messenger

Microsoft shuts down foul-mouthed Santa IM bot

It's a good thing Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger Santa is just an AI-powered chat bot. You'd probably want to think twice before sitting on his lap.

According to The Register, the now-disabled Santa bot that was once IM-able at northpole@live.com was prone to off-topic suggestions about oral sex. Microsoft has acknowledged the claims and disabled the chat agent.

While this feature might have had appeal to a limited portion of adult users, the Santa bot was unfortunately designed to be used by children. According to The Register, Santa made a reference to oral sex when … Read more

Microsoft grounds 'dirty' Santa

Microsoft shut down the automated Santa Claus that it created for children to chat with on Windows Live Messenger, after an article from The Register reported that it had an objectionable chat with a reader's underage nieces. Microsoft said Santa's comment on oral sex was provoked by a person who could make the tool "do things it wasn't supposed to do." Santa ended the chat with a cheery, "dirty bastard."

Read the full story on MSNBC: "Microsoft shuts down Santa for talking dirty"

Gmail integrates AIM, adds colored labels

Update 2:50 p.m. This article has been updated with user experience information on AIM integration into Gmail.

Gmail and Google Talk users can now chat with their AOL Instant Messenger buddies through the Gmail interface, Google announced today. Rolling out to all English-based users by the end of the day, the new feature will let you seamlessly jump from chatting with a Google contact to an AIM buddy without having to use two separate chat clients.

Linden Lab to participate in memorial for popular designer

Maybe virtual world publishers do belong inside the magic circle after all.

On Sunday I wrote about an interesting situation that arose after the sad and tragic death of one-half of the Second Life fashion design team known to most as the avatar Ginny Talamasca.

In the wake of the designer's passing, Katt Kongo, the publisher of the Second Life newspaper, Metaverse Messenger, proposed having SL publisher Linden Lab designate April 17, 2008 "Ginny Talamasca Day."

But Kongo's proposal, which she made in an e-mail to a number of SL residents, including myself, was followed by … Read more

Microsoft unwraps Windows Live desktop suite

Microsoft's Windows Live services are living up to its name by going live, losing the "beta" label, and becoming available as a free, Windows suite of six Web-connected applications.

The suite includes Windows Live Mail, which integrates with Hotmail and supports POP and IMAP. Among the other complete desktop services are Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Writer for composing blog posts. Windows Live Photo Gallery manages picture albums that can be uploaded to Microsoft Spaces, MSN Soapbox, or Yahoo's Flickr.

Also final are Windows Live Spaces for blogging, the Windows Live Events invitation service, as … Read more

AIM 6.5: The '90s aren't dead...yet

AOL has upgraded its classic messenger AIM to version 6.5, building on the makeover the program got last year when it rose up from its deathbed to version 6 with a host of long-overdue improvements. Unless you're a die-hard AIM fan, though, these latest changes might not be readily apparent.

They might not be worth it, either.

Is that an IM link or a malware trap?

If an IM link from a friend pops up on your screen, do you click it right away? Most people, like Eivind, do. Most don't end up with a PC-killing worm.

Malicious IM links are a growing threat to users, and Eivind got dished an unpleasant preview of the trend we have to look forward to. Can she warn her friends of the deception before they're compromised too?

Watch the story unfold in this week's tale of Trojan trouble, "Malware's IM hideaway." You can also access the Spyware Horror Story archives for more stories … Read more

Zero-day exploits attack Yahoo, AOL instant messengers

Zero-day exploit codes targeting Yahoo and AOL instant-messenger services could put frequent IM users at risk to new attacks.

A non-vendor disclosed vulnerability within Yahoo Messenger has been exploited by two different code releases Wednesday. This is the third security glitch for Yahoo Messenger in as many months. There is no workaround or patch available yet for these exploits.

A second non-vendor disclosed vulnerability in AOL Instant Messenger targets how users are notified of new IMs. Security vendor Secunia recommends that current AIM users disable that option until a patch is available.

ZDNet blogger Ryan Naraine has more information and … Read more

This is just to say...on toast?

If only William Carlos Williams had owned this toaster when he left his note about the plums.

The Toast Messenger from Sasha Tseng prints out whatever you write or draw on its board in toast.

Even if poetry is not your thing, you may soften the blow of eating the last bit of something by serving up your apology alongside some eggs.

Forget words, how about drawing polka dots or stripes or even a skull and cross-bones on your toast.

No pricing information available as yet. Kudos to Tumbl.us and Yanko Design for finding this Japanese invention.

And yes, … Read more

Yahoo late on Messenger for Vista

A CNET News.com reader served as my personal tickler file this week, asking me if I knew when Yahoo Messenger for Windows Vista will be released.

In January, Yahoo previewed a version of Messenger optimized for Vista and said it would be released in public beta during the second quarter, which ended June 30. So, they are about three months behind schedule.

I asked Yahoo about it and here is the company's reply: "We continue to actively work on Yahoo Messenger for Windows Vista and look forward to sharing updates and information including the beta launch of … Read more