Category Archives: Open AIM

AIM Express 7 Beta 4

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Hot out of the oven, we just posted AIM Express 7 Beta 4.  Here is the list of changes:

  • Test out the new character counter when you IM a mobile buddy or number in your Buddy List
  • Express yourself with spankin’ new Emoticons that display in your IM window
  • Rollover your Buddy to see their screen name, buddy icon, and status message with a quick glance
  • Use the new sound icon to toggle your alerts on/off

The client was built using Flash, so make sure you have the latest version of Flash 9.  The client also takes advantage of the OpenAIM ActionScript3 library, otherwise known as wimas3.  As always we appreciate the feedback, so make sure you share it with us.

AIM on the iPhone is out and free

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The lines are forming fast and furious at Apple and AT&T stores all across the world and anticipation has reached a furor pitch for the 3G iPhone tomorrow.  But, not wanting to trump tomorrow’s excitement, Apple released iTunes 7.7 that has AppStore support (AIM MusicLink works with iTunes 7.7) and with the iPhone SDK 2.0 posted this morning, apps can now be downloaded and installed!

We have posted the AIM client that we first debuted on stage at the iPhone SDK launch back in March.  The client has been improved with some really cool features new to the AIM client, including gestures to start new messages and switch between conversations, as well as the ability to use the iPhone camera to take a picture and make the picture your buddy icon.  A bunch of people asked how we wrote the client, and the answer is that we used our Open AIM Web APIs to write this client.  The client is free and available on the AppStore now.

Vivaty AMO and some Open AIM love on Techcrunch

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Techcrunch wrote this morning about a Vivaty plugin that was written for AIM.  The same plugin was also written for Facebook’s platform.  Vivaty Scenes was one of the plugins that launched in June when we released AIM 6.8 and AIM Modules.  First, I want to say it was nice that Techcrunch gave OpenAIM some love, as some of our apps and plugins rival the usage of the most popular Facebook or MySpace apps.  AIM as a platform sometimes flies under the radar of the blogosphere, but it is the only synchronous real-time communication platform that allows the building of your own applications as well as application hosting and sharing of our social graph via the AIM Buddy List.

With regards to Vivaty Scenes, their app is hosted in the AIM Buddy List as an AIM Module (AMO).  Their app is currently in beta, and requires XP or Vista with IE6+.  You can download the AIM Module from the AIM Gallery.

AIM MusicLink 3.0.0.0

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Happy Monday everyone!  I am posting the latest version of AIM MusicLink that contains support for a new media player as well as a couple of fixes for some old bugs.  In AIM MusicLink 3.0.0.0, I have added support for XM Player version 3.4.2.1+.  MusicLink now has support for 8 different media players.  The full list can be found on the AIM MusicLink home page.

I have also fixed two bugs that have been around for a while.  ITunes would report the current song even if the player was paused or stopped.  MusicLink will only set an ITunes song if the player is playing a song now.  The other bug that I fixed involved Windows Media Player.  People were reporting that WMP songs were getting set in their AIM Status even when WMP was not running.  I have fixed an issue where if the player exits the WMP plugin was reporting the wrong information.  If WMP crashes, which does happen, MusicLink may still report the incorrect information.

Download the latest AIM MusicLink here.

Heading to NYC on Wednesday

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For all the AOL-ers up in New York City, I will be up at the 770 Broadway AOL Headquarters on Wednesday to give a speech on OpenAIM.  Come on by and check out the latest that AIM and Open AIM has to offer.  In the past month alone we have been really busy working on AIM.  Here are just a few highlights:

As you can see it was a busy month of June.  My talk on Wednesday is at 12PM, I will have some OpenAIM swag on me, so make sure you come by and say “hi.”

AIM for Windows Mobile

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Late last week we posted a new AIM beta for the Windows Mobile platform.  The client is built using the Web AIM APIs and provides a new look for an AIM client on a mobile device.  All of the core AIM features are part of this application, including status, viewing Buddy Icons, and Buddy List management.

Please note: This build of AIM Mobile does not have an Update Mechanism available. This means you will have to return to beta.aol.com and check if a new build of AIM for Windows Mobile is available. The Update Mechanism will be included in a future build.

Supported Devices: AIM for Windows Mobile supports devices with the Windows Mobile 5 and Windows Mobile 6 operating systems. Some examples are:

  • T-Mobile Wing
  • Sprint Mogul and HTC Touch
  • AT&T Blackjack II, Tilt
  • Sprint Samsung ACE
  • Motorola Q
  • Verizon Wireless 6800
  • Most Palm Treo’s

AIM Blast…A new way to Communicate

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Last night we released a new beta feature for AIM called AIM Blast.  AIM Blast is a brand new feature that allows our users to have a group conversation, or send a broadcast IM to multiple people at once, without having to set up a bot or a chat room.

AIM Blast is groundbreaking functionality for the AIM Service, plus…

*No download required
*Fast & Easy setup of Blast groups at the AIM Blast website
*Access to your Blast groups anywhere and everywhere you can sign in to the AIM Service (including AIM Express, and any Open AIM services)

For more info on AIM Blast please check out the FAQ.

Since this is a beta product, we really would love to get feedback on this feature so we can fix any issues or complaints, and of course we never mind positive feedback as well. 🙂

Goowy AMOs

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A few people have pinged me this week asking me about two AIM plugins on the AIM Gallery, one called AOL iTunes, and the other called RSS.  They asked me if these plugins were copied from Goowy.  The answer is that these are actual Goowy widgets that we have made into AIM Modules.  Goowy is a widget company AOL acquired earlier this year, and Alex and his team have been churning out awesome widgets that can be distributed across dozens of different platforms, including AIM.

The AOL iTunes plugin shows you the top 10 songs being downloaded across specific music genres.  The RSS widget is a way you can host your RSS feeds directly in the AIM client.  These two widgets feature all the same customization you get today with Goowy’s YourMinis platform.

These two plugins are the first widgets we have from Goowy, and hopefully there will be more to come.

AIM Express 7 Beta 2

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Last week was a busy week in the AIM world in Dulles, so I am still catching up on all the news we generated. We pushed a new update of AIM Express beta 2, which is an AIM application for people who do not want to download the AIM client or have issues connecting due to network configuration.

AIM Express 7 is built using the Web AIM APIs ActionScript3 library (wimas3, for short). In the latest release here is what we added:

  • Easily enter a custom status message or away message using the inline status field at the top of your Buddy List
  • View Buddy Info by right-clicking on a Buddy’s name and selecting “Get Buddy Info”
  • See when your Buddies are typing a message to you in the IM window
  • Hover over a name on your Buddy List to see your Buddy’s screen name and status message
  • A sound notification will play when you receive a new IM
  • Hyperlinks in the IM window are now clickable
  • The IM input field expands as you type to show all of your message
  • Tooltip support – descriptive text is displayed when hovering over buttons

Check it out here and as always feedback is appreciated.

Partners who are AIM-ing with AMOs

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When we launched AIM 6.8 last week, we shipped the client with a new type of AIM client extension or plugin, known as AIM Modules, AMOs for short. While Gus and I wrote a handful of AMOs to test the APIs early on, once we felt comfortable with the API we brought in a few launch partners to help get things kicked off right and to help them with reaching our audience. So with Vivaty, Goodreads, TenCent, blogTV, shopIt, and phonevite, we welcome you to the OpenAIM family.