[Q] Replacement for IM???

[CyanBlue]

Howdy... :)

My new work place totally blocks the use of IM which includes Meebo.com and such, so I am IMless while I am at work...

Does anybody know of any other websites like Meebo.com which enables web based IM system??? Or better yet, has anybody done it in Flash???

Thought that I'd ask at least... ;)

Thanks...

[kennard]

I use webmessenger.msn.com but your work have probably cottoned on to that one too.. what about goowy.com?

[CyanBlue]

Hm... I didn't know goowy had implemented all other IMs... Cool... I'll try that when I get in tomorrow... Thanks, kennard... ;)

[CyanBlue]

Crap... Goowy and Webmessenger pages are both blocked... :(

[outlando]

Gmail has built in chat, but it's only enabled with other gmail/google talk users.

[CyanBlue]

Yeah... GTalk is blocked as well... Oh, jolly... :(

[jsebrech]

What about using your cell phone with a data subscription? There are j2me versions of most of the major IM protocols available. You might even be able to route the desktop IM traffic through the phone.

An alternative is using http tunneling. I can't get into specifics, but I used to run http proxies to get around restrictions like these.

[CyanBlue]

Well... I ain't got a cell phone, so the first option would not be a solution for me... :D

As for the http tunneling... I am not really familiar with it, but I'll start googling for it over the weekend to see if it is something I can utilize...

At this point, I am just crossing my fingers so that the company won't block my access to AS.org... :D

[tg]

why not just GET TO WORK you slacker. haha.

[CyanBlue]

Um... Well... Uh... What's work??? :D

[Gerald08]

why not just GET TO WORK you slacker. haha.

yeah, work first before slackng:D lol

[Ruben]

..how about www.iloveim.com?

- Ruben

[CyanBlue]

Blocked... :D

[Ruben]

When in that case; there's always plan B, you'll need two empty cans and a wire..

:p - Ruben

[CyanBlue]

Yeah... I've got plenty of those... :D

[Ruben]

Hey CyanBlue, let's start a company that helps people achieve crosscontinent can-connections, I'm telling you man; there's alot of money going on in that business..

- Ruben

[CyanBlue]

Yeah... That'd be a really successful business only if we can afford the 'wire'... :D

[Ruben]

Haha.

- Ruben

[jjbilly]

I used to work at a place where most of us needed a fairly wide window on the web for work... but they rolled out a fairly draconian set-up of Websense (nice things, like the world wildlife fund being banned as an extremist group). Anyway - the time we wasted going through proxies and using other tricks to do stuff, legitimate and not, was enormous ... and eventually, the powers that be reacted by loosening the control.

I'd have thought that in a coding job you ought to be able to make a strong case for being given back IM so you can do your job better.

[farafiro]

http://iloveim.com/
http://www.msn2go.com/
http://www.icq.com/download/icq2go/

chat chaat chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat

[sfhazel]

Have you tried AIM Express? http://www.aim.com/aimexpress.adp?aolp=0

[CyanBlue]

Yup... That page is blocked as well... :(

[sfhazel]

Well, you could always try using a free proxy service. The free ones are generally slow, but should work fine for AIM conversations. I used a program called Freecap to get around the school network I used to be on. I can't recall the name o the proxy that I used to use though. I think I paid like 3 bucks a month for the service.

[CyanBlue]

Well... I'd do that if I were in the library or some place like that, but not in the work place... :(

[sfhazel]

Well, then what about getting one of these badboys: http://www.sidekick.com ?

[Flash Gordon]

how any ideas how to build one? We could make it a "team project" here as AS.org

[sfhazel]

I made a chatroom in flash before. Users logged in with their un/pw to chat. It was part of an MORPG I had the delusions of gradeur to start working on several months ago. It saved the chat in an sql database. The problem was that it had to constantly send queries to check if the chat was updated.

[Flash Gordon]

I talking more along the lines of how to let people sign into IM or MSN via a Flash GUI on the web.

[sfhazel]

I talking more along the lines of how to let people sign into IM or MSN via a Flash GUI on the web.

Now that would be pretty sweet. Perhaps it could be written in a different language that Flash could communicate with, and act as a front end. This would let us Flash guys make a lot of different looks using the same module.

That kind of gets me excited. Maybe there already is such a module floating around out there, just waiting to be adapted...

[CyanBlue]

Um... I cannot even pay for the mobile phone... What makes you think I can have SideKick??? :p

Yeah... I am sure there is a way to create one in Flash... Love to have such project if there are people available... ;)

[Flash Gordon]

I'm down, but my guess is we need a "C" coder...

[Flash Gordon]

http://www.jivesoftware.org/xiff/
http://xiffian.sourceforge.net/

eh?

[farafiro]

Yeah... I am sure there is a way to create one in Flash... Love to have such project if there are people available... ;)

have you seen my post? the ICQ link

[sfhazel]

I just realized that there is an older, decomissioned post about a Flash-chat program: http://actionscript.org/forums/showthread.php3?t=86544

[CyanBlue]

Yes, farafiro... I did check on that icq link and it is blocked... :(
and we are not talking about general Flash Chat program...

Jabber, if I understand it correctly, generally requires a server/Java and I don't know if that's the way we want to do to create a AIM/MSN/YIM replacement...

[farafiro]

if the flash based ICQ doesn't work, then nothing will do, unfortunatly

[Flash Gordon]

any suggestions for what will make the connection to the AOL server should we build on from stratch?

[sfhazel]

Have you tried this program? http://trillian.cc/

I think you can copy the installed folder from one PC to another and the program will still work fine.

[CyanBlue]

Sure I do use Trillian at home, but I cannot install Trillian at work... Jolly... :D

[sfhazel]

I dont think you need to "install" it. Just copy your Trillian folder and paste to your desktop at work. I used to do this a few years ago because one of the Labs back in college was blocking AIM.

I can't belive I didnt think about this earlier. I guess i had a brain fart or something.

[tg]

i would imagine all the typical ports used by most im clients are blocked.... sounds like they have your ports locked down pretty tight there cb.... you may just be sol.

[CyanBlue]

Oh... Don't get me wrong... I can install the program if I want to because I have priviledge to do so, but the company manual says I am not allowed to... That's why I was mainly looking for the online version which seems like those sites are blocked as well... Oh well... I'll survive... As somebody mentioned earlier, I'll probably get some job done after all... :D

[sfhazel]

Or we could create a CyanBlue-Chat thread and talk on it all day. ;D

[CyanBlue]

Well... Yeah... That is another option... :D

[Flash Gordon]

you could install Trillian to a thumb/flash drive. Plug the flash drive in and run the program from there. I don't think that would be violating the terms.....

Then you go and find the router and change the routing configurations and enable port forward to your computer :p

[tg]

Then you go and find the router and change the routing configurations and enable port forward to your computer :p


haha... i wouldnt change router configurations..... sys admins don't generally have much of a sense of humor when you do stuff like that.... as a rule they turn off those ports, or close port forwarding for a reason.

[CDHBookingEdge]

sys admins don't have a sense of humour? how dare you say that! LOL

[jsebrech]

If your im client can be configured to use a http proxy, use the proxy servers referenced in the links at the bottom of this page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server#External_links

As long as you can browse the web, that should work (unless they've installed intelligent packet-inspecting traffic shaping, but that is extremely doubtful).

[sfhazel]

If your im client can be configured to use a http proxy, use the proxy servers referenced in the links at the bottom of this page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server#External_links

As long as you can browse the web, that should work (unless they've installed intelligent packet-inspecting traffic shaping, but that is extremely doubtful).

CyanBlue already commented about using a proxy:

Well... I'd do that if I were in the library or some place like that, but not in the work place...

[farafiro]

Someone forworded this link for me today
http://www.download.com/Hermes-Technologies/3260-20_4-6272993.html
or http://www.quickim.com

see thisQuickIM MSN instant messenger Pro 2.0
chat with your friend in MSN instant messenager usin public MSN network.

[CyanBlue]

Yeah... That's a good one if I can afford a mobile phone, farafiro... :D

[jsebrech]

Unless you get a mobile phone with a qwerty keyboard, you won't exactly be doing much in the way of chatting. I went through a month or two that my only home internet connection was my cellphone, and I can assure you that T9 just does not cut it.