aim

Step right up and test your aim!

Duck Shoot is a fun, free app that simulates a classic carnival duck-shooting booth. In this simple game, you tilt your iPhone or iPod Touch to move your gun's crosshairs and tap the screen to shoot, as duck targets randomly flip up into view. You're trying to shoot as many ducks as you can in the allotted 45 seconds--and to shoot additional targets within three seconds to score bonus points. The gameplay in Duck Shoot is extremely straightforward, but the game's double-bonus blue ducks and penalty cute-baby targets add to its replay value. Duck Shoot's challenging, … Read more

Five technologies the Obama administration should (but won't or can't) adopt

Today we have a new president to lead a new American path through what will be a tumultuous time. But President Obama won't be able to do it alone. He and his administration need to work together, and communicate with one another and the country, to ensure everything is running well.

That's why I've compiled a "cheat sheet" for the Obama administration, listing five services it should use in the White House. Sadly, it probably won't. Record-keeping laws and security concerns will ensure that none of my suggestions take effect.

AIM for White House … Read more

AIM 6.8 Refresh not so fresh

The new update of AOL Instant Messenger, the AIM 6.8 Refresh, came out Tuesday with a new feature that allows you to send photos to cell phone users. I decided to try the new version out, mostly because I wanted to get rid of the annoying update notification.

Once the installation was done, I found out that the neat-sounding feature is limited to people using certain types of cell phones within the T-Mobile network.

None of my buddies meet the criteria so I didn't get to try it out, but I am not terribly impressed with the idea … Read more

New AIM 6.8 for Windows gets a mobile slant

Updated at 11:30 am PT.

On Tuesday, AOL released AIM 6.8 for Windows. The version update of the chat client, which AOL is calling a "refresh," adds a mobile slant. One of the new features lets you share photos with buddies on the T-Mobile network (U.S. only) when you drag or import a photo into the instant messaging window. Friends can save the image or respond with a photo of their own, which will pop up in your IM window.

Two integrated plug-ins for AIM Chat and AOL Mail are also new additions. Clicking on … Read more

AOL brings AIM for Mac back from the dead

AOL on Monday quietly released a brand-new version of its instant-messenger application for Mac users. Called "AIM for Mac beta 1," it's a replacement for version 4.7, which has remained untouched since February 2004.

Back then gas was a little over $1.50 a gallon.

Unlike the changes in oil prices, those four years have amounted to little more than what was offered in previous iterations of the program, or Apple's iChat application which comes pre-installed in every Mac computer. In the new version users can change emoticon sets and tweak background chat wallpapers--all things … Read more

Wii storage solution coming

There were plenty of announcements missing from the Nintendo 2008 E3 press conference this summer, but perhaps most surprising was the fact that the company did not address the ever-growing storage problem plaguing the Wii.

Since WiiWare hit the console earlier this year, the factory-installed 512MB of internal storage just isn't cutting it. Nintendo is essentially shooting itself in the foot: here we have all these new games to download and play, but only the capacity to store a limited number of them.

Kotaku is now reporting that the company does indeed have a storage solution on the way, … Read more

Pidgin speaks to MSN users

Despite the uncomplicated version number, open-source, multiclient chat app Pidgin 2.5 doesn't include any major improvements unless you're fascinated by bug-fixes or are a big MSN-messenger user.

Available for Windows, in a portable version, and for Linux, the update features support for Microsoft's Live Messenger offline messaging, and personal messages. The latter will show up as Status messages. Live Messenger's non-face Smileys should be updated, too.

Other improvements are much smaller in scale: Group and Chat buddy list entries now support custom buddy icons via the context menu, and there's the usual spate of … Read more

AOL revs Web-based AIM to version 7

AOL has upgraded its AIM Express software, an online Flash-based application that replicates many of the features of the regular downloadable software (add your own review here).

Among the new AIM Express 7.0 features are tabbed conversations, status messages, text-message support to communicate with buddies' mobile phones, and compatibility with Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 and 7, Mozilla's Firefox 2 and 3, and Apple's Safari 2 and 3.

The software is an example of the growing utility and sophistication of Web-based applications. Instant messaging, though, is somewhat more amenable to the task: it doesn't require the … Read more

One Palringo to rule iPhone IM?

The new iPhone app from Palringo brings an official multi-instant messaging client to the Apple device. It supports eight chat protocols and includes some useful iPhone-specific features, but also suffers from several irritating limitations.

Palringo can handle Apple iChat, AIM, Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, Gadu Gadu, ICQ, Jabber, and Windows Live Messenger. Assuming you've got no problems with the iPhone keyboard, creating a profile for one of these accounts is as simple as selecting the proper icon and typing in your username and password. First, though, you must set up a Palringo account. Not to worry: when you open … Read more