Posted 11/08/09 at 02:29:09 PM by Justin Kerr

A recent ComScore survey on Internet usage is reporting that Microsoft might not be leading the way in search, but in terms of total hours spend online, it has a commanding lead over its competition. The survey, which measured a whopping 27 billion hours of Internet usage by Web users aged 15 or older is an increase of nearly 24% over the year prior, and of those studied, over 3.9 billion hours were spent using Microsoft services. Google came in a not so close second place with around 2.5 billion hours.

The big winner in the Microsoft portfolio might surprise you however, with about 70 percent of the usage being attributed to Windows Live Messenger. Of course, this number measures time spent “online” and not just those “actively engaged” with the service, but it certainly shows the popularity of Microsoft’s instant messenger. Google’s numbers are pretty typical explain analysts, since they make it their business using search to try and get you “in and out” as quickly as possible. The most successful Google property continues to be YouTube with nearly 1.2 billion hours logged watching video.

Yahoo placed third with 1.7 billion hours, and Facebook commanded a respectable fourth place with 1.4 billion hours. The individual rankings may have been a bit of a shock, but the trend showing “Internet usage on the rise” certainly isn’t. Did any of these results surprise you? Let us know what you think.

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Posted 07/20/09 at 11:30:00 AM by David Murphy

Ding!  If you're still using AOL's default instant messenger (or Google Talk, or Yahoo! Messenger, or...), then you're missing out on a wide range of alternative features--more than you perhaps though possible in a common messaging application.  Or, worse, you're trying to converse with your friends across the various networks by using three or more individual applications at once.  While this might have been the only way to bridge the gap between these services before, you can plead ignorance no longer.  Start the uninstaller--and this article--and by the time you're finished with both, you'll never go back to the antiquated world of official messaging applications.  Third-party is where the real party's at.

What can you expect to find in these open-source and freeware apps?  For starters, an interface that combines a number of common messaging networks into a single program.  In some cases, you can even lump your friends' various online names across the separate chat networks into a single, unifying alias--click a drop-down box to specify which network you want to reach them on.  Beyond that, these programs can bring a number of plugins and external connections to the table.  Combine your Facebook and Twitter feeds into your friends list, find out when people are about to message you before they do so, and call your buddies through your messenger interface akin to Skype.  And that's just the tip of the IM iceberg.

Get a list of your favorite emoticons ready to go and hit the jump.  The competitive world of instant messaging applications awaits!

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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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