Posted 09/18/09 at 08:09:24 AM by Paul Lilly

We have a love-hate relationship with Digsby. On one hand, we love the multi-protocol instant messaging app, which not only covers all the major IM clients, but also keeps us connected to Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking services. But we hate the stockpile of bloatware Digsby stuffs into its installer. On top of it all, Digsby had come under fire recently for its hidden distributed computing research module, which hijacks CPU cycles to make the company money.

You spoke, and Digsby listened.  In a blog post on Thursday, the company announced a new version of Digsby sporting a new "user-friendly installer." Gone are all the adware solicitations replaced by a single option to install the Digsby Ask Toolbar, though it does make a last ditch attempt to toss in couple of search options after it's finished installing. And this time around, Digsby is being upfront about its research module, both during the installation process and with a new tab to the preferences window.

"Blasting ads all over our product is the last thing we want to do so we will keep experimenting with unique, non-intrusive models like these," Digsby stated.

Digsby

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Posted 09/08/09 at 06:04:14 PM by Jason Barry

AOL has begun integrating its popular instant messaging service with two other social networking moguls: Facebook and Twitter.  In July, they released a beta version of the AIM Client that connected the services to the application.  With the updated beta version you were able to view friends’ status updates from Facebook and tweets from Twitter.

In a more recent update to the beta client, AIM now also gives you the power to update your Facebook status, as well as tweet from your Twitter account, all from within the AIM client.  The updated “Lifestream” section of the application also features integration into other popular networking tools such as Flickr and YouTube.

A seemingly smart move by AOL, they’ve moved past their competitors, Yahoo Messenger and Live Messenger, by providing these additional, and in some cases, exclusive features.

Find more information about the AIM beta client and download a copy yourself here.

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Posted 07/19/08 at 05:57:57 PM by Justin Kerr

Instant messaging is a great way to stay in touch, but anybody who uses it extensively knows the pain of having friends spread out over different services. Ever install a bulky and bloated IM client for just one friend? Or wished you could instant message all your groupies without running 5 different chat clients in the system tray? Well IM providers and a handful of crafty open source programmers have listened to our cries. Free browser-based alternatives exist for all the major platforms, and all in one desktop clients are finally able to bring the competing services together.

Click the jump to review our roundup.

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