Ten fingers, a computer and Internet access -- that's all that you need to chat to friends and acquaintances from around the globe. All of the popular instant messaging (IM) programs are now available through a standard Web browser.
Gone are the days where chatting on a computer other than your own only worked if that computer happened to have the same messenger software and operating system.
Web messengers allow the chat-happy to shoot the breeze -- even from behind firewalls and on office and Internet cafe computers that are guarded against software installations.
The first step to launching a chat is to check the browser's popup blocker. It must be set to allow for the IM site to launch the extra window it needs to manage contacts and conversations.
In MSN Web Messenger, you can set your status before you even log in. If you want to check to see whether certain friends are online before "officially" logging in, you can go online in the "invisible" mode.
You can not only chat with your contacts, but manage them as well.
Smileys and e-mail, both composing and receiving, are also on hand.
Users of MSN and its successor Live can also talk with chatters using Yahoo Web Messenger and vice-versa, since the protocols are compatible.
Each chat in Yahoo's simple IM page is opened in a new window or tab in the browser.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
Anyone who values privacy should decide prior to the chat whether to allow the chat sessions to be recorded for later reading. This function is activated by default and can be deactivated as desired using the "message archive" tab in the upper right of the browser window.
AOL and its AIM Web messenger lets chats get started right away with members of the "Buddy" list as soon as the standard login is performed.
A Telegram function sends particularly urgent messages in a separate window to the conversation partner.
Mails can also be sent with the user's own AIM address, and there's even a handy calendar function available.
As with MSN and Yahoo, AIM and ICQ form a mutually compatible pair.
The latter is available in Web Messenger form as ICQ2Go, although it does rely on Flash.
The user is greeted with a cuckoo chirp, and the option for users to anonymously login is also supported.
There are also privacy buttons to make a user appear to be invisible if he or she wants to remain undisturbed, and the contact manager works flawlessly.
Sometimes a chatter's circle of friends doesn't conveniently use compatible messenger programs. One way to work around this problem is to use a messenger with multi-protocol abilities.
While many users are familiar with downloadable versions of this software such as Gaim or Trillian, there are also Web solutions available.
MEEBO
One of several such talented multi-messengers is Meebo.
The page offers parallel login for MSN, Yahoo, AIM and ICQ, as well as Google Talk and Jabber. It automatically connects the user to each of the networks and allows conversations without any protocol worries.
It also offers another benefit over the original services: file transfer.
Files can be loaded onto the Meebo server, with the recipient offered a link to download them, even if he or she doesn't have an account. Not only that, but the messenger is also available as a Firefox extension.
Other multi-messengers include the simple but effective ebuddy and the brightly colored Kool IM, providing not only links to almost any IM standard worldwide, but also the ability to let users know what games friends on the contact list are playing at the time.
Missing from the Web messengers are the telephone and video calls, which are standard in the software versions that are downloadable.
This is generally also the case for practical file transfers.
Meebo is the exception to the rule. Emoticons and profile photos are, however, usually supported by the different browser-based chat services.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
RSS