AIM Now (Mostly) Open To Developers 187
gregsblog writes "Today is a historic day at AOL as we announced a software development kit for AOL Instant Messenger. Open AIM will empower you, as the developer, to write custom clients and plugins.
For now, lets concentrate on the Open AIM SDK and get into what it can do for you. First, the development kit is written using COM, so plugins and custom clients can be written for Windows in languages like C++, VB, C#, and eventually J-Script. In the near future we will have solutions for LINUX, MAC and Windows Mobile devices. Why is this important? We now have a solution to provide all AIM users and consumers to build their own IM clients and to extend the features of Triton via plugins. Of course all of this is free of charge. How do I get started? Well my team has provided a quick start guide, and tutorials, in addition to numerous coding examples, from the simple to the complex. Our examples are in C++ and C#.
What are the limitations? Basically anything goes, with the exception of writing multi-headed clients."
That's great but what about step 3? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:That's great but what about step 3? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:That's great but what about step 3? (Score:3, Informative)
It's certainly working out fine for indi [getindi.com] so far... routing multiplayer hearts games over Jabber, good times!
Re:That's great but what about step 3? (Score:2)
Neither Live Comm Server or Sametime are free - so with c
Re:That's great but what about step 3? (Score:2)
Simp is also used (Secure MSN).
Re:That's great but what about step 3? (Score:2)
Standard IRCDs are all well and good, but limited in a corporate environment. Most companies want secure encrypted channels/IMs and full logging ability. Add on to that the usual requirement of user authentication (no spoofing of users allowed here), plus contact photos (they all see MSNs Contacts photos and say 'hey why can't we have that? y'know linked to our phone list db?')... After that you have secure file trans
Re:That's great but what about step 3? (Score:2)
Well, that'll change everything... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Well, that'll change everything... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Well, that'll change everything... (Score:5, Insightful)
Having had time to RTFA, I'd say it's unlikely the Gaim developers will touch this release. The licensing terms are incompatible; among other things, it forbids the creation of clients that are interoperable with other networks.
One might try arguing that a Gaim plugin using the AOL code does not in itself violate that - it's the end user who breaks the rule when they load in plugins for other networks - but I somehow think that won't fly in court.
I notice you also need separate licensing to create a client that runs on a mobile. Hmm. Something to do with mobile operators not wanting to lose all that SMS revenue from people using AIM instead, perhaps? ;-)
Re:Well, that'll change everything... (Score:4, Informative)
SMS + IM integration is a gold mine for telcos, and a rogue developer plus a small subscription based website/service can probably pull lower prices. Don't want that happening
Yes... (Score:4, Funny)
Yes, it would be just terrible if something like that [getjar.com] were to happen...
Re:Well, that'll change everything... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Well, that'll change everything... (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.atomiccog.com/products/toccer-for-treo
My apologies to Tienshiao if I just slashdotted his server.
(AIM client for the Treo 600/650 which uses a direct TOC connection... no sms needed)
There is a reason for this (Score:2)
Re:Well, that'll change everything... (Score:2)
Shameless plug: I wrote a free J2ME Aim client. Link is on my homepage if anyone is interested.
Re:Well, that'll change everything... (Score:2)
uPNP fixes a lot of connection issues (Score:2)
Re:Well, that'll change everything... (Score:2)
Re:Well, that'll change everything... (Score:2)
Re:Well, that'll change everything... (Score:2)
GAIM (Score:3, Informative)
MAC? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:MAC? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:MAC? (Score:3, Informative)
The "official" mac client: (Score:4, Informative)
You'll notice that unlike Gaim, and like the official AIM client, iChat does all the file transfer and direct connect stuff without problems (almost all the time, so basically in the same situations that the AIM program would).
I think this is why AOL's Mac OS X efforts have been effectively suspended -- Apple is doing it for them.
And frankly, given what a pile of turds the AOL client always was, I'm quite happy that they leave it this way.
Re:The "official" mac client: (Score:2)
iChatter (Score:2)
It's called iChatter, and it does a nice job of translating acronyms back to phrases using a customizable dictionary, etc. (So you can program "LOL" to be spoken as "ha ha" or anything else you want.)
http://www.ecamm.com/mac/ichatter/ [ecamm.com]
I can't personally vouch for it, but it's out there. I use Adium (or AdiumX, I'm not clear on what it's 'official' name is) as my day-to-day client, and iChat for file transfers and on the very few occasions I
Re:iChatter (Score:2)
If it weren't for that one killer feature, I'd definitely switch to iChat, no questions asked.
Think they'll offer AIM certifications? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Think they'll offer AIM certifications? (Score:5, Funny)
MAC (Score:3, Funny)
In the near future we will have solutions for LINUX, MAC and Windows Mobile devices.
Wow. That is really cool that they are planning to embed AIM capabilities directly into the Media Access Control sublayer. That should make AIM even more ubiquitous. It's a shame they have no plans to get this AIM SDK up and running on Mac OS X, though.
BTW, what does "LINUX" stand for? I've never heard of it.
Re:MAC (Score:5, Funny)
Re:MAC (Score:2)
Liberty, my friends; always, always liberty!
Re:MAC (Score:2, Funny)
A slight step forward (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:A slight step forward (Score:2, Interesting)
Funny definition of open... (Score:5, Insightful)
The definition of "almost, but not quite totally useless" seems more appropriate.
-Charles
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:2)
Which I read as "Writing spam-bomb plugins that piss off our entire user base is perfectly fine, but to hell with interoperability."
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:5, Insightful)
Why would a company choose AIM over the IETF-ratified XMPP standard, Jabber? There are open-source Jabber servers and clients that do that job just as well, and you don't have to rely on another business to make them work. Do businesses even have the option of installing an AIM server locally?
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:2)
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm specifically referring to this:
The installed userbase is meaningless for things like this. Who cares if AIM has millions of users? You aren't telling Joe Random every time your server goes down, you're telling your server admins.
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:2)
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:2)
ICQ used to have a server you could download. It had a 200-client limit[1], and didn't inter-operate with their Internet IM (it was local only), but it was a good solution for small businesses back when Jabber was just getting started.
I haven't been following ICQ much since the AOL purchase (almost all of the ICQ/AIM people I know are now on Jabber or MSNM), but it may still be available. I'd still recommend ejabberd though. And
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:2)
Because everyone uses AIM and (comparitively) no one uses Jabber.
"Do businesses even have the option of installing an AIM server locally?"
As Microsoft has discovered, having an on-site instant messaging server is useless in the business world, because you're talking to others outside of
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:2)
Why does that matter in this specific use case?
The downside to on-site IM you describe is only manifested when you use a centralised system like MSN Messenger rather than a decentralised system like Jabber.
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:2)
You mentioned using Jabber as an end-to-end business solution. I'm stating that no one in the business world uses Jabber. Go to any company and try to get them to change from AIM. When you explain to them that all their external contacts will also need to be running Jabber, you'll pretty much lose the argument.
"The downside to on-site IM you describe is only manifested when you use a centralised system like MSN Messenger rather than a decentralised system
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:2)
When the other person mentioned installed user base, he was referring to the network effect of all your contacts being on an interoperable IM network. I'm not sure how your comment is relevant to that.
GTalk is a Jabber client.
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:2, Insightful)
If they feel your not doing it right you wont get a valid key.
Its just a way for outside developers to create custom apps for them without having to put the actual dev work in.
All the benefits of open source except for the openness*.
(*sure, you can open source your application, but the end user cannot compile his own version without requiring his own key)
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:3, Informative)
And this is why the GPL3 draft requires that if you have an application that is GPLed, and if it requires a key to run, that you distribute the key to the application author in order to allow him/her to compile the application in a way that's usable to the end user.
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:2)
If the end user can't modify and run a modified version of the program, they no longer have this freedom. For your example, if a developer releases a program for the Google API under GPL3, there's no problem, because new users can create new keys, freely from Google, and modify the program as they wish.
That's the
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:2)
What then? Whats my liability?
This is bringing politics into software licensing far far too much.
Re:Funny definition of open... (Score:2)
Not saying I agree, necessarily, just that this was the intent as I understand it.
libgaim (Score:5, Insightful)
Recently, the Gaim developers have started to separate the core code--which handles things such as network connections and messaging--from the GUI code, which controls how these actions are presented to the user. After the code split is complete, it will be possible to write client programs using a developer's GUI library of choice. The core library produced by the split will be called libgaim; an in-development but stable version of this library is already in use in the Adium, Fire, and Proteus clients as well as the Meebo web-based application.
So, in other words, AOL are going to have something much more limited than libgaim (AIM protocol only) available in the "near future"? Uhhh... congratulations AOL! Now bugger off, you jerk-burgers!
Re:libgaim (Score:4, Insightful)
You know, they still run the aim servers... for free.
And they stopped deliberately breaking other clients for the most part.
oh my god, it's free! (Score:3, Informative)
Yeah. Because they wouldn't lose 100% of their non-aol users the day they started charging for aim. Plenty of instant messaging protocols out there that people can switch too. Right now, no one bothers to look for anything else, but the moment they're told to get their credit card, you can bet they're going to hit google to search for something else. And tell their friends.
They're not doing this out of the goodness of their heart. Most of us who
Re:libgaim (Score:2)
And they stopped deliberately breaking other clients for the most part.
That's because it was ineffective and, with the diverted effort, they began falling behind other IM protocols.
You know, they still run the aim servers... for free.
Except for all those ads. I'm sure the API will provide an option to omit these ads, too...
Sorry, but AOL is still evil. Had they done this years ago when everyone was calling for it, maybe this would matter. But we've all moved on already. Too little, way too late.
Re:libgaim (Score:2)
You know, they still run the aim servers... for free.
In a world with hundreds of free Jabber servers, one free AIM server means dick.
Gaim file transfers (Score:2)
Yes, but jabber.org goes down.
Also, just one day, someday, I'd like to be able to successfully transfer a file from gaim using *any* protocol to another user. I've tried and tried and never succeeded. I'm sure that somewhere, someone must have functioning file transfer, but I've never actually observed it with my own eyes. These days, I'm behind one of those damn NAT routers (though I have a SOCKS server running) and still ca
Re:libgaim (Score:3, Interesting)
And legal.
IIRC anyone who's ever agreed to AIM's click-through license has promised that they won't try to crack the protocol. And it's hard to crack the protocol without running AIM. The only previous open library for AIM was TOC, which is very limited.
And if you're going to break the AIM client license and reverse-engineer it, then why not as well break the Open AIM license
Re:libgaim (Score:2)
Re:libgaim (Score:2)
1) You're saying "bugger off" to a company that has been providing a solid, reliable, and useful service for free for almost a decade now. "Damn you jerkwads! Your free services disgust me!" They've been offering the TOC protocol, for free to any third-party developer for almost as long as AIM has existed. What the hell more could they do to make you happy? Free blow jobs? (Compare to MSN which is only there to steal mindshare from AIM and doesn't freakin' work anyway, it has maybe a 95% uptime dur
Why not officially open the API instead? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Why not officially open the API instead? (Score:2)
Re:Why not officially open the API instead? (Score:2, Informative)
So any client that properly identifies itself (i.e. does not claim to be an official AIM client and uses an Open AIM key), and conforms to the AIM Developer EULA, will be allowed to use the AIM network, regardless of whether or not they use our SDK.
Of course, I recommend using our SD
If you get Slashdotted, your key breaks. (Score:2)
Of course, I recommend using our SDK. It's robust and fast, and is way ahead of libgaim and other libs in terms of functionality.
Unless one of the following applies:
The IETF did release XMPP/Jabber... (Score:2, Informative)
First Step (Score:2, Funny)
If more IM vendors start opening up (Jabber, my personal favorite, has always been open, ofcourse
then again i'll be driving with 4 scandily clad girls in my newest lexus besides copacabana beach.
Still, it's a good fantasy
Re:First Step (Score:2)
Excellent openness... but what about... (Score:4, Interesting)
But one critical question comes to mind: In the past, AOL has been very picky and fussy about "non-authorized" tools and processes accessing their "IM network infrastructure." Their TOS does not (or, at least, did not) allow anything other than genuine AOL AIM clients to access their infrastructure.
Does this new development opportunity change the TOS such that non-AOL AIM clients can now access the infrastructure (while remaining within the boundaries of acceptability)? Several companies have banned anything other than genuine AIM clients because of AOL's AIM TOS. Has this changed?
Re:Excellent openness... but what about... (Score:3, Informative)
Any client that properly identifies itself (i.e. does not claim to be an official AIM client and uses an Open AIM key), and conforms to the AIM Developer EULA, will be allowed to use the AIM network, regardless of whether or not they use our SDK.
Now, the SDK provides A LOT of functionality, including full support for file transfer, image sharing, voice, video, security - things that would take a long time to get working right if you are starting fr
HAHA, April Fools! (Score:2)
Re:HAHA, April Fools! (Score:2)
What is AOLs position regarding advertisements? The AIM buddylist has always had advertisements, and now 3rd party developers can create better clients that don't have these advertisements. (Not that they haven
Re:HAHA, April Fools! (Score:2, Informative)
Regarding 3rd party clients - we think that we can build a competitive client. If people don't want to use our client, we don't think it makes sense to force them to do so.
Regarding how this is a good move for AOL - there are a number of IM networks to choose from, and we think increased creativity and client choice is a way to position our network ahead of the rest. Also, ads ar
One problem with that... (Score:2)
BUT, until you change the licence, most of the popular alternatives will still be considered "illegal" by AOL.
Specifically, if it really IS possible to connect to AIM (and use full features) from an alternative client without using the AOL SDK (e.g. what clients like GAIM and Miranda use), there needs to be legal say so from someone at AOL (not just a random slashdot posting from someone who may be an AOL employee or may be impersonating
Not OPEN at all! (Score:5, Informative)
Q: Are there any restrictions on what I can build?
A: We tried to make the Open AIM Program as restriction-free as possible, but in order to help protect our network and users, certain rules apply. We have highlighted some below, but please refer to the Developers License Agreement for details.
* Developers are not permitted to build Custom Clients that are multi-headed or interoperable with any other IM network.
* Custom Clients developed for use on a mobile device or via a wireless telecommunications carrier's network and/or wireless services require separate licensing and business agreements with AOL. Any inquiries regarding mobile applications should be sent to AIMCommercial@aol.com.
* Custom Clients designed for sale to a corporate customer base or to serve a corporate employee base require separate licensing and business agreements with AOL. Any inquiries regarding enterprise use should be sent to AIMCommercial@aol.com.
Re:Not OPEN at all! (Score:2)
So does that count laptops? And why should it matter whether the internet connection is wired or via a wireless service? What if I'm using a card in my PC to connect to Verizon's wireless internet service? And what, f
Re:Not OPEN at all! (Score:2)
Unless you add specific functionality related to mobile phones or wireless networks, they probobly wont have problems with anyone building a client running on a normal windows machine.
Of course IANAL etc etc etc
Re:Not OPEN at all! (Score:2)
There's a reason so many people feel so passionate about Free Software [fsf.org]. We're not just a bunch of raving lunatics foaming at the mouth. If we are, corporations like AOL made us this way. I mean just try to deal with them, or Microsoft or Adobe or Apple or
They're "Open", even compliant with the OSI on some levels, and they give you stuff for free, but there's always those hidden costs.
Re:Not OPEN at all! (Score:2)
Do you suppose IRC counts as an "IM network"?
Why do I ask? No reason...
AIM bots (Score:2, Insightful)
Setup for a lawsuit??? (Score:3, Interesting)
Forbidden Third Party Software (Score:2, Insightful)
Celebration (Score:2)
Ok so this is a wrapper for the AIM Client... (Score:2)
How is this 'Open' or even beneficial. You could write a wrapper around the exising AIM Client and strip or add features as you wanted, just not with AOLs blessing.
IE is more 'open' than this, as you can at least write an HTML rendering applicaiton around the system DLLs, and not have to license crap, or 'conform' to not integrating with other services.
Give me a freaking break. Everyone here that thinks AOL has done something good, needs to be slapped up side the
Triton Sucks (Score:2)
Re:How does this change anything? (Score:2)
Re:How does this change anything? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:How does this change anything? (Score:2)
Being a past user of GAIM while I was using Linux as my main OS, I have to admit that GAIM sucks compared to the AIM client. I had constant problems connecting directly and doing file transfers with other AIM users. I also couldn't stand the way it looked on Windows (I haven't used the Linux version since college) and found that the AOL client (filtered through an adblock squid proxy) was much better.
At work I use bitlbee in my SSH sessi
Re:How does this change anything? (Score:2)
Re:How does this change anything? (Score:2)
If I remember, it's that w/Trillian you have to explicitly open a certain set of ports on your firewall to receive file transfers, whereas MSN/AIM use uPNP (I think that's what it's called, I'm not a networking guy) to automagically instruct the firewall to let traffic through those ports... (or something like
Re:How does this change anything? (Score:2)
At college the majority used AIM (a great many of those used Deadaim or some other thing to make AIM less shitty, like adding logging, removing ads etc).
Here at work lots of people use Trillian, myself included. I got two of my friends started on it here too. Trillian is nice but has a lot of bugs, at least one of which they have no plans to fix.
[rant]I contacted them about trillian accessing my hd every 2 seconds. After several emails I learned from Scott, one
Re:How does this change anything? (Score:2)
One other thing worth mentioning is that AIM and ICQ should be on the same network ( see http://news.com.com/2100-1023-963699.html [com.com] ), so anything done for AIM should also help ICQ.
I would be interested in using this opportunity to provide Jabber support in the solution.
Re:Open source is good (Score:3, Interesting)
BTW, multi-protocol clients a la Gaim and Trillian are verboten with this new library.
Re:Open source is good (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I can see a lot of uses... (Score:3, Informative)
Having the sourcecode to libraries is incredibly usefull, if you already developing an app then you presumeably have a reasonable knowlege of atleast one programming language, so you can read the source to the library and get a better understanding of why it performs in a particular way...
I've quite often beat my head against a wall, trying to debug why something d
Re:I can see a lot of uses... (Score:2)
Re:J-Script? (Score:2)
Re:too little, too late (Score:2)
Helix at least gave us an interesting framework. AOL gave us jack shit.
A message to AIM: if merely releasing an API made something open, then Windows would have been open forever.