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Facebook Gets New Integrated IM Client 79

Posted by Zonk from the this-is-the-problem-with-having-no-friends dept.
Stitch_Surfs writes "Blognation is reporting that the IM client FriendVOX has gone live for Facebook. This is the first time that Facebook users (of which there are now some 32 million) can communicate with one another from directly within the Facebook application. This development, by UK-based Techlightenment, effectively closes the loop for any external applications to be used (or necessary) for communication among Facebook users.'It will be interesting to see how quickly FriendVox is adopted and could it ever replace Twitter by simply using the Facebook status. The other question is what will Facebook do if FriendVox ever became too popular? Would they seek to buy it or replicate it themselves? This is the real dilemma facing all Facebook developers living inside the Facebook walled garden, and recently this happened when a developer showed Facebook their new marketplace application which would run inside of Facebook. Inside of two weeks Facebook had suddenly launched their own marketplace!'"
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Facebook Gets New Integrated IM Client More

Facebook Gets New Integrated IM Client

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  • hyperbole (Score:5, Funny)

    by User 956 ( 568564 ) on Friday October 05, 2007 @04:55PM (#20873345) Homepage
    This is the first time that Facebook users (of which there are now some 32 million) can communicate with one another from directly within the Facebook application.

    Really? The first time they could communicate with each other? what were they doing on the site before?

    • Really? The first time they could communicate with each other? what were they doing on the site before?
      Stalking does not require communication.
    • Until now, there has been no way to communicate in this kind of direct and instant way in the repertoire of facebook applications.

      That said, it is a little bit of a hyperbole.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Seumas ( 6865 )
      This is awesome! Since everyone uses their social network (myspace or facebook) as their ENTIRE INTERNET EXPERIENCE, just like back in the old BBS days where each person's universe consisted of one single point of connection and interaction and failure, now they can use an IM client/network that depends entirely on the same stupid social network. Now when your account is banned or the system is down, you'll not only lose your "email" and connections with all your friends (and self worth), but you'll also lo

    • Really? The first time they could communicate with each other? what were they doing on the site before?
      Sending each other shitty application invites. And poking.
  • As if facebook wasn't creepy enough... now people can see if I'm online at that VERY moment? Thats not scary at all.
  • It was always so hard for me to click on someone's screen name in their profile to open up an AIM window to use them.

    Popular instant messaging systems be damned, we need another way to send our friends links to shock sites that doesn't work with any others!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Ilgaz ( 86384 ) *

      It was always so hard for me to click on someone's screen name in their profile to open up an AIM window to use them.

      Popular instant messaging systems be damned, we need another way to send our friends links to shock sites that doesn't work with any others!
      Don't say the new IM system developed in 2007 is not built on XMPP (aka Jabber).

      I am afraid to check the degree of their stupidity.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jZnat ( 793348 ) *
        I don't believe MySpaceIM uses XMPP, and that's quite the recent protocol. Then again, expecting them to follow any standards is like expecting Microsoft to follow pre-existing open standards they weren't involved in the creation for.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Ilgaz ( 86384 ) *

          I don't believe MySpaceIM uses XMPP, and that's quite the recent protocol. Then again, expecting them to follow any standards is like expecting Microsoft to follow pre-existing open standards they weren't involved in the creation for.

          One wonders doesn't these companies stop a second and ask themselves why Google, a giant used XMPP as their root protocol on IM services and why they didn't code another closed one?

          Google and Apple (as including XMPP on server,client) knows technologies doesn't have scalability and especially portability and open specs has no future in communications.

          If AOL started IM just today, it would be XMPP based. The "MS" situation is different. MS needs to keep full feature service in their own Windows OS. With an

  • Why. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Pojut ( 1027544 ) on Friday October 05, 2007 @05:03PM (#20873441) Homepage
    While I definately prefer Facebook over MySpace, and while I have found it to be EXTREMELY useful (located some friends I hadn't seen or heard from since middle school...a couple from as far as back as elementary school) I absolutely despise this application crap...part of the allure facebook had for me was that it was clean, simple, and not flashy. While I know that all of these applications are entirely voluntary and they don't just toss them in your face (i.e. you have to actually go browsing in the application section to see them) it still bothers me that Facebook continues to expand like this.

    Don't get me wrong...from a business sense, I understand why it's being done. From a lot of my friend's point of view, I notice that a large portion of them like the idea of of the applications...but still. Slowly, Facebook is becoming more and more like MySpace....and that's definitely not good.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Agreed 100%. Facebook used to be "MySpace for college students". Relatively closed network, served the basic functions of finding your friends, organizing events and leaving posts to people you met at a party. It was useful and I was a satisfied user.

      Then it was opened to anyone, step 1 towards Myspace - and now the applications and "friend networks" containing hundreds of faceless friends have destroyed the utility of the site and made Facebook into Myspace Two. Some peoples' walls consist of over 50% "THX

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by ShatteredArm ( 1123533 )
        I still think Facebook is very useful despite the profile clutter. So far, it's not as absurd as Myspace, what with the blinking text and ridiculous "pimped" backgrounds or whatever.

        I do like the idea of applications, but it is taken too far. I have apps like "CDs" and "Where I've Been"... You know, things that are actually reflections of who you are. The ones I hate are crap like "Super Poke", "Advanced Wall", "Graffiti", etc. The "fun" ones are stupid. I use Facebook to network, not to screw aroun

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by glwtta ( 532858 )
          It's actually extremely easy to get rid of all that crap: http://userstyles.org/styles/3681 [userstyles.org]

          Just add a {display: block;} for any application you actually want to see, and you are all set.
          • Those little triangles by the application name are clickable. Click on it to minimize the app, and it will show up minimized on all profiles you view.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by glwtta ( 532858 )
              Two problems with that: some people feel it necessary to install upwards of 20 apps, it's annoying to go through them all (and the interface still ends up kinda cluttered), and new pointless applications are added all the time - as far as I can see there is no way to set them to minimize by default.

              No, I'm much happier with the blanket rules (makes it feel like it's 2005 again).
      • Good post; it's clear that every new site has to expand until it subsumes all functions of the Internet to maximize the apparent valuation to any deep pocketed and preferably extremely stupid buyer (eBay, are you listening?) In the process of trying to be all thing to all people, it then loses what made it distinctive and useful in the first place.

  • Developer talking here (Score:5, Insightful)

    by unity100 ( 970058 ) on Friday October 05, 2007 @05:29PM (#20873765) Homepage Journal
    Yea, developer of the kind of those in the article. And i would guarantee that the repetition of below act would totally nullify any developer doing any crap for anything that starts with f and ends with k - we developers are a free bunch, not morons :

    This is the real dilemma facing all Facebook developers living inside the Facebook walled garden, and recently this happened when a developer showed Facebook their new marketplace application which would run inside of Facebook. Inside of two weeks Facebook had suddenly launched their own marketplace!'"
  • This is the first time that Facebook users can communicate with one another from directly within the Facebook application.

    This is great! Someday, maybe this tool will allow Facebook users to communicate with users on other websites. Imagine the possibilities!

    Right now, the web is fragmented into many different isolated islands. Each service requires a different registration, uses different protocols, and are generally incompatible with one another. It's difficult for UserA on Facebook to communicate with U

  • Meebo (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Satertek ( 708058 ) <brian@satertek.info> on Friday October 05, 2007 @05:40PM (#20873941) Homepage
    There has been a Meebo app out for ages, so I don't know where this "first time" thing is coming from.

    http://auburn.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2354779593 [facebook.com]

  • This Just In: FUNWALL! (Score:4, Funny)

    by rueger ( 210566 ) on Friday October 05, 2007 @05:46PM (#20873985) Homepage
    Ye Gawds.... Facebook apps are news worthy? Then again, maybe Slashdot also needs opportunities for me to turn Taco into a Vampire.
  • What about Mosoto [mosoto.com], currently in alpha? At first glance, it looks rather interesting as well... interface is slick, it lets you mouse over friends to see common interests, and it is said that you can use this to stream music to your friends. It has buttons for using a webcam, too; I haven't played with Mosoto much yet but it's worth a look if we're talking about IM through Facebook. -- Joren
  • Great, just add it to the long list: AIM, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, skype, google talk, QQ, etc. Stop the madness developers!

  • jabber/xmpp? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by hitmark ( 640295 ) on Friday October 05, 2007 @07:27PM (#20874893) Journal
    why not create a jabber/xmpp based solution?

    that way any recent non-specific im client should be able to access it, and gtalk at the same time.
  • The site's down. Is there a mirror anywhere?
  • Facebook may replicate it, but they tend to be better behaved than myspace who like to block applications from their site - youtube, photobucket, revver, imeem, hoooka have all been blocked from myspace. A myspace exec even made a comment that if they'd seen youtube sooner they would have shut it down and stopped it becoming the titan they are, with imeem they don't intend to make that mistake again. (you can't eve say imeem.com without it getting edited)
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • A proper British take on Facebook (Score:3, Funny)

    by slyborg ( 524607 ) on Friday October 05, 2007 @10:18PM (#20876025)
    (Courtesy of b3ta.com)

    http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w89/pickledpizza/facebook2.jpg [photobucket.com]

    Just brilliant.
  • Is anyone paid to publish this story or submit this story to Slashdot "news for nerds?".

    If this kind of junk makes into front page of slashdot second time in a month (check http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/23/0019224 [slashdot.org] which is there on APPLE topic with a referrer? URL), why the hell are you suggesting us to pay/subscribe to get rid of ads? I could care less about ads, there are 3 layers of disabled software which would allow me to erase them. We, subscribers pay so Slashdot wouldn't have t
  • If they are going to develop a really good IM for Facebook (which I'd quite like) then they really nned a libpurple plugin no? That way it would work with e.g. Pidgin and Adium...
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

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