August 27, 2004
AIM - Why No Pop Under?
I've used AOL's instant messenger for a long time, and it's made some nice improvements since I first used it, but there is still one glaring feature that's missing. Their message windows always popup over other applications. I've used Yahoo! messenger, MSN's, and iChat, which are all way less intrusive when you first get a message. Why can't AOL do the same? Is it that hard or bad to have your windows pop-under the screen?
I mean, how often does this happen? You're typing away, typety, type, type, type, and then bam! - a message pops up and you get some of what you typed into that message window. How annoying is that? Sometimes you can't even catch yourself, you're pressing enter for your excel sheet and you just entered 548 into your message.
I guess the way to counteract this is by having the message notification sound on, but that's not too suitable for work, is it. At least with the latest version, it makes a little click sound so if you're looking down you know something has popped up. Just because someone is on your buddy list, it doesn't mean you want their message popping onto your screen over everything else. I'm sure all it would take is a tweak or two of their software and they could make me happy.
Posted by tien mao in Tech at 7:32 AM
hey man. check out the software gaim. it combines all your IM programs together(aol,msn,yahoo,etc) and alot of cool features including pop unders and the instead of having a different window for each message it combines your messages(either msn,aol,yahoo) in one tiny tabbed message box window.
http://gaim.sourceforge.net/win32/index.php
Posted by: clint at August 27, 2004 9:02 AM
i guess my big problem with the programs the combined all the services was functionality, but gaim looks pretty good. i almost think anything with tabbed windows is good.
Posted by: tien at August 27, 2004 9:07 AM
I use Trillian, which is similar, and I'm pretty sure it has a pop-under setting of some sort.
Posted by: Laren at August 27, 2004 9:14 AM
i would say that the functionality is even if not above what aim provides. you can make your buddy list and message windows transparent or almost invisible. good for at work.
Posted by: clint at August 27, 2004 9:15 AM
see, the problem with trillian is that you couldn't do much of anything besides send messages.
clint, so far gain is working great. thanks!
Posted by: tien at August 27, 2004 9:31 AM
no problem. im glad you like it. to get transparency just highligt plug-ins, in the prefs and it should be listed in there. if you are code person you can download the source code too.
Posted by: clint at August 27, 2004 9:36 AM
*busy adding his own two cents* you know i just use dead aim and i dont know if that why, but i dont get the intrucive popup, the minimized screen thing just blinks, but i dont know i dont use it that often so maybe im wrong.
Posted by: t.g. at August 27, 2004 10:02 PM
ok here's my 2 cents --
I personally prefer Miranda IM. It has a tiny memory footprint, you can customize how you want it to work - I prefer the functionality of the old ICQ clients - and it's much much much less intrusive than AIM. I absolutely *LOATHE* Aol's client and refuse to use it. I tried AIMutation for a little bit and while it has a few weird glitches here and there it was a suitable alternative to DeadAim (which costs money) and a nice plugin for AIM. However, goddamnit I really hate AIM, even if it's the base product for something like deadaim or aimutation.
check out miranda tien, www.miranda-im.org (i think).
no matter what though - you have a ton more options than you think.
Posted by: joel at August 28, 2004 9:02 AM
i use AOL at work and it does keep the windows under the open application. i'm not sure if it's the version i use or if it's a preference/setting of some sort...
Posted by: janelle at August 28, 2004 4:44 PM
but you're on a mac right? this is only a pc issue that i have.
Posted by: tien at August 28, 2004 11:24 PM
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tien: but you're on a mac right? this is only a pc issue that i have.... {read on}
janelle: i use AOL at work and it does keep the windows under the open application. i'm ... {read on}
joel: ok here's my 2 cents -- I personally prefer Miranda IM. It has a tiny memory f... {read on}
t.g.: *busy adding his own two cents* you know i just use dead aim and i dont know if ... {read on}
clint: no problem. im glad you like it. to get transparency just highligt plug-ins, in ... {read on}
tien: see, the problem with trillian is that you couldn't do much of anything besides ... {read on}
clint: i would say that the functionality is even if not above what aim provides. you c... {read on}
Laren: I use Trillian, which is similar, and I'm pretty sure it has a pop-under setting... {read on}
tien: i guess my big problem with the programs the combined all the services was funct... {read on}
clint: hey man. check out the software gaim. it combines all your IM programs together(... {read on}