Filed under: Developer, Utilities, Web services, Open Source, Social Software, AOL
It’s hard to get by with just one chat client these days. Your contacts aren’t prone to be limited to a single service, like Google Speak, MSN Live or AIM, so a multi-chat client is a must. Now the multi-chat experience is about to get a lot superior for AIM’s 27.8 million users, with the launch of AOL’s Open AIM 2.0 initiative.
Open AIM will aid the developers of clients like Meebo and eBuddy by releasing documentation for OSCAR, the protocol that the official AIM client uses to connect to the service. Open source libraries are now granted to access the AIM network, and developers are free to create mobile or corporate versions of AIM to their heart’s content, and AIM will now all kinds of widgets and plugins.
What does this mean for users? For one, some of the compatibility issues with third-party clients might finally go away — file transfer is the one that’s always been a sore spot for us. AOL is promising access to AIM’s voice and video capabilities, too. Keep an eye out for updates to your favorite chat client, because the devs are likely working at full speed to add new features under Open AIM.
[Via TechCrunch]
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