Okay, I've had a new system for a little while now (it's new for me but it's still pretty antiquated by most standards) but today I finally have it up and running in a spot of it's own. YEAY! Now I just need to finish getting it setup with all the bells and whistles I expect out of a Linux box.
First up Ubuntu Desktop 8.04 LTS x64. Base install is complete. Just adding in my normal compliment of Mono related software and other things like Last.FM.
2008-04-30
2008-04-21
Chat Clients
I've been playing with many chat clients lately. None of them seem to meet ALL of my requirements. I have a question for Y!IM, MSNIM, and AIM... Why are your chat clients so bloated? They take a long time to boot and even when loaded tend to be slow to refresh. When chatting in a chat window they all seem fine. Even voice calls are okay but why is the presence list window so slow?
So far the one I like the most doesn't have two features that I think are critical. That being Google Talk or GTalk the application works great for Windows. I really like it because it seems light weight compared to Y!IM, MSNIM, and AIM. It has the standard text chat based IM and it can even log those chats into your GMail account so you can search through them later. Nice feature really. Plus, it has what I think is THE BEST implementation of voice I have used to date. The other chat clients also have voice capabilities but seem to be hampered by the BLOAT of the IM client itself. Even clients like Gizmo and Skype who also have Mac and Linux version of their clients don't seem to do voice better. Now don't get me wrong they all do voice okay, but they tend to get bogged down sometimes even in just text chat mode. I have yet to have that happen with GTalk. Maybe I've been lucky.
I really like how Nokia and Google have integrated GTalk into the Nokia Internet Tablets. Very nice and again the voice portion works great. Gizmo works but the sound sometimes get broken up. I think it's a feedback issue but haven't tested it fully yet. I would really like to test Skype further but none of my friends or family use it and it's kind of it's own island.
That is probably the biggest problem with all of the chat clients. Why is interoperability still an issue? Programs like Pidgin are sort of solving this issue but only in a patch work kind of way. I realize it is a complicated issue but after how many YEARS of having text chat why is it STILL a problem?
Before I forget the two issues I have with GTalk are that there isn't a version for Linux and that you can't record voice chats. I suppose not having a Mac version is also an issue but I don't own one so it's not one for me. :) Yes, I know they have the web based chatting but that is only for text and it is good but I want/need the voice chat feature. I would complain that it is a missing feature of the Nokia Internet Tablet version but it isn't in ANY version. Though is it were I would hope it would also be in the Nokia version too. :) Which kind of brings me back to the no Linux version. Nokia uses ITOS 2008 which is Linux based and integrates GTalk just fine so where is the native Linux version since it already has something like it available?
Oh well, I'll stop here. This has turned into a bad rant, sorry. I was hoping it wouldn't turn into this but it has anyways. All I want is to be able to talk (chat and voice) with friends and family with the ability to record them for either prosparity or for a possible posting or podcast even and to be able to do it from whatever operating system I happen to be in which these days is more Linux than anything else.
So far the one I like the most doesn't have two features that I think are critical. That being Google Talk or GTalk the application works great for Windows. I really like it because it seems light weight compared to Y!IM, MSNIM, and AIM. It has the standard text chat based IM and it can even log those chats into your GMail account so you can search through them later. Nice feature really. Plus, it has what I think is THE BEST implementation of voice I have used to date. The other chat clients also have voice capabilities but seem to be hampered by the BLOAT of the IM client itself. Even clients like Gizmo and Skype who also have Mac and Linux version of their clients don't seem to do voice better. Now don't get me wrong they all do voice okay, but they tend to get bogged down sometimes even in just text chat mode. I have yet to have that happen with GTalk. Maybe I've been lucky.
I really like how Nokia and Google have integrated GTalk into the Nokia Internet Tablets. Very nice and again the voice portion works great. Gizmo works but the sound sometimes get broken up. I think it's a feedback issue but haven't tested it fully yet. I would really like to test Skype further but none of my friends or family use it and it's kind of it's own island.
That is probably the biggest problem with all of the chat clients. Why is interoperability still an issue? Programs like Pidgin are sort of solving this issue but only in a patch work kind of way. I realize it is a complicated issue but after how many YEARS of having text chat why is it STILL a problem?
Before I forget the two issues I have with GTalk are that there isn't a version for Linux and that you can't record voice chats. I suppose not having a Mac version is also an issue but I don't own one so it's not one for me. :) Yes, I know they have the web based chatting but that is only for text and it is good but I want/need the voice chat feature. I would complain that it is a missing feature of the Nokia Internet Tablet version but it isn't in ANY version. Though is it were I would hope it would also be in the Nokia version too. :) Which kind of brings me back to the no Linux version. Nokia uses ITOS 2008 which is Linux based and integrates GTalk just fine so where is the native Linux version since it already has something like it available?
Oh well, I'll stop here. This has turned into a bad rant, sorry. I was hoping it wouldn't turn into this but it has anyways. All I want is to be able to talk (chat and voice) with friends and family with the ability to record them for either prosparity or for a possible posting or podcast even and to be able to do it from whatever operating system I happen to be in which these days is more Linux than anything else.
2008-04-11
New Toy Update
Okay, so I've had my "New Toy", the Nokia N800, for about a month now. I have to say I use the internet a lot more than I thought. Now I don't think I'm on more than I was before but before I had the N800 I lugged a laptop around with me now I don't have to and it's great. The screen is a little small for some things (I've already mentioned the newer Yahoo Mail interface) and zooming in and out isn't as easy as I think it could be. I think it was worthwhile to get.
I'm not sure it would be for everyone (read as normal consumers) yet. I could give you a run down on what I feel needs to change but since this is the N800 and they just released the N810 WME I know I'm a little behind on the new tech, so I'll save that for another post later. I will say the user interface needs to be reworked so it is easier to use your fingers, the stylus is nice to have but it should be a secondary input device. Many feature could be reworked to have better functionality without adding much if any complexity against what is already offered. Some of the applications need to be better integrated into the overall environment also. Flash has a tendency to struggle sometimes. I figure that is probably a burden for the N800 processor using OS2008. I find it odd that the device doesn't take advantage of screen rotation. A couple of third party applications have it but it seems nothing is built-in to really handle it in the native environment. I think that is an over site that needs to be addressed.
Overall, I'm pleased with it. It has integrated nicely into my normal routine. It isn't a full computer replacement but for normal internet browsing, mail, and chatting (voice works very nicely) I would say it is worth the money. I've got many other apps installed on it now and for the most part it works great. Heck, it's even saved me some money on a motherboard/CPU deal. :)
I'm not sure it would be for everyone (read as normal consumers) yet. I could give you a run down on what I feel needs to change but since this is the N800 and they just released the N810 WME I know I'm a little behind on the new tech, so I'll save that for another post later. I will say the user interface needs to be reworked so it is easier to use your fingers, the stylus is nice to have but it should be a secondary input device. Many feature could be reworked to have better functionality without adding much if any complexity against what is already offered. Some of the applications need to be better integrated into the overall environment also. Flash has a tendency to struggle sometimes. I figure that is probably a burden for the N800 processor using OS2008. I find it odd that the device doesn't take advantage of screen rotation. A couple of third party applications have it but it seems nothing is built-in to really handle it in the native environment. I think that is an over site that needs to be addressed.
Overall, I'm pleased with it. It has integrated nicely into my normal routine. It isn't a full computer replacement but for normal internet browsing, mail, and chatting (voice works very nicely) I would say it is worth the money. I've got many other apps installed on it now and for the most part it works great. Heck, it's even saved me some money on a motherboard/CPU deal. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
