AOL Beta Round-Up Part 2: A Sneak Peak at AOL Software Currently in Development Next-Generation Instant Messaging Wayne Kawamoto
Next-Generation Instant Messaging
AIM Triton Instant Messaging Client, the successor to AOL Instant Messenger, has some graphical improvements and powerful new features over the regular AIM client, most notably the ability to talk. Although still in beta release, AIM Triton has already proven to be a worthy next-generation product and service.
One of AIM Triton's many new features is Screen Name Linking, which lets you link separate accounts so that they appear online simultaneously with multiple screen names. To expand on IM options, the service supports Mobile IM so you can further connect with others.
Your friends can also now gather and chat in private rooms, as well as apply Buddy Icons that consist of cartoon characters, symbols, and pictures. Search features allow you to locate buddies by e-mail address, name and street address, or common interest.
The usual features are here. You can set alerts to tell you when your designated buddies sign on and are available to chat. A privacy feature allows you to block messages. From within AIM, you can obtain news and stock alerts, send e-mail, and transfer pictures and sound files. Once again, the interface relies on tabs to quickly switch between functions. And when chatting with several people at the same time, the program dedicates a tab
to each user.
Talk Meets IM
The powerful new AOL Talk feature in AIM Triton offers an enhancement to AOL Instant Messenger that lets you carry on voice conversations using the speakers and microphone connected to your computer. Users on Microsoft Windows or Apple Macintosh computers will be able to hold one-to-one conversations, while multi-party conversations that can accommodate up to 20 users are supported on systems running Microsoft Windows XP. (Users who wish to hold multi-way conversations must have Microsoft RTC 1.2 or later installed.)
As with Instant Messaging, users get to select who they would like to talk with by highlighting a name on their Buddy List. Once they have selected the users, they can press the "Talk" button to begin the session. Any participant can invite others to join a Talk session, but only the person who created the session can eject people.
The program also offers "audio smileys," entertaining sound effects that are designed to enhance a Talk session. Selecting an audio smiley plays the associated sound for all participants in the session.
If it proves to be stable and problem-free, those who rely on AOL Instant Messenger will want to upgrade to AIM Triton Instant Messaging Client when it is officially released – or sooner. The evolution of the product adds to the usefulness of the service.
Bottom Line
While AOL Explorer, AOL Media Player, AOL Toolbar, and AIM Triton Instant Messaging Client are clearly designed for AOL users, and you must have an
AOL account to fully take advantage of them, the offerings can be beneficial to others as well. And the price for each of the new tools (free, free, free, and free) is generally right as well. In short, if one of the tools sounds useful to you, you should definitely check it out.
Requirements:
AOL Explorer requires Windows 98SE or higher (XP recommended) 64 MB of RAM (128MB recommended), 60 MB of hard drive space, and a 166 MHz Pentium processor (700Mhz recommended). AOL Media Player requires Windows XP, a Web connection, 40 MB of hard drive space, 128 MB of RAM, and an 800x600 (or better) monitor
resolution with 160-bit color depth.
