They saw the light

by Miha Markič 27. September 2006 10:29

There are a ton of different instant messaging (IM) applications out there. And they are all free. However, while their features are remarkably similar there is not a pair of them that can communicate between them IOW you can communicate only using the same application. Isn't this ridiculous? Didn't they hear about standardization?

I have to run at least three different ones if I wish to keep contact with friends and customers. OK, there were/are some hybrid applications that allows you to use different protocols (such as Trillian) but I didn't find it very friendly at the time I tested it (a while ago).

Back to the title - apparently even producers of IM software realized the nonsense of keeping walls between them and started working on cross communication - the pioneers are Microsoft and Yahoo. I certainly hope that others will follow and perhaps one day create an open IM standard.

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Comments (5) -

gesharptes
gesharptes
9/27/2006 12:16:50 PM #

I agree with you! I have Google Talk, MSN Messenger, Skype and Yahoo Messenger to stay in touch with all my friends... and i'm a bit pissed Wink

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Kalpesh
Kalpesh
9/27/2006 1:38:06 PM #

ALthough, this is not a desktop application, check out www.meebo.com

It combines MSN/Yahoo/Gmail all into 1

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Miha Markic
Miha Markic
9/27/2006 2:21:38 PM #

Hi guys, Kalpesh,

I am really not sure whether I want to give my MSN credentials to something called meebo (or anything else). But thanks for the info.

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Oliver Sturm
Oliver Sturm
9/27/2006 2:42:34 PM #

Such an open standard has been available for a number of years, namely XMPP (http://www.xmpp.org/). The most famous implementation of it (and the origin, I believe) is Jabber (http://www.jabber.org), but there are others which use the same standard, prominently Google Talk (http://www.google.com/talk/).

I'm sure, as usual, there are loads of reasons why Microsoft doesn't consider that standard sufficient and Google does. I don't quite believe we'll see an end to IM incompatibilities anytime soon... meanwhile I'm using Miranda (http://www.miranda-im.org), which is so flexible together with all its free plugins that it really doesn't leave much to be desired.

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gesharptes
gesharptes
9/29/2006 11:04:54 PM #

btw. google talk is now open for all (not just for gmail users)

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Miha Markic

About me
Righthand
 
Microsoft MVP
 
Developer Express' DXSquad
INETA Country Leader for Slovenia
INETA Country Leader for Slovenia
Slovene Developer Users Group Lead
Friends of Red-Gate
LLBLGenPro Partner

Miha currently works as a free lance consultant and software developer specialized in .net area.
He graduated in Computer and information science at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. He has accumulated experience in various programming languages such as Java, Visual Basic 3-6 (MCP), Visual C++, Delphi, C# and VB.Net through years.
He has experience in practically all (technical) stages of project development, including planning, framework development, user interface, business processes, as well as testing and documenting. He has worked on big and small projects in Slovenia and abroad (e.g. participated in completing level 3 IS for the Nucor steel plant, Hertford, USA).
Currently he enjoys programming in .net environment using C#. Since 2000 he has been active in Developer Express' DX Squad and has been ECDL trainer and tester. He also gives lectures on conferences and other events in Slovenia.

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