve found for the iPhone.

The Core Pocket Media Player

TCPMP, as The Core Pocket Media Player is known, is the best way to watch movies and listen to music on a Windows Mobile phone. You can use it to stream media (again, watch the data charges), or to play a huge variety of formats of both video and audio. It’s a no-frills application with a small memory footprint that’s dead simple to use, and one road warriors won’t want to be without. Especially when you add the use of a memory card, TCPMP works with your phone to make it a killer media player- small screen or no small screen.

Kevtris

What fun is a phone you can’t play with? The iPhone has a ton of great games, but let’s be honest – there’s never been a game as wonderful as Tetris. The blocks, the twisting, the narrow misses that leave you tearing your hair out – it’s just glorious.

If you have a Windows Mobile phone, you needn’t ever be without Tetris again. It’s a free download called Kevtris, and is a blast to play. There are three levels of play, and several different games you can play as well – all similar to Tetris. It’s a fantastic time-waster, and a game I like better than anything the iPhone’s thrown at me.

I’ve been a Windows Mobile user for a while now, and thanks to these applications and more, I don’t plan on changing anytime soon. There are applications to do everything that I need, for free, and plus – I just love having an actual keyboard.

Are you a Windows Mobile user? What applications do you have, and which do you envy of the iPhone?

So what else can you do? You could use an online IM client, like imo, eBuddy or meebo. By using one of these three websites, you can chat with your buddies without installing a single thing.

You may also want to check out Karl’s AIM Express article which also lets you chat via the web using AIM.

imo.im

imo.im is still in alpha phase, so it’s still a little bit behind on eBuddy and meebo. There is potential though. It looks pretty basic, stripped down, with nearly no images used, but that’s brought into perspective with a pretty neat interface. imo.im turns your browser into a little desktop, giving you the ability to open multiple chat windows and to drag and position them across the screen.

Through imo.im, you can connect to your MSN, Yahoo, AIM/ICQ and/or Google Talk account(s). Please notice the “˜and’ and the “˜(s)’, because you can connect to multiple accounts at the same time.

Imo.im also features “˜surf left’ and “˜surf right’ buttons. When you click this, a small new window is opened, containing your chat client. imo.im automatically adjusts the size and position of both your main and chat window, so they seamlessly fit besides each other. This enables you to chat on the right (or left) side, while continuing to surf on the left (or right) side of your screen.

Pros:

• Windowed interface
• Surf left/right buttons
• Webcam functionality
• Multiple account functionality

Cons:

• Very basic interface (chat completely text-based; no smileys)

Available networks:

• MSN, Yahoo, AIM/ICQ, Google Talk

eBuddy.com

eBuddy is much more detailed than imo.im. First of all: the interface. Though it lacks a windowed interface like imo.im, it’s highly graphical. It substitutes the use of windows by using tabs. Though this is very practical as well, it takes away the ability to multitask, or multi-chat, as some might say. Besides this, eBuddy brings many advantages, giving you the ability to choose user-pictures, personal messages, and much, much more (you can even send buzzers, when using the MSN Messenger network).

Just like imo.im, eBuddy supports the use of multiple IM-accounts simultaneously. The only downside is that you’ll have to register for an “˜eBuddy ID’. The connected pro is that you won’t have to add all your accounts every time you go online, as with imo.im.

Pros:

• Graphic interface
• Customizability
• Multiple account functionality

Cons:

• Lack of webcam functionality

Available networks:

MSN, Yahoo, AIM, Google Talk, MySpace IM

meebo.com

meebo seems to combine the pros of both imo.im and eBuddy into one site. It uses a similar windowed interface as imo.im, but less stripped down. meebo owns a pretty sleek interface, which visually resembles Linux. It isn’t as graphical as eBuddy, but makes it up with some extra functions.

meebo gives you the ability to use the webcam, using a very easy to use interface. When you sign up for a meebo account, you also get multiple account functionality and other meebo customizations. This includes the ability to choose between different color schemes and the keeping of chat logs.

Pros:

• Graphic interface
• Chat logs
• Multiple account functionality
• Webcam functionality

Cons:

• Some graphical aspects are still missing

Available networks:

MSN, Yahoo, AIM/ICQ, Google Talk, Jabber

Which web-based IM network do you swear by and why?

(By) Simon is a student from Belgium who wastes his time relaxing, watching anime and surfing the net. He would tell you to check out his blog, only he doesn’t have one yet!

Getting Started

When you first install the Yoono extension you create a Yoono account so that all your stuff can be tracked and viewed by friends and other users. When creating your account you will be asked for a username, password, email, birthdate, gender and country. The only required fields are username, password and email.

After entering a valid username, password and email the next step will allow you to stay in tune with your social networks and instant messengers. You can also find friends who are already using Yoono by an address book on either Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail or AOL, or simply by their Yoono username.

There are a handful of social networks and instant messenger credentials that you can add to Yoono.

Social Networks:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Piczo
• Flickr
• Friendfeed

Instant Messengers:

• AIM
• MSN
• Yahoo

I think so far that the supported social networks aren’t bad but I’d like to see Plurk included because that’s becoming pretty big lately and I’m a big fan of it.

The third step after adding the social networks and instant messengers that you want to use with Yoono is sharing your bookmarks. In this step you can select the bookmark folders that you want to share with friends on Yoono. Once you have chosen the folders that you want to share, if you check ‘Synchronize your bookmarks’ when you click ‘Finish’, another window will pop up saying that your local bookmarks do not match the bookmarks stored on the Yoono server.

From here you have four options :

• Merge the bookmarks on your computer with the bookmarks on Yoono server.
• Export from your computer to the Yoono server.
• Import from the Yoono server to your computer.
• Never synchronize your bookmarks with the server.

The recommended selection is the first one and has ‘recommended’ on the label. When you have chosen the option that you want and pressed ‘OK’ for all of the services that you’ve added, your credentials will be loaded up in the sidebar on the left.

The Sidebar

This is what the sidebar will look like when it’s loaded. When you browse different websites the tags below your name will change depending on keywords that are in the website. Clicking on the tags will take you to the Yoono search page and search for other websites with the same tag that you have clicked on. All the items in the sidebar are widgets and can be removed and others can be added.

The picture for your account is displayed as well as your account username and status. When you update your status you can choose the social networks that you want your status to be sent to such as Twitter and Facebook. Under your status is the tag cloud.

The Friends widget displays your friends who are online on instant messenger services that you are signed into through the Yoono extension. Your Twitter and Facebook statuses and friends are also viewed in the friends widget. If you click the RSS icon you can view the activity that has happened across services.

The Web notes widget allows you to drag and drop text, video and images to share with your friends. If you like a website you can also click the ‘I love’ button, if you don’t like a website you can click the ‘I hate’ button and if you think that a website is funny you can click the ‘Funny’ button.

The last widget that is displayed under the default Yoono sidebar is the Discoveries widget. What the discoveries widget does is displays similar websites and show users who like the website that you are currently browsing. If you click the ‘surprise’ button at the bottom of the widget you will be taken to a random website. This works like Stumbleupon in a way.

Adding Widgets

Adding widgets is really simple and all you need to do is click the ‘Add a widget’ icon at the bottom of the sidebar. When you click this you will see other widgets such as Music, Photos and Videos. To add these simply select them and press ‘Add to the sidebar’.

What Do You Think?

Do you think Yoono is missing anything or do you know of a better extension for Firefox that is similar to Yoono? Or do you think Yoono is just another boring unnecessary social networking tool? Let us know by posting a comment.

(By) Wez is a student studying computers, also does programming and video tutorials and writes about technology, software and websites, check out his blog @ www.TheTutorialBlog.com

I know I have been! Your friendly neighborhood Admin has been on location where I did not have administrative access to the computer (imagine that!) nor could I plug in my laptop into their network and do what I needed to do. There have even been times I could not get a cell phone signal or anything on my WWAN card. Some places are actually secure and lock down everything. AOL has an option to forward your IM’s to your cell phone via SMS but without cell service this wouldn’t work either!

Security is one thing but limiting functionality is another. So there are ways around the limitations if you can freely browse the web. Let’s get you back to chatting cybering dumb quick.

I use AIM Express from AOL. If a computer has internet access, chances are you can run one of these lightweight in browser clients. To add some icing to the cake they have just released their newest beta version of AIM Express.

It runs on Adobe’s Flash now and is a lot smoother than previous versions. The client is compatible with Windows and Mac (I’m sure a resourceful young go-getter like yourself could MAKE it work on Linux!) Make sure your system meets these requirements. If it does not, don’t fret we have another option for you. Keep on reading!

System Requirements

Windows

• Windows 2000/NT/XP/Vista
• Flash player 9
• Javascript enabled browser
• Recommended browsers: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 and 7.0, Firefox 1.5 and higher, Safari 3.0

Mac OS X

• Flash player 9
• Javascript enabled browser
• Recommended browsers: Firefox 1.5 and higher, Safari 3.0

On a regular basis I use Digsby for my cross platform IM’ing needs but when I can’t use Digsby I run this flash based chat. It is really easy to use and as always it is free. All you need to do is browse on over to here and launch it. As long as you have flash installed on the machine you are good to go!

But just like I stated above there are ways to get this to work on a machine without Flash. In this situation you need an older version of AIM Express. The previous version is still available and will run on older setups or more locked down environments.

As you can see there are no system requirements and the Browser requirements are pretty easy to match on most systems.

Browser Requirements

To use the AIM Express service, be sure that your computer is running one of the following Web browsers:

• Internet Explorer 5.5 or later
• Firefox 1.0 and later
• Mozilla 1.4 or later
• Netscape 7.1 and later

Note: Web browsers must allow pop-ups from AIM.com in order for AIM Express to run properly.

If your system does not meet the requirements, you can still access an older version of AIM Express.

(By): Karl L. Gechlik is a superhero of the IT industry who wears many hats and changes in telephone booths. Karl mostly uses his powers for good and the occasional hysterical prank. Get your geek on & follow his geeky antics at askTheAdmin.com today.

So I went looking for a free web-based tool, preferably a chat bot, that would send pre-selected RSS feeds to an IM program. After trying several that didn’t work as advertised (I won’t name any names), I finally ended up using ZapTXT – although the set-up didn’t exactly go too smoothly at first.

What I like about ZapTXT is that you can choose to have the RSS updates sent to either your email, an IM program or your mobile phone (although personally I was only interested in the IM option). The IM program options are particularly good – all the major networks are covered including Yahoo, MSN, AIM, Skype and GTalk / Jabber.

When you first set up your account, you have to set up your delivery options. I chose the IM program option and entered my GTalk details. You then have to add the ZapTXT bot to your contact list.

Once that is done, you have to then specify what feeds you want sent to you and how often (immediately, once a hour, once a day, and so on). A particularly good feature is the ability to also filter those feeds by keywords so you only get feed updates based on what you are looking for. If you don’t specify keywords then you will get everything that RSS feed produces. If it is a feed like Digg, then you will be buried underneath an IM avalanche! So if the feed produces a lot of updates, it might be best to decide which specific subjects you are going to follow and set up filters.

If you’re not sure of the exact feed address for a site, the ZapTXT engine will auto-detect all the RSS feeds on a domain that you specify and you can then choose which ones you want :

The difficulty I initially had was that the feeds didn’t kick in straight away, despite new posts being added to those sites. The ZapTXT bot also seems to have problems accepting Google Talk’s chat invitation so it took well over a hour for me to receive my first RSS updates. But once it starts, it works extremely well.

Here is what one of the RSS updates on Google Talk looks like :

You might be wondering at this point what the advantages are of using a service like this when you already have excellent RSS readers such as Google Reader. Well for me, some feeds are more important than others – in particular, the sites I write for, including Make Use Of. I don’t always have my Google Reader window open and so it is good for me to get a pop-up window from Google Talk whenever a post from one of my favourite sites is posted online. I also like to see my favourite feeds coming in on Google Talk if I am stuck for story ideas. Sometimes just seeing the headlines of my subscribed blogs is enough to spark an idea of my own.

Another benefit is if you are following a comment thread on a forum or a blog, sometimes seeing new comments coming in on your IM program allows you to respond faster.

Want another benefit? If you use Google Talk instead of one of the other IM programs, everything that comes in is logged in your Gmail account for future reference!

As Amit Agarwal at Digital Inspiration points out, ZapTXT is not meant to replace your RSS reader, only complement it. I have only been using ZapTXT for two days and already I am finding it indispensable.

I have made a new friend – well actually I am becoming reacquainted with an old friend. Have you heard of Smarterchild? Smarterchild is an AimBot, an automated assistant that can be added to your instant messenger contacts. It can help you remember things, lookup headlines, find out about local movies, and so on. Now that AIM has been integrated into Gmail this might be a great combination for making SmarterChild into your virtual Personal Assistant.

Smarterchild can not only shoot the breeze with you it can grab data for you, remind you to do things and be a smart ass. So from anywhere you are connected via AIM you can add SmarterChild to your buddy list and but him to work. The first time you connect to SmarterChild he will ask you a few questions and then you are ready to roll. Math, Definitions and a news aggregator? Oh and so much more. Sure you could use Google or Yahoo for searching but this is so much more fun… Check out our conversations with SmarterChild.

KarlGeeZBT (6:59:30 AM): Hello There Again SmarterChild
SmarterChild (6:59:31 AM): Hi again, Admin!Let’s talk!

KarlGeeZBT (7:00:42 AM): basic help
KarlGeeZBT (7:00:59 PM): order me a pizza
SmarterChild (7:01:00 PM): I know about pizza! It’s a food!>>> If you need to know the capital of South Dakota for some crazy reason – ask me.

KarlGeeZBT (7:01:19 PM): hmm how about get me a beer
SmarterChild (7:01:19 PM): I don’t know.
KarlGeeZBT (7:02:21 PM): what do you mean you dont know son
SmarterChild (7:02:21 PM): What do I mean I don’t know son? I’m not sure.
KarlGeeZBT (7:02:29 PM): a wise guy eh
SmarterChild (7:02:31 PM): 1 wise guy what?
KarlGeeZBT (7:02:44 PM): never mimd
SmarterChild (7:02:48 PM): No prob.>>> I bet you don’t know the capital of Suriname. Ask me.

KarlGeeZBT (7:11:32 PM): I love AskTheAdmin.com
SmarterChild (7:11:37 PM): I know about love. It’s hard to describe what love is.>>> What are your friends thinking? Type pollmaker and crunch the numbers.

KarlGeeZBT (7:13:04 PM): Hello
SmarterChild (7:13:05 PM): Nice to see you again, Admin. What would you like to do?
KarlGeeZBT (7:13:12 PM): Set reminder
SmarterChild (7:13:13 PM): That right?
KarlGeeZBT (7:13:25 PM): help
SmarterChild (7:13:26 PM): OK, please tell me what you’re trying to do.
KarlGeeZBT (7:13:32 PM): reminder
SmarterChild (7:13:32 PM): What would you like me to remind you about?
KarlGeeZBT (7:13:38 PM): Call the wife
SmarterChild (7:13:39 PM): When would you like me to remind you about call the wife? (Type a time, date and time, number of minutes or number of hours.)
KarlGeeZBT (7:13:50 PM): 7:14pm 12/22/2007
SmarterChild (7:13:53 PM): No problem. I’ll remind you about call the wife at 7:14:00 pm ET.
KarlGeeZBT (7:13:59 PM): awesome

SmarterChild (7:14:00 PM): -)>>> Ask me for info such as news, sports and movies!
KarlGeeZBT (7:14:03 PM): movies
SmarterChild (7:14:03 PM): Movies playing in or near Brooklyn, NY (11235) on Saturday, December 22nd:
1 National Treasure: Book of Secrets [PG]
2 I Am Legend [PG13]
3 Alvin and the Chipmunks [PG]
4 The Golden Compass [PG13]
5 Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story [R]
6 Charlie Wilson’s War [R]

Type more for the next set of results.
>>> Type nhl standings and I’ll show you who’s hot in hockey.

SmarterChild (7:14:09 PM): Hey, don’t forget about call the wife.

KarlGeeZBT (7:14:12 PM): nhl standings
SmarterChild (7:14:12 PM): Select the standings you’d like to see:
1 Atlantic Division
2 Northeast Division
3 Southeast Division
4 Central Division
5 Northwest Division
6 Pacific Division
7 Eastern Conference
8 Western Conference
9 Full NHL Standings

KarlGeeZBT (7:14:29 PM): weather
SmarterChild (7:14:30 PM): Current weather conditions for Brooklyn, NY:
Currently: 40 F
Condition: Overcast
Wind Chill: 33 F
Dewpoint: 33
Humidity: 77 %
Visibility: 10 mi
Wind: ENE/10 mph

To get the forecast for Brooklyn, NY, just type forecast.

KarlGeeZBT (7:14:45 PM): find me a pizza restauraunt
SmarterChild (7:14:50 PM): I’m sorry, I couldn’t find any Web search results for “me a pizza restauraunt.”>>> Type poll archive to take polls you missed or view updated results.
KarlGeeZBT (7:15:03 PM): get me a pizza
SmarterChild (7:15:05 PM): I know about pizza! It’s a food!

KarlGeeZBT (7:15:37 PM): what is 137 times 379
SmarterChild (7:15:41 PM): 137 * 379 = 51,923>>> Type word scrambles and we can really mix it up.
KarlGeeZBT (7:16:02 PM): what is pi
SmarterChild (7:16:03 PM): Which of the following do you mean?
1 Look up “pi” in the encyclopedia
2 Look up “pi” in the dictionary
KarlGeeZBT (7:16:08 PM): pi =
SmarterChild (7:16:09 PM): Who’s Pi?
KarlGeeZBT (7:16:20 PM): how many ounces in a pound
SmarterChild (7:16:22 PM): One pound is 16 ounces. (1 lb = 16 oz)>>> Remember, you can always see what my newest features are by typing what’s new.
KarlGeeZBT (7:16:28 PM): how many grams in a pound
SmarterChild (7:16:28 PM): One pound is 453.59237 grams. (1 lb = 453.59237 g)>>> Type calculator help to see a list of sample calculations I can perform.

KarlGeeZBT (7:16:51 PM): go get me a pizza
SmarterChild (7:16:51 PM): I’ll do nothing of the sort.
KarlGeeZBT (7:17:00 PM): what good are you
SmarterChild (7:17:01 PM): That’s crazy. I don’t know, Admin”¦>>> Wanna change my font and colors? Type colors now!

KarlGeeZBT (7:17:29 PM): basic help
SmarterChild (7:17:31 PM): OK. Basically, you make requests and I answer. Try it! Here are examples of basic requests you can make:
1 What is my horoscope for today?
2 Leave a message for (username).
3 What movies are playing today?
4 I want the top headlines.
5 What is the definition of “romance”?

Next time you want to see this, just type basic help.
Type more for more basic help. To see shortcuts you can use, type shortcuts.

KarlGeeZBT (7:17:38 PM): 4
SmarterChild (7:17:39 PM): Headline news provided by Reuters, © 2007.
1 Clinton targets women voters, rivals bicker (12/22/07 06:17 PM)
2 Turkish planes bomb Kurds in northern Iraq (12/22/07 04:21 PM)

Type more to see the next set of stories.>>> I’m a hoops fan. Type nba to see what I know.

KarlGeeZBT (7:18:36 PM): what is the capital of new york
SmarterChild (7:18:41 PM): The capital of New York is Albany. Do you want more information about New York?
KarlGeeZBT (7:20:03 PM): nah son I’m out
SmarterChild (7:20:04 PM): OK.

Are you ready to start? Add “SmarterChild” to your buddy list and give him a friendly Hey – how you doin?.

So as you can see this free service works and can give you a chuckle while you use it. But just like my real personal assistant – they have a smart mouth and talk back.

Do you use Aim Bots? What are you favorite? Do you use other similar services? Let us know in the comments!