chat

You won't find any revolutionary features with Facebook Chat IM, a free instant messaging program, but it does give you a way to easily interface with your Facebook friends.

The free instant messaging tool presents an interface that anyone who has used an IM program will understand. Even those with no experience using an instant messenger will find the simple, clean interface easy to follow. There's a field for your message, a Send button -- all you need to instantly keep up with what your Facebook pals are doing. And you'll find all the staples of instant … Read more

A "reliable source" has informed 9to5Mac that Facebook is currently developing its Facebook Messenger app for Apple's iPad.

According to screenshots provided by 9to5Mac, the iPad version of the Messenger app looks fairly similar to Facebook's current standalone app for iPhone. The app includes one-to-one chats, group chats, and supports push notifications.

Facebook's Messenger app also allows users to see their friends' locations on a map.

Though no timeline for release was mentioned by the source, it did also suggest that Facebook would be adding video chat support through Skype for at least the iPhone … Read more

Once upon a time, people saw primary care physicians -- and often in the comfort of their own homes. These "house calls" are rare enough today to conjure Rockwellian images of doctors with stethoscopes leaning over little Junior's sweaty brow.

While these intimate visits are largely a relic, the ability to reach a caregiver quickly is getting easier and more sophisticated thanks to video chat technology. And now, online care provider American Well is joining a burgeoning number of providers (TelaDoc, Hello Health, and 3G Doctor, to name a few) that are bringing their online services to mobile devices.… Read more

A popular choice for VoIP users and those who make international and video calls, Skype (free for iPhone or iPad) received a few improvements that tweak the interface and give you more control over your video calls.

The overall interface has been slightly tweaked to look a bit smoother with a new header and buttons that are more aesthetically pleasing and better match the colors of the rest of the interface. The contact view now shows more contacts on screen, with smaller icons that don't take up as much space as they did in previous versions.

The most noticeable new enhancement is the ability to touch and drag your video preview (the picture in picture view where you can see yourself during a video call) so you can move it anywhere on the screen during a call.… Read more

If you're an avid online gamer, it's likely that you and your friends show up at your computer desks for scheduled events. By scheduling a time to show up, everyone can enjoy the company of people they know, instead of always relying on random players from the Interwebs.

While playing your game of choice, you also are likely to use some form of voice chat, since it is much faster and more efficient than typing. One of the most popular choices for this type of communication is Ventrilo -- a real-time voice client. The ability to chat on … Read more

Voice Assistant is a handy little app that accurately converts your words to text for use in e-mails, SMS messages, and social network status updates. It is not a Siri replacement for older iPhone users (you can't ask questions), but it does a surprisingly good job translating your words into text.

You start by choosing your language from 22 available, then the app brings up the sparse interface of a microphone button to record and a gear icon in the upper right for settings. From there, you simply hit the button to start recording and begin dictating. When you'… Read more

Paltalk Messenger streamlines communication by putting instant messages, video chats, voice calls, and SMS all into a single user interface. While it may not be the most user-friendly program out there, it's certainly one of the more powerful.

If you've used an IM client like Trillian or Pidgin, then Paltalk's interface should feel familiar, with its vertical towerlike orientation, list of contacts, and status bar. The difference is that Paltalk does a lot more than those programs do--which is good. So, in addition to the typical IM contact list, there's a Chat Room panel, as well … Read more

Pidgin Portable is a fully portable version of Pidgin, the unified chat app formerly known as GAIM. It handles multiple instant messaging accounts in one simple interface, including not only the big names like AOL, Yahoo, MSN, and ICQ but also less common networks such as Jabber, SILC, XMPP, and MXit. Like the standard installed version, Pidgin Portable is freeware, but its portability means you can take your IM account settings and buddy lists with you on a USB drive. It handles many plug-ins, including encryption tools.

Since PortableApps converted Pidgin, we were confident that the portable version would download … Read more

Google initially supported chat with its client software, Google Talk. Then, it integrated chat right into the Gmail interface, allowing users to chat from any browser, without having to install software.

The official Google Chrome extension, Chat for Google, now lets you conveniently have chat windows outside of your browser. You can even start Google+ hangouts from it.

After installing the extension from the Chrome Web Store, right-click on the browser button to configure its options.

If you're restricted from installing software on your computer (maybe at the office) or you prefer not to use the Google Talk client, … Read more