aimInfo

I have been off the radar the past few weeks.  First I was on my honeymoon for a 3 weeks, and then we had a little re-org at AOL yesterday.  In addition, I have been wanting to relaunch my blog using something other than AOL Journals for quite a while.  So all of these events have culminated in me launching a new blog at GregsMind.com.

We have a lot happening on AIM, and in our social network.  The new blog will have all the usual goodness including new AIM plugins to download, client updates, OpenAIM updates, etc.  Hopefully you will find the new blog easier to follow and with many more frequent updates.  This blog will remain online so if you need to go back to reference something I wrote you can.

Thanks for reading...and see you at GregsMind.com.


gregsblog at 3:59:09 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 2 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

We had an old feature in AOL 9.0 where you could grab your buddy's buddy icon, wallpaper and sound via a dropdown menu on the IM form.  Well I thought I would bring it back for AIM via a plugin.  Install the plugin, then in the Actions menu in the buddy list or in the People menu on the IM form, there will be a new menu item called "Snag Expression."  When you click that menu item, I grab the buddy's expression, including WeeMees and sounds.

To try out this plugin download it here.

UPDATE 9/13/07: I have renamed the blog post, the plugin, and any plugin related data that gets set in the COM/ATL registry based on the comment that was left below in this blog post.


gregsblog at 9:25:50 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 4 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

A few weeks ago I was trying to analyze some issues in our audio and video code.  I decided that while we have great test tools, it would be interesting to write a managed code AIM client that only did audio and video.  The idea was this client could be used to isolate issues like memory allocation and performance.  Writing this client is actually easy thanks to Open AIM.  I am attaching the actual c-sharp file so everyone can look at or even copy and paste the code.  But I will also go over the basic steps to create this client or for that matter any c-sharp client.  Download the full code here.

1) Start Visual Studio and create a c-sharp command line project (test tools are easier as command line projects, though you can create a full ui client too.)

2) Import the acccore.dll so you can create the main AIM session object.:
        [DllImport("acccore.dll", EntryPoint="#111", PreserveSig=false)]
        private static extern void AccCreateSession(
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPStruct)] Guid riid,
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.IDispatch)] out object session);   

3) Create the main AIM session, pass in your developer key and sign on to AIM:
                object o;
                AccCreateSession(typeof(IAccSession).GUID, out o);               
                s = (AccSession)o;
          s.ClientInfo.set_Property(AccClientInfoProp.AccClientInfoProp_Description,
                    "client name (key=KEY GOES HERE)");
                s.Identity = username;
                s.SignOn(password);   

4 ) Add a command listener to capture the commands being typed in at the command prompt.  See class InputEvent for implementation details.

5) Start an audio session:
                if (m_avManager == null)
                    m_avManager = (IAccAvManager)s.GetSecondaryManager((int)AccSecondarySessionServiceId.AccSecondarySessionServiceId_AudioVideo);
                m_avSession = m_avManager.CreateSession(userName, 0);

6) Quit an audio session:
                    if (state != AccSecondarySessionState.AccSecondarySessionState_Offline)
                        m_avSession.EndSession();
                    m_avSession = null;

Those are the basics.  Handling a multiparty audio session or peer-to-peer video is just as easy as repeating steps 5 and 6 for those types.  The sample also shows how to implement events for session state or even how to handle, monitor and select input and output devices.  We have made audio and video very powerful and yet very simple to implement.  Give the code a glance and try implementing a client like this yourself.  You might find it fun and useful.


gregsblog at 2:44:23 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 6 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

ALERT: There is a new version of AIM MusicLink, please visit my new blog to download it.  My new blog can be found here:  www.Gregsmind.com.  The latest release 2.0.0.4 fixes the issues people are leaving in the comments.

After the feedback I got from the last AIM MusicLink release, I decided to add back the profile support that was in the previous release.  I also fixed a few bugs that I uncovered with setting the profile at sign on as well as a bug or two with setting ones status.  I also cleaned up the preference dialog as I found a few issues there as well.  Profile support is off by default, so make sure you change the preference via the Actions menu at the bottom of the Buddy List on AIM 6.5 or LAIM.



You can download the latest AIM MusicLink here.  As always feedback is appreciated.


gregsblog at 11:21:03 AM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 31 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

Last Thursday we released the latest AIM Beta, version 6.5.3.12.  This version makes improvements to existing new features like status and better color.  As always plugins that work in the previous version will work in this version.  In the meantime here is the change log:

Status message in the Buddy List®: Broadcast a personal message to your friends, even when you're available. Click Enter status message here… and type a message. It will appear under your screen name on their Buddy List and in your IM window. New! Thanks to beta feedback, we’ve updated this feature to only show a custom status message in your Buddy List view. Note: You'll only see the set message of users who are on your buddy list and testing with the same version. We encourage you to create a new screen name and post it in the Message Boards created for this feature so others can add it to their Buddy List to see how this feature works.

State selector menu: Do you want to set yourself as Available, Away, Mobile or invisible? Choose from the handy state drop down button. Want to go away fast? Click the yellow sticky icon and we’ll set your away message. Click it again to come back from away.

Modern design, plus more color: Check out the new sleek chrome. We’ve also added more color to the top of your Buddy List. Pick your favorite by clicking on the color wheel in the upper right corner.

Get Buddy Info: We’ve removed the blue (i) from the Buddy List. It now only appears on your buddy’s details card when you hover over their screen name. You’ll still get the orange (i) in the Buddy List to indicate something new about your buddies.

Plus: Continue to test our new TXT Message mode feature from the IM window. Don't waste your mobile phone text messages. Send them from AIM. Clicking the TXT Msg button on the IM form is just one new place you can access this mode. And, if you are having issues signing on AIM can help configure your firewall or proxy settings. Look for the Connection tab in your settings manager.

gregsblog at 9:12:33 AM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 4 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

Between being sick last week and being in 4 time zones in 26 hours this week on business travel, it has been hard to find time to get a blog post done.  We have a couple of new AIM plugins to share this morning.  Both plugins are pretty basic but great little utilities.

Translator
--------------
Translator is a plugin that will allow you to translate incoming instant messages.  So, if your buddy is writing to you in English, but you would rather read his messages in Spanish, that is possible.  If your buddy is writing to you in Italian and you only understand English, we support that as well.  The plugin has a preference window accessible via the Actions menu at the bottom of the buddy list.  One more note, the plugin does require version 1.1 of the .net runtime or better.  You can download the plugin here.


SSO to developer.aim.com
-----------------------------------
This plugin was written by our intern this year, and is a very convenient plugin that will seemlessly sign you on to developer.aim.com to manage your developer keys and download the latest SDK or post on the message boards.  This plugin will work with AIM 6.2 beta 2 or the latest AIM Lite.  Because this plugin is a widget, you can rename the extension from .awi to .zip and view the files in the plugin to see how we made this work.  Download this plugin here.


gregsblog at 10:33:27 AM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 7 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

Last week we posted a new version of the Open AIM 1.3 SDK for Windows, but today we updated the other platforms as well.  For those keeping score at home that is Linux, Mac and Windows Mobile.  Our full change log can be viewed here:
http://developer.aim.com/sdk/1_3/release_notes.txt

I wanted to point out a few highlights from the release notes:

Updated internal dependencies, so on Mac & Linux the new SDK is not a drop-in upgrade; you must rebuild.
Added AccSessionState_Paused and AccSessionProp_Pause to allow sessions to go offline temporarily (e.g., during machine sleep).
Added AccPluginInfoProp_Windows to allow plugins to notify custom clients of plugin windows. This is used on Windows to support IsDialogEvent().
Added IAccServiceTicket which will appear in OnRequestServiceResult's "cookie" argument if you are a plugin running within AIM 6.2 beta 2 or later.
Added more AccCommandFlags.

I will be posting a couple of plugins in the next few days and as always feedback is appreciated.


gregsblog at 12:53:28 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 0 comments: Add your own

The week in Israel went really well, and I even had time to put together a quick plugin for all Open AIM clients (AIM 6, AIM Lite, etc.).  The plugin adds a menu item when you right click on a buddy.  The menu item, called Send Quick IM, will quickly send a "yt?" message to that buddy.  Instead of opening up an IM window and typing a message, all you need is a click of the mouse.  I will add some more goodness to the Quick IM plugin in the future.  You can download the plugin here.

Here are some pictures from the trip to Israel...

     
  ICQ Awards for top downloads                                View from my room

     
         Sunrise @ Masada                                              Eerie Dead Sea


gregsblog at 7:09:05 AM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 1 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

A few quick notes before I cross the Atlantic tomorrow.

1) The official MusicLink plugin is now up at AIM.com.  This is the same build as I released on my blog last week.

2) A revised version of our location plugin is now up at AIM.com.

3) For those interested in the progress of AOL's transformation look no further than an article from MediaPost Publications.  In the 12 months since we announced the change from subscription based business to a free and open portal.  Two parts of the article that caught my attention...

In April, ads served across the Advertising.com display network reached a whopping 88% of all U.S. online consumers--or 156,037,000 unique visitors. This reach, according to comScore Media Metrix, surpasses all other online advertising entities.

and this one...

Helping AOL's cause, Nielsen//NetRatings recently ceased ranking Web sites by page views and is instead ranking them by time spent. As a result, AOL, which had been the sixth-most-popular site by page views, now ranks first. That's thanks largely to AIM, its popular instant-message service, which is also ad-supported and will now be counted in Nielsen's rankings.

This is some really good news for AOL and AIM, and regardless of how you feel about ads or advertising in general, the fact is that all of us our inundated with marketing all day.  Now it is AOL's job to get meaningful media and ads to you.

4) In stark contrast to the above article, Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavs believes the web is dead.  I personally had 12/08/2012 in the office pool, but who is counting.  Cuban can definitely be fringe in his thinking, there are some good points he makes.  Cuban comments on the concept of intranet...

"...If I'm in Dallas and I'm on Time Warner Cable, I want localized content."

This is a no brainer quote when it comes to news and weather and even sports, but the web has a way of aggregating all local content in a way TV does not.

So those were my 4 thoughts for today.  I will try and take some good pictures of my journey to ICQ and give you my pitch on Art and Social Networks next time.


gregsblog at 9:37:35 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 0 comments: Add your own

This week we have been working hard on preparing for the next AIM release and getting ready for a trip to Tel Aviv to visit ICQ.  I will be doing posts and uploading pictures to Flickr over the next week while I am out there.

I also will get some of my mashup camp samples posted and share a little bit of the Open AIM goodness I mentioned last week.  So stay tuned.


gregsblog at 2:29:58 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 0 comments: Add your own