Wouldn’t it be nice if your computer could just automatically do a Facebook login and provide you with an alert whenever anything new happens? Or wouldn’t it be wonderful to just pop open a little application on your mobile phone that would show all of your friends’ latest updates?

All of these things and more are possible – there are many ways to login to Facebook without going to the website, and in this post I’m going to detail four methods that you can use to do so. The four ways you can log into Facebook without directly navigating to the website and logging in is with your cellphone, with a desktop aggregator, with an Internet based aggregator, or through a desktop gadget.

1. Monitor Facebook on Your Computer With Digsby or Trillian

Since I spend a large majority of my time sitting in front of the same laptop while I’m writing articles, the ideal way for me to do a Facebook login without going to the website is through a desktop aggregator. Now, personally I use Digsby because I prefer the interface and I find it very easy to quickly update my status or add comments to my friends’ posts.

It saves a great deal of time because Digsby automatically logs into all of your social networks the moment you boot up your computer, and it immediately reports whenever there are any updates. You can review and respond to them right in the interface. If this sounds like the choice for you, make sure to check out David’s article on Digsby to learn more.

Now, it wouldn’t be fair to mention the PC aggregator method of an automatic Facebook login without mentioning Trillian. There are many people who prefer Trillian Astra over every other IM/social networking client, and for good reason.

Just like Digsby, you can set up Trillian to login to Facebook automatically, and all you have to do to see Facebook updates is hover the mouse over your Facebook connection. While I don’t personally prefer the Trillian interface, I can certainly see why it would be the preferred client app for many people. If this app appeals to you, then stop navigating over to Facebook to log in and instead read Saikat’s explanation as to why Trillian is the best IM client.

2. Check Facebook on the Web With Online Aggregators

Now, if you don’t want to download any software to your computer, there are still ways that you can login to Facebook without having to navigate to the website all of the time. You can do this by using an online aggregator of all of the social networking tools that you use. These usually not only include Facebook, but also things like your IM accounts, blog accounts and Twitter or Myspace.

One of the oldest portals is often also an overlooked approach to logging into Facebook automatically – iGoogle. When you search iGoogle for Facebook gadgets, you’ll find a number of them. Most of them are similar and work fine.

For example, the gadget I chose above works well, and it lets you login to Facebook directly from your iGoogle page.

Now, if you prefer an online portal that aggregates all of the social networks you use (in addition to Facebook), there are two very popular options. If you’ve been following along here at MakeUseOf, then you may know what they are. First, the one that’s my own favorite – Zooloo.

Once you’ve got the widget set up to automatically log into your Facebook account, all you have to do is set Zooloo as your home page and it’ll log you into Facebook every time you load up your browser. Mahendra covered Zooloo in excellent detail just recently. It’s definitely an option people use to connect to Facebook that’s worth checking out.

A very close second favorite is a site Daniel covered called Second Brain, which organizes your online networks into interesting “collections.” Either approach you take, the online approach to logging into Facebook allows you to check your Facebook account from anywhere, possibly even if Facebook itself is blocked by a firewall.

3. Login to Facebook From the Vista Sidebar

While this approach is limited to Windows Vista users, it is another convenient method you can use to receive notifications of Facebook updates. I covered a few of those Vista sidebar options a while ago.

Of the available options, myFacebook is my favorite because it offers more information than other widgets, such as a scrolling update from your friends’ status comments. This widget automatically logs into Facebook when your computer boots, and you receive notification of private messages, pokes and friend notifications.

You can download MyFacebook from the Windows Live gallery.

Just keep in mind that when you do install it, you need to go through a few steps to confirm authentication with Facebook, including obtaining and entering a special login code, and clicking on a link in Facebook that allows the application to access your account details.

The good news is that the widget wizard goes through the setup process in a few very simple, easy-to-follow steps.

4. Accessing Facebook From Your Mobile

The fourth and most commonly sought-after method to access Facebook is with a mobile device. Whether people use a Blackberry, iPhone or Windows Mobile device, they want to login to their Facebook account while on the go. The good news is that there are several ways to do this, depending which mobile device you’re using.

My personal favorite that I’ve been using for some time is F’im, a Windows Mobile based app for mobile Facebook. With that said, if I was running Windows Mobile 6.0, I would probably download Microsoft’s official Windows Mobile Facebook app.

While the user online status screen looks pretty cool, many of the screens just look like straight Facebook mobile screens. However, what F’IM lacks in terms of creativity for status screens is the software’s ability to automatically post images from your phone to your Facebook account.

Do you have a favorite way to log into your Facebook account other than going to the website? Which solution do you prefer, mobile, desktop aggregator, desktop widget or online aggregator? Share your feedback in the comments section below.

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New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Get Updates From All Your Social Networks With OrSiSo (4)
• Why I’m Digging Digsby (31)
• Trillian Astra – Is It the Best Instant Messaging Client Now? (16)
• Top 5 Facebook Applications That Don’t Suck (9)
• Threadsy – Integrates Your Email and Social Networks (+Invites) (24)

But that’s just first impressions. To make that tall claim stick, I need to go deeper into the new Trillian and take it around the block a few times.

A multi-protocol chat client will be judged by the services it supports. Using Trillian Astra you can connect to manage – Google, MySpace IM, Skype, AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, and IRC. With that you get support for POP3 and IMAP email lookup for your email accounts with a single click logon. RSS feed updates add to the keeping track features of the multi-chat client.

But the thick icing on the cake is that that the latest version has sunk its fangs into Facebook and Twitter. Two places where we are doing most of our social schmoozing these days.

With the whole cluster of features, where do I start? Let’s start at the beginning.

Quick and easy Install

Sometimes the way a software installs itself says a lot about the work that has been put into the program. Trillian doesn’t disappoint. The 14.6MB download is all in one go. The installer gives you the option of installing a bundled Ask.com toolbar. Uncheck to say no (if you want) and continue.

The first active step involves the registration of a new Astra account. It’s the first part of a three step process –

To configure the IM and web services, you have to put checks against the services you want to include followed by their log-in details.

That’s more or less it…Trillian Astra launches in all of its thematic glory.

The look does draw a ‘wow’.

I guess for now only Digsby comes close to the sleek skinnable interface of Trillian (are you looking at the Trillian Cordonata skin?). The interface can be designed on two default skins – the ultra modern one I mentioned and the other more sober and lighter Cobalt. Skins can be changed to different colors and without a restart. Support for Windows Vista Glass and Windows 7 effects is provided. Custom windows (like a new contact list) with a new look can also be done.

Trillian comes with a huge emoticon pack and more can be added. Emoticons and other objects are also arranged around compatibility with Yahoo and MSN.

There are two versions…is the free version a poor cousin?

Just when you are starting to enjoy the goodies, you see the notice that the installed Pro features will go away after 29 days. The truth is the Pro version offers some extras but it does not in any way take away from the standalone appeal of the free version.

The differences in brief can be glimpsed in this screenshot taken from the site –

Trillian Astra (Free) still offers a very rich set of features…most of us which I am sure the avid chatter would find more than adequate.

Trillian Astra and features galore (400+ actually!)

I don’t think you are expecting me to discuss all the 400 plus features here. Especially when, the full features page does a neat job if listing them very systematically. You can sort the features by type or alphabetically. More importantly, you can filter the features by – All, Show Premium Features Only, or Show New or Better Only. All premium features on the page and in the software Preferences settings are marked out by a little gear icon.

Also check out the page detailing all the screenshots for the chat client.

What’s really great about Trillian Astra

Straight out, I would say the support for Facebook and Twitter. These two are the cool places to hang out these days and Trillian does a great job at integrating then within all the chat services.

For Facebook – you get notification alerts with any new message, Facebook contacts become a part of your Trillian contact list and you can have real time chat conversations with them. Trillian also lets you update your status and access all Facebook feeds instantly.

For Twitter – follow and respond to tweets from Trillian. Re-tweet and follow Tweeter trends directly from your contact list. The TinyURL shortening service is an automatic service too. Put someone in your ignore list if they are Tweeting too much.

We shouldn’t forget Skype. Trillian doesn’t substitute Skype but becomes an integrated interface for Skype, if you have it installed. It includes your Skype contacts and receives incoming Skype calls through its own notification system. Thus, it acts like a call assistant to Skype.

Basic video support has been brought into Trillian. Though it’s not full screen view in the free version, you get what Trillian calls the Movie View. The window dims when a call begins and text feeds in just like onscreen subtitles.

A lot of widgets also add entertainment value (Flickr, Videogame console, My Sport etc) and functional help (World Time Clock, Business Card, Weather etc).

The full features page is worth a dekko. You are sure to find a host of other features to like.

Does it connect and deliver?

The feature set is in place and as far as first impressions go, Trillian seems light on its feet. It’s fast to start up and doesn’t seem to hog much of memory. Trillian says a lot of memory and bandwidth improvements have gone into the latest version. For now, I believe them because it does feel slick. The only con could be that the bundle of features might be a bit too complex for a section of users. And like all multi-protocol services, how nimble would Trillian be when updates start rolling in.

Trillian Astra (ver.4) is supported on Windows XP, Vista and 7. (The Mac OS X and iPhone versions are in the works.)

So is Trillian Astra the best multi-protocol instant messaging client yet? My own vote is theirs…what about yours?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Get Updates From All Your Social Networks With OrSiSo (4)
• Why I’m Digging Digsby (31)
• Threadsy – Integrates Your Email and Social Networks (+Invites) (24)
• Stay Socially Connected Online With Yoono (18)
• 5 Reasons Digsby’s A Must-Have IM Client (30)

This information was cause for a lot of indignant responses regarding whether Digsby is secure, which in turn led to a somewhat startled reaction from the Digsby team. In a few days, they had explained everything in several blog posts, and took serious efforts to clarify matters with their current users, as well as making the avoidance of these ‘unwanted features’ easier.

Personally, I’m siding with Digsby here. They’ve done some great things for us so far, but such a support – understandingly – can’t be kept up and running without the income of at least some money. As such, I didn’t think a moment about switching, and am still a fervent Digsby supporter.

However, I can understand that not all people are as focused when installing a piece of software. Most people just flick through an install, clicking yes and accept where ever it’s necessary. For those people, it’s important to know what they are doing — more specifically, where not to press ‘Accept’ if they want a secure ad-free install if Digsby.

In this article we’ll highlight the ad-ware placements in the installer, as well as tell you how to disable certain revenue features afterwards to make Digsby secure.

1. A Safe Installer

Digsby normally tries to install using InstallQ. This is an installer container which downloads Digsby and tries to install several other applications. The easiest way around is to use the additional installer.

This installer – which can be used to install to a USB drive (or if you’ve got trouble with InstallQ) is located bottom-right on the download page. If you can manage to ignore the big download button, you’ve avoided most of the problems already.

Contrary to InstallQ, this installer does not ask permission to install third-party software. You’ll have your lovely chat-application, and that’s that. Just make sure to uncheck the browser modifications at the end if you’re happy about your current homepage and search engine.

2. Keep a Look Out

As said before, the easiest way to keep clear of any ad-ware is to use the additional installer. If, however, you want to keep using the InstallQ package, this is where you have to tred carefully.

To install the application, it’s necessary to agree upon their terms. That’s 1 accept.

On the three succeeding screens, however, you can decline without stopping the installation process. Accepting here will install ad-ware, third-party applications that will bother you with (amongst other things) shopping notifications.

After a few declines, you’ll be safe from ad-ware harm. Just choose which search engine you’ll want to use (actually, both are good, so there’s no harm there) and you’re on your way to enjoy Digsby.

Disable Digsby ‘Research’

Another source of Digsby’s income lies in their ‘research’. They use your idle processing power (when you haven’t touched your computer for a while), to conduct research (e.g. testing out AIDS models, or optimizing grain molecules).

This is actually a pretty non-intrusive way for them to earn money and I would advise you to leave it on.

Nevertheless, people should have the benefit of choice, and might even have a reason to decline participation if they’re on a low-spec computer, or are trying to keep the electricity bills down.

Turning this off is as easy as navigating to Tools -> Preferences -> Support Digsby and hitting Disable. I urge you to read the other options as well, and do everything you can agree on to support a great, free application and keep it free.

I hope you’ve learned something from this article, and will be able to benefit from it. If you’ve got anything to say, or got a remark to make, you can do so in the comments section below. We’d love to hear your stance on alternative monetizing techniques.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• [Quick Tip] Stop Pidgin Spam in Its Tracks with Bot Sentry (26)
• Why I’m Digging Digsby (31)
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• Tokbox & Etherpad: Potential Google Wave Competitors, Available Now (11)
• Pimp Your Digsby With Skins And Emoticons (14)

One of its most important features is the seamless integration of real-time collaboration tools. It’s actually fairly complicated to explain what it is, because a proper definition would have to encompass both developer and consumer aspects of the product and we have yet to receive invitations to the service.

I don’t particularly appreciate sensationalistic titles, either in print or online media but today’s title accurately reflects the content of this article. By adding support for Etherpad inside their already comprehensive communication web app, Tokbox just created the ultimate online communication tool.

Let’s take it one step at a time and take a look at Tokbox, a San Francisco start-up with some very smart people at the helm;  Tokbox is an online video chat application that implements basically all the functionality of Skype minus the mobile and landline phone support.

It’s free, it’s got an awesome interface and supports more concurrent video streams than your bandwidth can handle (more than 20 people in a conference call according to the Tokbox homepage). That alone is a great product, but there’s more; it’s got a multi-platform chat client, just type in your Yahoo!, GTalk, MSN or AOL credentials; free video ‘voicemail’ and integration with all the web services you might want: inline YouTube videos, Picasa & Flickr picture slideshows, Slideshare presentations, and notifications for MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.

You’d expect a feature-rich application like that to be destined for your local hard drive, but the fact is that it works amazingly well online. If someone paid attention to past reviews of web applications – it’s these developers. Not only is the interface simple and intuitive, it’s also got power – detailed privacy settings, an Adobe Flash helper for guiding the user to the necessary steps to enable the webcam and microphone and a task list that takes the guessing out and walks the user through the available features.

Etherpad on the other hand, was created by a group of former Google employees with some support from Y Combinator and a couple of fellows from FriendFeed. It started out as “what might be both the ugliest and most useful group productivity app”, at  least that’s how  TechCrunch put it back in November 2008.

Now, Etherpad is all grown-up and its design, while it still remains rugged, is considerably improved. If you’ve seen the Google Wave demo, you’ll immediately catch the grip of Etherpad: collaborative online text editing, all happening live and with different color highlighting for each participant.

Now imagine a video conference call with your friends, planning a vacation and writing down the itinerary; discussing features and design with a client; proofreading an article with your editor; or collaborating on a project with someone from school. That’s what this amazing web app duo achieves.

This functionality is basically what we all expect to see coming from Google Wave. Although you might think the opposite, these two start-ups already have a leg up compared to Google’s vertical solution; they already integrate with existing web services and user habits: pop in a Slideshare, a Flickr slideshow or integrate a chat window in Facebook. If these two have an Achilles heel, it’s the brand awareness and sheer number users Google has in its grasp. Until Google Wave proves me wrong – I’m declaring Tokbox+Etherpad the best web applications of the year.

Check out Tokbox and Etherpad, then remember to come back and share your impressions. For more cool reviews of web applications visit the category page.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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The idea of OrSiSo is to organize, keep track of and communicate with all your friends across all these networks. I certainly have been looking for a program which does just this.

As an instant-messaging client, OrSiSo doesn’t offer many options or frills, but does well as a chat client, especially with a combined buddy-list from all your networks. It’s worth noting that hyperlinks aren’t yet supported in the chat; I hope that this is fixed in a future release.

Pop-up alerts are per network, and are treated like pages which you can flip through if you wish. Hyperlinks work here, and updates can be paused if and when you’re busy.

Photo albums can be viewed from within the program; there’s no need to open a new browser window or tab. That’s definitely convenient.

The best and most unique features of OrSiSo are so-called the Social Craft and the Social Firewall. These settings let you organize your various “circles” of friends through drag-and-drop lists, and then customize which updates you see. In the example above, I’ve organized everyone into one of four circles, with the fourth circle reserved for persons from whom I don’t particularly care to hear from (I find myself regretting the mass-follow I did a couple months ago). You can filter received messages and updates by social circles just about anywhere in the program.

OrSiSo’s makers promise that their program will let you Organize, Simplify, and Socialize. I’ve found it easy to learn, use and is very well-rounded with features. Does it do the trick for you? Let us know in the comments.

For more cool Adobe Air applications, check out these posts:

• 8 Adobe AIR Apps that DON’T Suck
• 5 More Cool Adobe AIR Applications
• 8 Useful Adobe AIR Applications That Work In Linux
• 4 Adobe AIR ToDo List Apps For Managing Your Tasks

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• 5 Reasons Digsby’s A Must-Have IM Client (30)
• Trillian Astra – Is It the Best Instant Messaging Client Now? (16)
• Threadsy – Integrates Your Email and Social Networks (+Invites) (24)
• Stay Socially Connected Online With Yoono (18)
• Why I’m Digging Digsby (31)

The first step is buying them a Windows Mobile cellphone. The next is loading it with the coolest downloads that any college kid would love.

1. Give Them Instant Access to Blogs With HubDog

In today’s academic world, students are gathering just as much information for research and homework help from blogs as they do from other “official” informational sites.  Blogs often provide valuable links and resources, but with added commentary that helps students understand concepts.  Bloggers are almost free tutors for college students, and blogs have become an invaluable resource.

One of the best mobile apps to stay connected with your favorite blogs is HubDog, which provides access to blogs and news, as well as an integrated music and video podcast player.

I mostly use Hubdog to stay on top of the latest gadgets and technology news, but if you click on “Discover,” there are countless topics you can choose from. As you can see on the right, the blog and news updates are displayed in an easy to read format on your mobile screen, with nice clear pictures and easy touch screen or keypad navigation.

2. Use vTap To Watch Videos Or Research On Wikipedia

Every time I find myself trapped in an airport terminal, or waiting in a doctor’s office, I find myself firing up vTap to pass the time.  Travis previously reviewed vTap here. Whether it’s passing an hour between classes or looking for the latest news, vTap offers students access to thousands of streaming video clips.

The video content students can access through vTap include categories such as news, sports, movies, music and more. Trust me, it’s impossible to get bored with this app on your mobile phone, and the feeds are constantly updated with new content all the time.

I’ve attempted to use mobile video streaming sites before, and I’ve always been disappointed by quality. To test vTap’s video streaming capabilities, I downloaded a clip of the trailer for the movie Twilight.  To my surprise, using a standard AT&T cellphone data network, the file downloaded in under two minutes and the video quality was surprisingly good.

The screenshot above doesn’t do it much justice, but considering the screen size and the fact that the video was streamed over a cellphone network, the quality was better than any I’d seen before. Although keep in mind that vTap serves an international audience, so read the titles carefully so that you know what language the videos are in before you download it.

And should students have the need to conduct instant research on Wikipedia in class?  vTap now offers instant, searchable access to all Wikipedia content. This fact alone makes vTap an extremely valuable mobile research tool.

3. Access to Instant 24 Hour Streaming Radio With Mundu Radio

At the very center of almost every student’s life is music. College students listen to music while walking to class in the morning, while waiting between classes, or while working out at the gym. One of the greatest benefits to having a Windows Mobile device is access to the Internet, where there are countless sources of streaming radio stations broadcasting 24 hours a day.

Mundu Radio gives students the ability to plug headphones into their mobile device and transform it into a music machine, no matter where they are. The application provides a long list of music genres to choose from, and a nice clean player interface with simple controls to play and stop the music or adjust the volume.

Let’s face it, most students don’t have the cash to keep buying MP3’s to download. And the last thing you want is your kid dumping their scholarship money (or your savings account money) into music downloads. Mundu radio lets a poor (or frugal) college student listen to great music 24 hours a day without spending a dime.

4. Find Wi-Fi Hotspots Anywhere With WeFi

Now here’s a secret for parents considering purchasing a Windows Mobile device for their kid, but unsure about the expensive monthly data charge. Another alternative is to do what many mobile laptop users do – go hunting for Wi-Fi hot spots.

WeFi lets you search for an active network within range, where you can run unlimited data transfers at no cost.  David mentioned WeFi in our article about WiFi hotspot finders, and Tehseen reviewed it as well. These days, there are free Wi-Fi networks everywhere, and most universities have Wi-Fi across an entire campus.

WeFi offers a useful Wi-Fi map tool on their website displaying free Wi-Fi networks near you.  Just have a look at the Boston area for example – no problem finding free Internet access there!

The application, installed on the mobile device, has a nice, simple interface and is easy to use. After installation, it includes a status display on the “desktop” that shows the current wi-fi network that’s connected as well as the connection status.

Launching the application (as shown on the right), displays all of the available hotspots in your area, and lets you choose which network to connect to, as well as entering any login details if required (like on a university network.)  With this app, a student can quickly connect to any free hotspot with just a few clicks.

5. A MiTo Doodle Pad for Those Boring Classes

Every student ends up taking one of those classes – the boring lecture or the terribly dull class where there’s any place else that you’d rather be. The solution for that boredom is the addictive MiTo Team Paint app. Pull out your mobile phone and launch this paint application, and get to work doodling your work of art.

The application lets you pick whether you’ll draw with a pen or a sprayer, and you choose from 7 basic colors, or use the RGB selector for more color options.

As you can see, some of us are a bit more gifted in the “art” department than others…

6. Always Stay Connected When You’re Mobile With Fring

As usual, I’ve saved the best for last. There are few mobile apps out there that have the functionality and capacity to keep you connected with all of your social networks in one easy to use application. Fring pulls it off in style. Aibek listed it as one of 20 apps that should be on your mobile and David listed it on his 5 cool mobile apps list.

This particular mobile app gets high reviews for good reason. These days, students have accounts on many social networks like Facebook, Skype and MSN. Having an application that gathers all of those contacts in one place where you can chat when you’re mobile is a very useful tool.

Adding your networks is as simple as clicking on the icon and entering your logon credentials. Even the Facebook display shows your current status, friends, and all of the details listed under your account.  The tabs on the bottom let you flip between chat sessions with your friends. This particular mobile app is a student’s dream come true. They’ll never need to spend another moment offline again.

Are you a college student with a Windows Mobile phone? What are your favorite mobile apps? Share your opinions in the comments section below.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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One app I like in particular is called Palringo (iTunes Link). The major difference between Palringo and other IM clients for the iPhone is that it is a multi-protocol client. That means you cannot only use your AIM account, but also your Yahoo!, Windows Live, and Google Talk accounts (and more, seen on the right). Palringo isn’t the only multi-protocol client, but compared to the other few I have seen thus far, it is definitely the most refined.

Another great feature is the interface. While Palringo is a multi-platform client (meaning it can run on multiple types of machines), this review will only cover the iPhone’s specific interface. To be brief: it’s great! It is not a simple “port” or recreation of the original interface (though it is somewhat similar). Instead, it was designed with the device in mind.

At the top of the screen there are three central buttons that let you switch between your accounts, your chat groups, and your contacts. The “accounts” pane is where account configuration takes place. The “chat groups” pane allows you to create chat rooms where multiple users can interact. The last pane, the “contacts” pane, is the most important. It lists all the people from your various buddy lists on one unified list. Unfortunately there are no “groups” like in other chat clients. Available users are listed at the top and offline users are shown below. There is a handy search box at the top to prevent massive scrolling, though.

Clicking any contact, as expected, brings up a new chat window. In the chat pane there are several options. The first is a simple chat window that brings up the keyboard. One critique here is that the text is very small and makes typing pretty difficult. The other options include sending an image, adding the other user as a contact, or sending a voice message.

The last option is one of the coolest things about Palringo. If you click the word-bubble icon, the App brings up a bar for you to hold down with your finger. While you’re holding it down, the iPhone’s mic turns on and records a short message. After you let go, it will immediately stop recording and send your message. In Palringo, the message shows as a “play” button, but your friend will likely see a link. After testing it a number of times, I can say that this feature works well, but sometimes it can cut off the last bit of your sentence unexpectedly.

Another neat feature is the ability to move in 4 directions through the interface. When scanning your buddy list, a standard up or down flick will scroll through it. If you have multiple chat windows open, though, flicking left or right (like in the iPhone’s picture viewer) will change from one chat window to another. It takes some getting used to because the difference between the motions is very slight for the first centimeter or so. Once you understand how Palringo responds, though, the convenience of the left-right flick more than makes up for any accidental scrolling.

There are more features in Palringo, but hopefully you get the gist of the app. It has some of the limitations inherent to all 3rd party apps. For instance, because the iPhone won’t run background processes, going to the home screen closes Palringo and signs you off. There is no logging feature (which I believe is possible under the iPhone SDK) so any chats you had before closing the app are lost. Even so, the client passes all of my general benchmarks for a good IM client and I will definitely use this one for any of my messaging needs.

[rating=3]

What are some of your favorite iPhone IM clients? Does this one do it for you or is there something else out there that’s better?

(By) Jimmy Rogers is a biology major at George Mason University and an avid freelance tech blogger. Check out his blog, Mason Tech Beat.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Why I’m Digging Digsby (31)
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• 3 Web-Based IM Clients For Chatting The Night Away (14)
• 15 Addons to Enhance your Instant Messenger (16)

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!

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New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Turn Your IM Program Into A Productivity Tool Using Imified (23)
• Get RSS feed updates in your IM program with ZapTXT (2)
• 5 Online Instant Messaging Services to Chat with Friends (16)
• 5 Cool Windows Mobile Apps To Have On Your Phone (29)
• 15 Addons to Enhance your Instant Messenger (16)

In your comments a few were from people who had tried Digsby a while ago and found it too buggy to be a serious alternative to their current chat client. Despite being less then a year old, it came third in our poll about favorite Instant Messaging client. I can now confidently say that after the number of recent updates, Digsby is at a point where I can now confidently say it should be perfectly safe to download and try. Errors, CPU spikes and especially RAM usage have been considerably optimized over the last few weeks.

If, like Keith , you’ve been using another application for some time and have all your chats logged then it may be a bit of a deterrent when deciding to switch to Digsby. This is no longer a concern. Chris, one of the Digsby developers, dropped in and left a comment saying that you could now convert all your old log files with the Digsby log converter. I recommend this handy tool.

A few days ago on his own blog fellow Make Use Of writer Shankar linked to Digsbies Themes , a new and growing resource for Digsby skins and tools. Although at this point there isn’t a huge number to choose from, I’ve made a selection of what I think are the best three skins available.

To install a new skin:

Installing these skins is pretty simple. After downloading the folder, you’ll have to unzip it into your Digsby folders. It’s likely Digsby will be in a path similar to these:

C:\Documents and Settings\YourName\Application Data\Digsby\Skins\

C:\Program Files\Digsby\res\Skins\

Choose either your user folder or the program folder. You will need to reveal hidden files if you want to find Digsby in your application data. If you install the skin in the program files, you will find future Digsby updates will erase the data, so it’s preferable to install it in the user data. Once you have done this you can activate skins by opening Digsby and going to Tools > Preferences > Skins > and selecting your theme.

Top 3 Digsby Skins

This skin is “an extensive make-over which makes Digsby look like Windows Live Messenger for those who like the look of Live messenger or just like the clean modern style which is popular these days.based upon the Windows Live is a very nice theme which borrows the Windows Live look.”

This is my favourite and in my opinion is currently the best Digsby theme. You can get it here.

AeRoyale

XP Royale is a theme that didn’t make into the original XP release but was made available for download a couple of years later. Long Zheng managed to find an alternative black version which he released unofficially on his blog .

AeRoyale is a very nice Digsby theme which combines elements of the XP Royale theme and Vista Aero. A good combination of the two and designed to fit well into both desktops.

OSX Leopard

This theme is a fairly good attempt at designing a Digsby theme to mimic the look and feel of MacOSX. . Digsby is available for download on both PC and Mac, so if you’re already using MacOSX this may be perfect for getting Digsby to fit in nicely with the rest of your desktop. Get it here

Emoticons

One other thing that may annoy you about using Digsby is having to use a new set of emoticons. Luckily Digsbies.org has all the smileys for the main chat networks. You can download and install these in much the same way as the skins, just look for Digsby\res\emoticons\ in your files.

In the emoticons folder rename “default” to something like “default-backup”. Copy the emoticons folder (example: MSNemoticons) in your downloaded zip file to C:\Program Files\Digsby\res\emoticons\ so that you have e.g. C:\Program Files\Digsby\res\emoticons\MSNEMOTICONS\angel.gif. Rename it to “default” and open up Digsby.

Here are a some of the most well known smiley packs:

A useful tip for using Digsby is that you can use keypad shortcuts to rapidly control some of the features and dismiss the notifications window with a right click. I find that one particularity useful as although I like having notifications, sometimes they pop up at the wrong time and annoy me.

Lastly, if I still haven’t persuaded you to give Digsby a go then why don’t you check out this this Make Use Of list of the best alternative multi-messaging applications around.

Laurence John feels over his head on the internet, too many people, too much to learn… however he tries his best and even has a new blog over at ShippingSeven.com where he is chronicling the ongoing development of Windows 7.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Why I’m Digging Digsby (31)
• Pidgin – Tips and Tricks (23)
• MakeUseOf Your iPhone: Palringo Instant Messenger (9)
• 3 Web-Based IM Clients For Chatting The Night Away (14)
• 15 Addons to Enhance your Instant Messenger (16)

If you want instant message aggregation, there are a number of applications. You could try Trillian, Pidgin or any number of other lightweight multi-messaging applications. Or you could check out Digsby and for me there is no choice.

I have been using Digsby since it was in early beta, and it has rapidly became a favourite of mine. Digsby is a messaging application that integrates instant messaging with easy access to your email and social networks:

Here are some of the best features of Digsby in my opinion:

Customisation

The Digsby team encourages people to customize the application how they wish. This includes skins, themes, layout, notifications and conversations.

Most elements can be modified in some way. This includes status
(the coloured dots), messaging network logos, buddy avatars and names.

If you are using a number of major messaging networks then you have the options to control what information to be displayed to contacts on each, such as an “away” status for MSN contacts and a status showing ‘available’ for Google Talk.

Messaging + Email + Social Networks

The biggest problem with bringing social networks to the desktop is often the hugely disruptive notifications you constantly receive (ahem… Twitter).

Out of the applications I have tried, Digsby has maybe the least disruptive way of providing notifications. If you would prefer no pop-up notifications at all, you can choose to have them displayed down on your task bar which is pretty handy.

Conversations are logged and archived if you choose. If you need to find something later you can search for text or browse dates.

A contact on two of your networks can become one merged contact, and re-named if you wish, so you no longer have to put up with people changing their display names every 2 minutes.

Digsby can also be synchronized between installations so any preferences and themes are not lost.

Digsby is still in beta, and not the trendy Web 2.0 beta. You may notice occasional dropouts and bugs, but updates are frequent – sometimes as often as once a week, and performance has been steadily improving with time. Well worth having a look at.

Are you using Digsby for instant messaging or have you used it? What do you think of it? Is it a worthy contender to Trillian and Pidgin? What do you like and hate about it? What features do you like the best? Tell us in the comments!

(By) Laurence John finds himself way over his head on the Internet. Too many places, too much people. But that’s okay, being a Uni student he already has too much time on his hands. He is going to write on his blog Not Waving But Drowning … as soon as he stops fiddling with WordPress templates and plugins and gets on with it!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Trillian Astra – Is It the Best Instant Messaging Client Now? (16)
• Pimp Your Digsby With Skins And Emoticons (14)
• Pidgin – Tips and Tricks (23)
• MakeUseOf Your iPhone: Palringo Instant Messenger (9)
• Get Updates From All Your Social Networks With OrSiSo (4)

So I have decided to make a list of five alternative chat MSN applications out there for Mac OS X that have better functionality and allow you to customize the look and feel of the application.

(1) Adium

Many Mac users will most likely have heard of Adium. Adium is probably the biggest multi-protocol instant messaging application that there is for Mac. It can connect to AIM, MSN, Jabber, Yahoo and several others. Adium uses the libpurple library for most of its functionality so it is very stable. Adium allows users to customize almost anything within the application such as the buddylist window, chat window, sound sets, dock icon, status icons, plugins, apple scripts and so on.

The only downside to Adium is that, like MSN Messenger OS X, it doesn’t support video chats or chatting with a microphone. Overall however Adium is probably the most stable and most customizable messaging application there is out there for MSN on Mac OS X.

(2) Proteus

Proteus is a Cocoa application so it runs at native speeds on OS X. Proteus doesn’t just support MSN – it also supports AIM, ICQ, Yahoo and Jabber. Just like every other MSN client in this application so far, Proteus also allows customization of the contacts list, messaging window, sound set and status icons.

Proteus also allows for SMS forwarding in case you’re away from your computer and waiting for an important message from someone. I really like Proteus and think that it has some nice effects that finish the application off nicely and make it a nice application to have open. A downside to Proteus though is, just like Adium, it doesn’t support video chat.

(3) Fire

Fire is identical to Proteus as it is also a Cocoa application. So it also runs at native speeds on OS X and supports many IM clients (7 in total), not just MSN.

Fire is quite a nice application and lets you customize the sound sets, add feature plugins and choose between visual themes. It’s also open source so if there’s a feature which you would like to add to it and you know your way around XCode then you can.

(4) Mercury Messenger

Mercury Messenger is a Java based MSN application and because it’s Java, it also works with Windows and Linux.

A great feature about Mercury Messenger is that it supports video chat. Just this feature alone makes Mercury Messenger an essential application that you need on your Mac if you want to video chat to your friends and clients on MSN. You can also stream video files over your webcam stream which is a really cool feature. Mercury Messenger is customizable but not to the extent that you can customize Adium. With Mercury Messenger you can add plugins, change the skin and add custom emoticons to friends but that’s as far as customization with Mercury Messenger goes.

A nice thing about Mercury Messenger is that it is portable and can run from a USB memory stick. So you can load up Mercury Messenger and use it from any computer with the internet access.

(5) aMSN

aMSN is much like Mercury Messenger because it’s Java based and it runs on Windows and Linux as well as OS X. aMSN also supports video chat just like Mercury Messenger. Additionally is also supports video conferencing (unlike Mercury Messenger).

aMSN comes in about 40 languages worldwide so if you don’t speak very good English then download the version of aMSN in your own language. A nice feature about aMSN is that it allows you to send and receive voice clips just like Windows Live Messenger for Windows. With aMSN you can also sign into more than one MSN account at once without having to open up other MSN clients.

Just like Adium and Mercury Messenger, aMSN also has tabbed windows to keep all your current messaging windows together and organized. Plugins and skins are also supported with aMSN so you can customize the application up a bit.

6. Honorable Mention (Pidgin)

Pidgin was originally compiled for Windows and Linux but if you do a little bit of searching around Google you can find ways how to port Pidgin over to OS X in just a few minutes. Pidgin is a very nice application and definitely worth checking out. If you’re interested check our post on Pidgin Tips here.

(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

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• 3 Web-Based IM Clients For Chatting The Night Away (14)
• 15 Addons to Enhance your Instant Messenger (16)
• [Quick Tip] Stop Pidgin Spam in Its Tracks with Bot Sentry (26)
• Why I’m Digging Digsby (31)
• Turn Your IM Program Into A Productivity Tool Using Imified (23)

Multi Protocol Instant Messengers

Not add-ons, really, but these multi-protocol IMs help a lot in connecting to people from various networks – you need not necessarily have to install every other Instant Messaging software around. Give them a go!

Pidgin – Probably the most popular multi protocol Instant Messaging client out there, supporting a wide number of platforms, including Skype. There a number of enhancements you could add to it, read our Pidgin Tips or go to Lifehacker’s article on how to customize it.

Digsby – New on the block, but doing really well. Connect to multiple messaging networks, receive emails, and even associate your Facebook account and get notifications about your Facebook contacts. You can email directly from the chat window without opening your browser. See the above screenshot.

Trillian Basic – The most professional multiprotocol instant messenger, has a very skinnable user interface.

AIRTalkr – Built on the Adobe AIR Platform, this is a primitive software (a bit buggy), but nevertheless, it looks very cool and you can easily keep track of what your friends are up to in a variety of social networking sites, including Flickr, MySpace, etc.

Check out some more alternatives, including chat clients for mobile phones at previously posted Multi-protocol instant messengers.

Addons that Work with most Instant Messengers

HyperIM – If you’re online simultaneously in many clients, this one is for you. This brilliant status manager and changer can work along with Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, Live Messenger, Skype and lets you keep dynamic statuses. Uses macros and variables to set the status.

Like, for example, I’m listening to %mSong% will insert the song name that’s currently playing on your media player across all instant messenger statuses. There are a wide variety of plugins you could add to HyperIM, for instance, there’s a plugin that works with uTorrent and shows off your torrent uploading/downloading statistics to your buddies.

IMHistory – This tool is in the Make Use Of directory, very very useful for archiving your chats across multiple IMs online so that you can access them from anywhere. It also comes highly recommended by Mark who has used it for a long time to tame his wild chat logs.

IMified – Unique productivity addon that brings lots of essential applications to your chat program (Gtalk/Jabber, AIM, MSN Messenger). Simply add IMified as a contact and you will able to access and use growing number of web applications right from the messenger window. It’s your personal assistant that can be your to do list, reminder service, calendar, Twitter client, and more.

FeedCrier – FeedCrier lets you setup notification alerts for favorite feeds and get them delivered to your instant messenger. Supports AIM , MSN Messenger and Jabber / GTalk. More about FeedCrier here.

Vicito – Vicito delivers latest filtered news to your instant messenger. Simply add relevant Vicito ID to your IM buddy list and tell it what keywords you want it to track and how frequently it should check for the news.

MessenPass – Forgot the password to one of your messenger accounts? Recover it with MessenPass. It works with pretty much every popular IM client, and can be used to extract the IM passwords of the currently logged in user on your computer.

Google Talk Plugins

We’ve Google Talk Add-ons before, here’s a list of stuff you can use along with Gtalk:

g Always Idle – Lets you make your status idle on Google Talk (even though you’re online and using it).

Extended Talk – Adds a ton of funky features to Google Talk, and you could use commands like /signout from the chat window once this addon is installed.

GPlus Addon – Adds more functionality to Gtalk, like graphical smileys, and other font styling. HTML Chat Logging is a good feature.

Yahoo! Messenger Plugins

Winamp Music Status Changer – Puts what’s playing in Winamp in your Yahoo! Messenger Status Message.

Buddy Spy – Shows the real status of your online Yahoo! Buddies, you can find out if any of your buddies are invisible or in stealth mode using this tool

Yahoo Messenger Hider – Hide/Unhide all Yahoo Messenger Windows with a single shortcut key. Useful if you chat from your workplace. Works with Yahoo messenger versions 8.1 and above.

For more Yahoo Messenger plugins go to Yahoo Gallery. There are plenty of user-submitted plugins there.

That’s it. Let me know in the comments if I’ve missed any of your favourite tools!

(By) Shankar Ganesh, a 16 year old Blogger and Freelance Writer from India. He blogs about Computers and Software at Killer Tech Tips

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Turn Your IM Program Into A Productivity Tool Using Imified (23)
• 3 Web-Based IM Clients For Chatting The Night Away (14)
• Why I’m Digging Digsby (31)
• Translation For MSN: Auto Translates Messages While Chatting (17)
• Stay Socially Connected Online With Yoono (18)

Never a day goes by without automated robots sending me instant messages inviting me to talk dirty with them or to go to a certain website to stock up on my Viagra tablets. Now normally I would just block them but this only really works for one or two messages a day.

If you are getting more than a few a day, you may need Bot Sentry. Bot Sentry guards your Pidgin application and disallows anyone not on your contact list from contacting you until they have answered a pre-defined question that you have set :

As you can see, you can decide what question and answer to set and when the person has answered correctly, they can then message you and their user ID will be added to a "white list" so they don’t have to answer the question everytime they want to chat with you.

But make the question easy – don’t write something like "Please give the exact population figure of Transylvania – including all the vampires". Just give an easy question with only one possible answer that a real person can answer right away. Obviously this will stop the automated bots in their tracks and you can now enjoy your day without IM’s popping up inviting you to join the Gay Network.

(By) Mark O’Neill is a blogger, writer and English tutor. Check out his blog at BetterThanTherapy.net

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Pidgin – Tips and Tricks (23)
• Integrate Facebook Chat Into Pidgin Instant Messenger (3)
• Get Notified by SMS When Someone Contacts you on Pidgin (7)
• Why I’m Digging Digsby (31)
• Trillian Astra – Is It the Best Instant Messaging Client Now? (16)

Plugins

Ah! Most Open Source applications allow you to install plugins to add additional features, and Pidgin is no exception. It comes with a set of plugins that are deactivated by default. You can go to Tools >> Plugins to configure them.

Buddy Notes and Buddy Status Notifications are two cool plugins among others in the list. Can’t get enough from Pidgin? Want character counter? Maybe a plugin to synchronize your chat history across multiple PCs? Add more functionality with more plugins. Even more plugins here.

Buddy Pounces

This is a relatively powerful feature in Pidgin, and could turn very useful. Basically, it’s like making Pidgin perform an action when a buddy signs in/out/sends a message and so on.

You could set sound alerts, make Pidgin automatically open the chat window, or execute a command or an application.

So how do you set up Buddy Pounces? Just go Tools >> Buddy Pounces and click ‘Add’ to configure.

Control Idle Status

From Tools >> Preferences >> Status/Idle, you can control settings related to your Idle Status. You can configure Pidgin to report idle status based on keyboard/mouse use, or last message, the minutes before idle status and also set the status message to be displayed if you go idle.

Chat History

You can set Pidgin to log chats and conversations in basic text/html format by going to Tools >> Preferences >> Logging.

Themes

The beauty of Open Source, may be. There are a variety of themes available for Pidgin, and you could grab one yourself and give a new look to the multi protocol IM. Get Pidgin themes from here (search for pidgin).

Customize Fonts

Yes, that’s possible. If you dislike the default font sizes, you can alter them from the Tools >> Preferences >> Conversations dialog box.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• [Quick Tip] Stop Pidgin Spam in Its Tracks with Bot Sentry (26)
• Why I’m Digging Digsby (31)
• Pimp Your Digsby With Skins And Emoticons (14)
• MakeUseOf Your iPhone: Palringo Instant Messenger (9)
• Integrate Facebook Chat Into Pidgin Instant Messenger (3)

• Msn Messenger
• Yahoo Messenger
• AIM / ICQ
• Jabber / Gtalk

Meebo has nicely designed and user friendly interface which makes it look very similar to other desktop messengers. As long as you are on broadband you should not feel any speed difference between Meebo and other desktop messengers like Yahoo messenger or MSN. I have tested it out on 128 kbs (which is very low) broadband connection and did not expereince any lag. I did not try it on dial up but can tell you for sure that it is not a good idea.

I find Meebo very helpful when I am travelling or acces web from somewhere other than home. I can easily access all IM programs in one window from any place as long as there is internet connection. Otherwise, I would still give the preference to the locally installed IM programs, but that’s just my thing. However if you prefer an extra browser window instead of 3,4 separate IM programs running on the background then Meebo is for you. Plus it will take some load off you memory.

Some worth mentioning features include:

(1) Login with one user ID (meebo account) and access all of your mssaging accounts simultaneously.

(2) Rename your contacts as you want them them to appear on your Buddy list. I have more then 100 contacts and it is quite annoying when people change their nicks very often. With this feature you decide what name will appear for any of your contacts.

(3) Access chat history for any of your contacts online.

(4) Some of the popular all-in-one home page services like Netvibes (my favorite) lallow you to inegrate Meebo directly into your home page. This way you can access all IM programs right from your Netvibes page.

That’s all I got for Meebo. There are bunch of other similar services available as well, some of which I may review in the future. Drop me a line if you think there is something better.

• [Quick Tip] Stop Pidgin Spam in Its Tracks with Bot Sentry (26)
• Why I’m Digging Digsby (31)
• Trillian Astra – Is It the Best Instant Messaging Client Now? (16)
• Tokbox & Etherpad: Potential Google Wave Competitors, Available Now (11)
• Pimp Your Digsby With Skins And Emoticons (14)