Windows only: Freeware instant messaging application Digsby, which boasts integration not only across chat networks but also with your email and social networking web sites, has come out of private beta and added a few more spicy features. Among them, Digsby has added Twitter support, inline spell checking, and audio/video chat with TokBox, the same service Meebo is using to add A/V chat to their service. Aside from the perks that come with most cross-service chat apps (i.e., seamless connections to different IM services from one place), Digsby goes the extra mile by updating real-time newsfeeds from Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. The app is still freeware, Windows only, though they’re still promising Mac and Linux versions.
Google Talk has released a new chatback feature allowing people visiting your blog, online profile, or personal web page to chat directly with you via Google Talk. To use chatback on your web site or supported personal profile page, all you need is a Google Talk account and some web space where you can embed the chatback badge code. Any user who wants to chat with you through the chatback badge doesn’t need a Google Talk account at all, so it’s a great way to let friends, family, or readers of your blog, for example, contact you quickly and easily without needing to register for anything. Google Talk chatback [via Official Google Talk Blog]
Gmail Chat has finally added the ability to mask your presence – the one feature which to my IM-phobic mind makes instant messaging bearable. The Google Operating System has written up the new feature, which allows you to set your status to “Invisible”. This has obvious productivity benefits – you can check and see if your contacts are online, but won’t be bothered by anyone trying to contact you.Note, however, that if you use other flavours of Google Talk (ie the gadget or desktop app) you won’t be able to change your status to invisible because they don’t support the new feature yet – it’s been applied to Gmail Chat first. It’s also only available for the new version of GMail (supported in IE7 and Firefox 2).
Earlier today we showed you how to set your Google Talk status to “idle”, but if you don’t to be pinged with “Are you there?” enquiries, the “Invisible” setting may be the way to go.
Invisible Mode in Gmail Chat [Google Operating System]
Windows only: Google Talk is, as weblog Digital Inspiration puts it, an extremely honest application, inasmuch as it will only display your status as idle when you truly are idle. But if you aren’t keen on your IM buddies being aware of what you’re doing, Google Talk’s fidelity to the truth can be irritating. Freeware application gAlwaysIdle allows you to set your idle status on Google Talk, either to always idle or never idle. If you don’t want to sign out of IM but you want to discourage random IMs, gAlwaysIdle may be a good solution. gAlwaysIdle (which we’ve mentioned once before in passing) is freeware, Windows only. gAlwaysIdle [via Digital Inspiration]
Windows only: Newly released chat application Digsby consolidates instant messaging, email, text messaging, and social networking into one very slick chat application. As far as IM, Digsby covers all the major players, from AIM to Google Talk; it handles Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, or virtually any POP or IMAP account for email; and it supports updates of all the latest happenings on your Facebook or MySpace profile. As far as full-on consolidation of hot social web tools right now, the only thing really missing is Twitter integration. Currently Digsby is Windows only in private beta (use code lifehacker to sign up), but Mac and Linux versions are purportedly on the way. It’s not open source like Pidgin or Adium (which it looks very much like), but the all-inclusive integration is probably enough to lure a lot of IM users to its warm embrace. Flip through the gallery (hit the jump for more) to get a closer look at everything Digsby’s got to offer. galleryPost('Digsby', 2, '', 'grid'); Digsby
Windows/Mac/Linux: Coccinella, a free Jabber chat client, is robust enough on its own instant messaging terms, with tabbed chat windows, foreign language support, and an easily theme-able interface. But what really sets it apart is its integration of a great whiteboard tool that’s easily shared and forwarded between you and your chat partners. The whiteboard has the basic features of Microsoft Paint, but that’s a step up from many black-and-white board tools we’ve seen. I couldn’t get Coccinella working with my Google Talk/Gmail account during a quick setup test, but the features are likely there for integration. Coccinella is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. For more whiteboard tools, check out the no-registration-required Scriblink or GE’s instant online whiteboard.
Coccinella [via Confessions of a Freeware Junkie (del.icio.us)]Shortly before Christmas, Google tweaked its Google Reader product so your shared items are automatically shared with your Google Talk contacts. CNET’s News blog pointed out that Google had been spanked for this privacy faux pas, and the company’s official blog has admitted the slip, saying “we underestimated the number of users who were using the Share button to send stories to a limited number of people”. It’s worth checking out Google’s official post on the matter, as it runs you through how to selectively share items with your friends, how to tweak your “friends” list and how to clear your shared items list.
It’s no secret that Google’s desktop chat application, Google Talk, has been somewhat stagnant, particularly in comparison to the major jumps that have been taken with the web-based chat app. Web site MakeUseOf has rounded up three different Google Talk add-ons designed to add more functionality to Google’s lagging chat application: gAlwaysIdle, GPlus, and Extended Talk. The first let’s you set yourself as idle manually so you can avoid distractions when you need to get to work or set it to never switch to idle in those event when you don’t want people to know you’re away from your computer; GPlus adds tons of personalization features for the customization lover and local chat logging; and Extended Talk adds productivity features like text expansion for commonly used features (sort of like Texter). If you’re a desktop Google Talk lover looking for a bit more control, these add-ons are a nice kick in GTalk’ stagnant butt. With that in mind, I’m wondering:
Addons to Make Google Talk Better [MakeUseOf]Google has integrated translation tools into its Google Talk and GChat interfaces through the use of chat bots. To have a line translated from English to French, for instance, invite en2fr@bot.talk.google.com to chat, then simply chat the line you want to see translated. The bots use Google Translate as their back end, which, as one Blogoscoped commenter notes, has quite a few languages in rough beta, so this tool should mainly be used for casual or on-point word or line translations. For more translation tools and tips, try Wendy’s guide to translation sites.
Merry Christmas, God Jul and 圣诞快乐 [via Google Blogoscoped]Google Reader enthusiasts have likely already noticed that Reader has now integrated with Google Talk to make your shared items available to your Google Talk friends inside Reader and vice versa. That means that whenever you share an item in Google Reader, that item will automatically pop up in any of your GTalk friends’ Reader accounts under the Friends’ shared items section. This is a simple but brilliant tweak to Reader, bringing your friends’ favourite items into your Reader account without any work from you; if you don’t care for the content a friend regularly shares, you can choose to selectively hide friends.
Reader and Talk are Friends! [Official Google Reader Blog]
