IM

The 404 Podcast 503: Where everything was better in the '90s

In typical 404 fashion, this morning's show started later than usual, mostly because we couldn't shut up about all the things that made the 1990s one of the best decades ever.

Some of the conversation leaks into the beginning of the episode, including a chat about the evolution of video games since the '90s. It's hard to imagine a time before you needed a toy chest to hold all the plastic instruments you need play a simple game!

You can get your 404 fix every day of the week (thanks to Nick for the image above!), but the most random stories always end up on Friday. Today is no different, with Wilson's first story about mysterious cookies that offer "natural supplemental endowment." Called the F Cup Cookie, the treat is quickly gaining popularity in Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore, because of their promise to increase bust size in three weeks or less! Rest assured, we've already ordered three boxes to test the claims ourselves.

Should the film industry provide heart health warnings prior to showing movies with heavy 3D imagery? It might be worth the discussion, especially after a 42-year-old Taiwanese man died after watching "Avatar" in 3D.

The man started to feel uneasy during the screening of "Avatar" in 3D and was quickly taken to a hospital where a scan showed a brain hemorrhage. Sadly, the man died 11 days later. Doctors reported that "the over-excitement from watching the movie triggered his symptoms," a claim that opens up our conversation about possible preshow warnings.

We've spent all week stuffing your SASEs full of 404 stickers, and if you already got yours in the mail it's YOUR turn to do some work for US! Take a picture of where you stuck your 404 sticker(s) and tattoo(s) and send it to us at the404(at)cnet(dot)com. If you do, there's a good chance we'll show it on the air! Take a cue from Cheryl, the Official 404 Grandmother who sent us a picture of her grandson fully covered in them! Nice work, Cheryl!

EPISODE 503 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Trillian 4.1 for Windows gets more Twitter-social

Don't let the small version update from Trillian 4.0 to Trillian Astra 4.1 for Windows fool you. Though the version may have bumped up one tiny integer, there are enough changes to this venerable multinetwork chat app to make it worth your notice; particularly if you're into social networking.

Trillian's maker, Cerulean Studios, has tightened the app's integration with Twitter, making it possible to now tweet from the buddy list. They've inserted a character counter so you can gauge how much space you have left to reach Twitter's 140 limit. Our favorite … Read more

Scratch the IM itch

BeejiveIM (confusingly pronounced "beehive") is the high-end luxury chat app of the multinetwork IM world, though you may not believe it by looking. It's the priciest client to get you chatting with friends on the major multinetworks--AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, MSN, Google, MySpace IM, and Jabber--but it's also the one we keep returning to for seamless messaging. Floating icons in a chat window make it easy to switch among open conversations, which are also set apart in the buddy screen. Emoticons are present, as are other customizations, and a kettleful of skins to dress up the chat … Read more

After long wait, Trillian finally comes to iPhone

It took a few months, but finally, Trillian IM is available to iPhone and iPod Touch users through Apple's App Store. The application costs $4.99.

Cerulean Studios, the company that created Trillian, said that Trillian for iPhone sports several features users will already find on the company's desktop software. The app displays contacts, grouped and sorted by their respective categories. Users can also view multiple chat windows in a tabbed display. Thanks to updates Apple has made to the iPhone and iPod Touch, Trillian for iPhone also supports copy and paste. As with Trillian for the desktop, … Read more

Speak easy

Get social over the long-established, well-rounded chat and VoIP client Yahoo Messenger and you'll find drag-and-drop capabilities and contact importing from friends other IM, e-mail, and social-networking accounts who are also on Yahoo chat. Another favorite trick is the ability to see images and videos displayed inside the chat window when you or a pal drops in a public URL.

Yahoo Messenger 10 adds some visual enhancements that call out VoIP and video chats on the conversation window. Tweaks in the buddy list showcase an updates tab that operates as a newsfeed for friends' status messages. Other visual refreshes … Read more

Amazon.com has the Altec Lansing iM207 Orbit Portable Speaker for $26.49, after $13.46 savings.

Save $13.46 on the Altec Lansing iM207 Orbit Portable Speaker from Amazon.com >> Regular price is $39.95 >> Sale price is $26.49 >> Savings $13.46 (33.69%) >> Click here for deal

Mozilla's e-mail group looks toward the cloud

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--For almost all of its existence, Mozilla Messaging has been known for Thunderbird--e-mail software with the traditional view that a person's PC is the center of their computing existence.

Now, though, the Mozilla Foundation subsidiary's scope is expanding beyond the confines of the computer under your desk or on your lap. In the near term, the new Thunderbird 3 is becoming more integrated with the Web. And in the longer term, the Raindrop project has the potential to lift your inbox all the way to the cloud.

"For us it's really important to … Read more

Trillian 4.1 beta for Windows opens up

Makers of the multinetwork chat application Trillian threw open doors to the company's latest beta, previously available onto to private beta testers, allowing any Windows user to test Trillian 4.1 beta before the code becomes final.

Chief among the changes in the beta are new social networking features and tight integration with Windows 7 for users of Microsoft's most recent operating system. Trillian 4.1 beta supports story links and avatar pictures in more locations on the interface, as well as Twitter hash tags and direct (@) replies. You can now also tweet from the contact list, follow … Read more

Organize your chat stream

With so many ways to network and socialize online, you may find it difficult to keep track of everything. Digsby promises to help keep chat, e-mail, and social networking conversations in one convenient place, but it didn't work exactly as we expected.

This freeware program looks a great deal like other popular chat programs, such as AIM. With a skinny rectangular box running along the side of your computer, a prompt to add accounts helps you get started. From here you will find a menu of seven different IM programs to choose from, six different e-mail programs, and four … Read more