messages

The other day we told you how to get Facebook chat in your browser's sidebar, but what about if you want to run it as a standalone desktop application? If you're a Mac user you're in luck with Gabtastik from Mesa Dynamics. It lets you run Facebook chat, and several popular Web chat services on your desktop without having to open your browser.

Besides Facebook, it supports the Google Talk, and Meebo, which means you can jack into all of the major chat networks such as Yahoo, MSN, and AIM. You can also tweak the opacity to … Read more

Update 4:30 p.m. PT May 1: I corrected the download link and a reference to the Messenger 9 beta for Windows XP, a separate product from the Messenger for Vista beta.

Yahoo has released its Windows Vista beta of its instant-messaging software, adding support for voice chat and cell phone text messages that were missing from the preview version that's been out since December.

The Yahoo Messenger for Vista beta software supports computer-to-computer calls as well as calls to and from phones, Yahoo said Wednesday. It also can communicate with cell phone text messages sent with SMS (… Read more

Skype for Windows upgrades a bunch of back-end and minor features aimed at improving user experience, most notably tweaks that should improve call quality.

For users who regularly suffer from excessive background noise or dropped calls, the changes to the audio engine should cut down on those problems. Vista users who suffered from their screensavers turning on during video calls should suffer no more.

Also, incoming requests will no longer display profile images, a boon to those who mix their Skyping with their office hours and don't want that NSFW image of their hottie's avatar popping up. Other … Read more

If you're becoming hopelessly addicted to Twitter or any other social network, then by all means stay away from this device. Called "TextCu.be"--being of Web 2.0 in nature, it obviously can't have a normal spelling--this is a dedicated wireless receiver designed to get text messages from designated social networks.

There's just one question that immediately comes to mind: Why would anyone buy a device like this when you can set up instant messages from social networks directly to a mobile phone?

TextCu.be's makers claim that it's preferable because "… Read more

Once again, criminal hackers are targeting a worldwide event to deposit their malicious software on victims' PCs, according to one security vendor.

Within the last six months, MessageLabs has found at least 13 new Trojan horse programs associated with e-mails bearing subjects such as "The Beijing 2008 Torch Relay" and "National Olympic Committee and Ticket Sales Agents."

The problem is, according to a MessageLabs representative, that the hackers' e-mail messages employ an embedded Microsoft Office database file within the zipped attachment. Microsoft said in a recent security advisory that customers not running Windows Vista or Windows … Read more

Facebook announced Wednesday morning that its in-browser Facebook Chat feature is now live to all members, over two weeks after it first debuted to a limited number of users.

It was clear that Facebook was concerned with the stability of the chat application, first debuting it on a Sunday when many members--not to mention tech bloggers eager to report any flaw or bug--might not be at their computers.

The social network then rolled out Facebook Chat incrementally, with different "networks" on the site--geographic regions, colleges, companies--gaining access to it before others so that the new feature could stay … Read more

Last year, Microsoft launched the "I'm Initiative," which donated nibbles of advertising revenue to 10 selected charities each time a Windows Live Messenger user started an instant message with the word "I'm." On Tuesday, after a year of the gimmick, Microsoft representatives announced that $1.3 million had been netted so far.

Bill Gates would be proud.

"Because of your enthusiasm, we're also excited to announce that we will be continuing this program," Windows Live Messenger product manager Dharmesh Mehta wrote in a blog post. "And with no set limit … Read more

At its iPhone SDK event last month, Apple touted an adaption of AOL's instant-messaging client for the iPhone. Now comes news of Apple's own patent application for a chat feature.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published the application, titled "Portable Electronic Device for Instant Messaging," on March 6--the very same day Apple was providing details on its software development kit for the iPhone, including AOL's test version of the first "official" native Web chat for the gadget.

The news of the Patent Office's action was first reported by the AppleInsider site … Read more

The Web might have just gotten one step closer to a universal "social dashboard" capable of managing an array of blogging, messaging, networking, and media applications. It's a small step, but still a move in the right direction.

Six Apart, the software company behind blogging platforms TypePad, Movable Type, and Vox, has launched a new Facebook application called "Blog It." Facebook members who install the application can post to multiple blogging services at one time, update their Facebook status in sync with micro-blogging services like Twitter, and have updates from the app appear in their Facebook Mini-Feeds.… Read more