Crave

Digsby is a new service that aims to give people a way to link their contacts from leading IM clients with e-mail and social networks like Facebook and MySpace.com

(Credit: Jeff Hester, BigBlueBall.com)

If you're the type of person who communicates with friends, co-workers, relatives, and such via several different IM services, e-mail, and Facebook--and you know you are--software could soon offer you one of the cleanest ways ever to link them all together.

The software, called Digsby, went into private beta Tuesday, and its goal is to give people a way to organize their contacts from Yahoo Messenger, AOL IM, ICQ, Google Talk, Jabber, and Windows Live Messenger, as well as e-mail, Facebook, and MySpace.com into a single client.

Digsby went into private beta on Tuesday. It is the brainchild of Steve Shapiro, an MBA student at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

(Credit: Jeff Hester, BigBlueBall.com)

According to Jeff Hester, who runs instant message community site BigBlueBall.com and who wrote about Digsby late Wednesday night, the service is the smoothest integration of all the various communications tools that it links together.

Digsby offers the ability to have a single buddy list for all your (major) IM clients and to carry on several IM conversations via tabbed windows. Furthermore, you can create new aliases for each contact for convenience.

It also allows you to work with Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, Gmail, and other major Web-based e-mail services and to "stay up to date with everything happening on your Facebook or MySpace accounts," including friend requests, messages, group invites, and other communications.

Currently, Digsby only works with Facebook and MySpace, but it hints at other social network support in the near future.

Hester said he thinks it works better with Facebook.

"The integration with Facebook is best," Hester wrote on BigBlueBall.com, "and (there) is even a Digsby widget for your Facebook profile. With Myspace, you get the status and updates, but to take an action, Digsby launches a browser and takes you to the full Myspace Web site. It might be nice if they used a mini-browser and the mobile version of the site, but only as an option."

Hester told me late Wednesday night by instant message that the integration with Facebook is cleaner because of the API.

For now, Digsby is closed to general public sign-ups, but a visit to BigBlueBall might net you an invite.

I have to admit, I'm not sure whether there are other services that can do all of this, but even if there are, this may be the best yet.

If there were snakes on this plane, you could IM your friends and tell them.

Low-cost airline JetBlue has equipped one of its Airbus A320 planes with an onboard wireless network and has forged partnerships with Yahoo and BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion to give passengers access to the companies' e-mail and instant messaging functions while in the air. The airline considers the plane, nicknamed "BetaBlue," to be an early-stage test as the company explores expanding in-flight communication options.

(Credit: JetBlue)

Passengers won't be able to surf the full Web. But if they bring Wi-Fi-equipped laptops along, they can access lightweight versions of Yahoo e-mail and instant messaging services; BlackBerry owners who have Wi-Fi-enabled handsets (the BlackBerry 8820 and BlackBerry Curve 8320) will be able to access their personal and corporate e-mail. BlackBerry models that have only cellular connections rather than Wi-Fi won't be compatible--the Federal Communications Commission still has a ban on cellular service in-flight.

The plane will take its inaugural flight on Tuesday morning, making the cross-country trip from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to San Francisco International Airport. After that, "BetaBlue" will be added to JetBlue's regular flight lineup; a company representative told CNET News.com that there will be no way to specifically request the messaging-equipped plane, nor will any additional fee be charged for the service.

It's been known for well over a year that JetBlue had been planning some sort of in-flight wireless initiative. LiveTV, a division of the airline, was awarded a 1MHz air-to-ground wireless license from the FCC in June 2006, following an intense bidding war. After 120 bids, LiveTV paid $7 million for the license, which offers full coverage of the continental U.S. above 10,000 feet. Another company, AirCell, obtained a 3MHz license for $31.3 million in the same FCC auction.

Earlier this year, JetBlue representatives hinted that they were interested in exploring options for in-flight text messaging--but that would require a relaxation of the FCC's stringent regulations.

As the major players in the airline industry compete with one another in an increasingly tech-savvy world, carriers have touted in-flight tech innovations like satellite TV service and electrical power connections. JetBlue already offers DirecTV service, as well as XM satellite radio on some of its newer planes. When Virgin America first took off in August, geeks drooled over the USB and power connections, MP3 library, and a messaging service that lets lonely passengers strike up conversations with fellow travelers on the same plane.

But when it comes to communication services (Virgin America's intra-plane messaging aside), there have been some major momentum issues. Cell phone use on planes is still a contentious topic, but it's nevertheless likely imminent on some foreign carriers and some wireless companies see it as a potential source of profit.

Broadband Internet is a different story. Connexion, a paid in-flight broadband service from Boeing, was used by a number of foreign airlines, like Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines, before it was officially shut down at the end of 2006. There's been no word from Panasonic recently on a rumored plan to succeed where Connexion had failed.

And when BetaBlue takes off on Tuesday, it will make the Forest Hills, N.Y.-based JetBlue the first domestic airline carrier to offer any kind of wireless service in the air. Virgin America's planes have Ethernet ports at each seat, but they remain inactive.

JetBlue representatives said that if BetaBlue proves successful, expansions to the program will become evident over the next year. This would possibly include either installing the Yahoo and RIM services on other planes, or expanding the wireless offerings.

Your Meebo buddy list is now finger friendly, and easy on the eyes.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

This morning Meebo is releasing a freshly updated version of their chat app for the iPhone. The new iteration is more finger-friendly, requiring none of that pinching nor chat window management of the previous version--which was admittedly a quick fix to accommodate early adopters of Apple's handset. Gone is the classic desktop feel of Meebo, which has been replaced by a simple buddy list that takes up the entire screen, and can be perused with one finger. To begin a chat, simply click on somebody's name. It's very intuitive.

With this latest version, Meebo has done something really cool by pulling up the last few lines of your last conversation, assuming you were using Meebo as your client. Likewise, your saved Meebo away messages are there, along with a spiffy new status changer that lets you choose them from a wheel.

All in all, the update is a nice addition to the lineup of IM apps for the iPhone. I'm still partial to Mundu's offerings, which I believe to be the best of the bunch, but already we've come a long way in a short time towards removing the need for client-side IM apps.

More shots of the new interface after the jump.

(Credit: Better Living Through Design)

Nothing is more jarring to Crave than an interruption to our morning routine, a time reserved for such sanctified rituals as long, hot showers and the day's first cup of coffee. That's why we think this "smart" mirror is an invention of the devil.

In addition to helping you straighten your toupee, the "+336+ SMS Mirror" acts as a remote receiver that picks up text messages streamed from a mobile phone or PDA and displays them on the shiny surface, according to Ubergizmo. (It's also worthy of Crave's odd-name category.)

Obviously perfect ammunition for those who think that we're overrun with communication in the Digital Age, it takes such mirrored concepts as digital radiator read-outs and billboard scrolling to a disturbing new level. But most obnoxious of all is the price: $10,000.

So why stop there? If you really want to converse with your reflection, you can get a "Magic Message Mirror" to actually talk to you for around $20,000.

We got word earlier today the team behind Meebo has feverishly been working since last Friday to get it working on Apple's iPhone. One of the handset's shortcomings is its lack of an instant messaging client. Meebo, which has been providing a Web-based IM client that mimics desktop chatting software, did not work come iPhone launch due to the mobile version of Safari using its double-tap navigation. Meebo requires double clicking to start up an IM conversation, and many of the buttons and window functionality were simply not working.

The result is what the Meebo team claims to be a "pre-alpha workaround" which lets users select people off their IM buddy lists with a succession of finger taps, similar to "sticky" keys. This will open up an IM window that functions quite similarly to the desktop experience, sans some screen real estate. Users were also previously unable to hit the enter key, keeping them from being able to respond, despite having entered text.

The system is still far from perfect or as iChat beautiful as the iPhone's SMS app. It's difficult to swap between IM windows without zooming out, and even harder to keep track of what's going on in a conversation since you can't read and type at the same time. Regardless, the iPhone's only been out for a few days, and considering what some others have done in that timespan, it's likely people will get their mobile IM fix soon enough.

Save those text messages! IM on your iPhone for free using Meebo.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

MySpace has announced the official beta release of its MySpaceIM instant messaging service which soft-launched informally a year ago. According to a release from MySpace, over 17 million of the social networking site's 180 million members worldwide have installed the downloadable client.

MySpace, which was acquired by News Corp. in 2005, used to operate a browser-based instant messaging service, which it has since phased out.

Sample screenshots of MySpaceIM

(Credit: MySpace)

The MySpaceIM service competes with other ubiquitous and well-established instant messaging clients, like Yahoo Instant Messenger, Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger, and the formidable AOL Instant Messenger. But MySpaceIM hopes to set itself apart from the pack with tight integration to the site's homepage and member profiles, as well as media-heavy features like a music player and drag-and-drop image sharing. Also included is a system to alert members when they have new messages in their MySpace inboxes, comments on their profiles, or new friend requests. Localized versions of the tool have been created for all 16 global regions that the company operates.

For Web users who use multiple IM services, Cerulean Studios' popular all-in-one client, Trillian, will support MySpaceIM in its impending Trillian Astra release (currently in an alpha test mode).

The MySpaceIM beta isn't available to all computer and browser users, though: it requires a Microsoft operating system (anywhere from Windows 98 through Vista) and an Internet Explorer browser (version 5.0 or above). In the FAQ for MySpaceIM, the company explains that while the client is in beta, the focus will be on "working out the kinks" in the Windows version but that it has been "assessing various options" for Mac and Linux editions. Additionally, the FAQ continues, a mobile client is in the works.

In its release, MySpace hinted that not only are new MySpaceIM features on the way, but so are other impending announcements, calling the instant messaging client the "first in a series of enhanced products and services the company plans to unveil over the coming months to make it more efficient for MySpace users to express themselves, manage their social lives, and connect with friends."

Do you remember the old-fashioned college days when a friend would call you by cell phone to let you know when "he" turned up at the library? Or maybe you figured out someone's class schedule, so you could just happen to be walking by when "she" got out. Technology, once again, is changing the game.

The Senseable City Lab at MIT released a free desktop application on Wednesday with real-time mapping and instant-messaging features. iFind, as it's called, works by detecting which Wi-Fi access point a person is near. Because MIT has over 2,800 Wi-Fi access points on its sprawling campus, iFind can pinpoint someone's location within feet. Not only can it identify the building or outdoor area, but also the floor and room in most cases.

(Credit: MIT)

Of course, MIT students will have to come up with an excuse for that special someone to share their info. As with regular instant-messaging programs, users have to accept an invite to be on someone's buddy list and map.

The program plots buddies on a virtual map of MIT with mini avatars. The avatars move around the virtual map in real time. Hovering over an avatar reveals the person's name and location, while clicking on the avatar starts a chat session.

Because iFind is in-tune with MIT's network, users do not have to be logged in to the network to be "seen," according to the site. They only have to have an enabled Wi-Fi card. The program, according to François Proulx, the iFind software architect, is expected to be particularly popular among students, but anyone with an "mit.edu" e-mail can download and use it.

To avoid privacy issues, Proulx said, the client was specifically developed to work peer-to-peer instead of via a centralized network. For this reason, the program is not capable of retaining personalized data. However, it does work with iSpots, another MIT program that tracks general usage statistics of MIT Wi-Fi access points.

As with regular instant-messaging programs, users can choose to be temporarily invisible to a specific buddy or all buddies. iFind also allows users to reveal online status, while keeping their location private.

The program was developed under Carlo Ratti, the Senseable City Lab director responsible for Real Time Rome, a real-time mapping programs that tracks people by cell phone signal. Under the GNU General Public License, the open-source iFind client will be made available for any other group that wishes to construct its own iFind network.