May 16, 2013
If you’re still interested in the wonderful world of chat rooms (or perhaps you just have a hankering to return to the days of IRC), then you might like these web apps that bring chat back to your desktop. These apps are targeted primarily at those of you who set up websites, but they may be interesting to those of you who don’t, as well.
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May 16, 2013
Do you love using your iPad as a communication device? Apple's tablet is great for chatting because it's small enough to carry around and big enough to type with comfortably. If you are looking for a handy way to chat with friends on your iPad, you should give Trillian a try. It's been one of the most prevalent chat clients for years, and its creators consistently add new features and improvements that make it a serious contender for one of the best IM clients on iOS, or any platform for that matter.
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May 13, 2013
I've been through a lot of chat messenger programs in my time and, looking back, none of them have been very different from the others. Usually the main difference lies in the interface and performance, but fundamentally they're all the same. But recently I stumbled across Phonon Voice Messenger, a mobile messenger that really offers something new. Phonon provides text chat functionality, but its main selling point is that it is also a voice messenger. Intrigued? You should be.
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April 9, 2013
From the first days of public Internet, it's been a long and winding road for chat. From Web chats that were nothing but forums, to ICQ and IRC, to MSN Messenger and Google Talk, and finally - the chat most of us use today - Facebook chat. To me, chat's evolution is a bit sad, really. As old as ICQ and IRC look today, they were both chat protocols and programs I really enjoyed using.
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February 21, 2013
If you've been a dedicated user of Windows Live Messenger, it's time to start considering your options for future messaging. Today we'll talk about how you can migrate to Skype, what alternative chat options are out there and how you can make the whole transition easier for yourself.
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February 6, 2013
There are already a few articles on MakeUseOf about the features available for Mac's Skype such as its group video client, experience-enhancing tips, and even some shortcuts that you may not know about. However, we've never really talked about the app itself. Overall, Skype for Mac is an app that performs in a solid manner, and I have a feeling that I will end up using it time and time again.
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January 17, 2013
There are still plenty of people who use instant messaging networks to talk with each other, as it's very quick to exchange messages or ask a simple question. In fact, there are plenty of corporations who run their own networks, to make communication between employees a snap. Therefore, it's good to have a capable instant messaging client by your side so that you can keep in touch with just about everyone.
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January 15, 2013
Facebook chat is one of those things that's fantastic when everything is going well, yet very annoying when something's not right. Sadly, most people don't have the time to navigate all of the options and set their preferences just so. There's also a number of useful tricks you can do with Facebook chat messages that many people just don't realise is possible.
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December 27, 2012
These days, very few people have just one IM account. Most of us have a handful of them, with different contacts for different purposes or just leftover from periods of time when that particular service was the most popular or useful one to use. However if you have multiple IM accounts, it's generally easier to use some sort of multi-service IM login to control them all these days. Then you can just forget about who you know on whichever service and get on with the chatting.
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December 26, 2012
On the surface, Skype looks like an application for text, audio, and video chats, a great way to stay in touch with a friends. Only that it's more than that. Skype is a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) messaging service that offers a range of advanced features.
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December 18, 2012
A moment of introspection, please: What do you do more often - call people using your phone, or text them? I would bet it's the latter. For many people, texting is more convenient than calling. It's discrete, so you can do it on the bus (unless you happen to be the driver); it's asynchronous, so the other person doesn't have to be immediately available, and more.
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December 13, 2012
The eBuddy application used to be known as e-Messenger and has been around since 2003. These days it's readily available via the web or as an app for your favourite smartphone. It's one of the easiest ways to chat with multiple networks of IM (Instant Messenger) friends from wherever you are. Today we'll check out the Android version of eBuddy properly so you can really see whether it's the app for you.
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December 12, 2012
Google Talk is Google's own desktop instant messaging program. You can log in using your Google account. And if you are on Gmail, you have already been using Google Talk, possibly without noticing. With the Google Talk desktop application, you can stay in touch with your contacts and continue the conversation after logging out of Gmail. The tool supports text chat, file transfers, voice calls and voicemail.
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December 6, 2012
We have an unlimited amount of means to communicate with each other using common gadgets found in practically every household. We can call, text, email, post on walls, and instant message. No matter what you may believe, there are still a large number of people who use instant messaging, especially when you include everyone who uses Facebook Messages, which can be used with many IM applications.
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November 30, 2012
If there’s one thing I’d like to see in the next few years it’s more protocols being added to Apple’s Messages app for iOS. iMessage is a wonderful thing, but your friends need to be on their iPhone, iPad or Mac running Mountain Lion in order to talk to you, and the platform is still relatively new. Until Apple decides to add Google Talk, AIM and other protocols to its core iOS app, we’ll have to make do with dedicated alternatives.
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