AOL Testing 'Light' Version of AIM


Recommended Posts

Latest version: 0.30

Responding to the requests of its more advanced users, AOL has begun developing a new lightweight AIM client that includes just the basic instant messaging functionality without all the frills. Called AIM ET, the software is available from AOL's Greenhouse site that offers previews of new products.

Since the late 1990s, instant messaging clients have become more than just text-based communication tools. They include a wide range of functionality like voice and video chat, integrated blogging and even the ability to make phone calls. But for those looking for a basic IM experience, much of the additions have simply amounted to extraneous "bloat."

In turn, savvy consumers have turned to third-party clients such as Trillian, or even AOL's new AIM Pro software designed for businesses. Google has also entered the fray with its simple Google Talk software that has primarily appealed to those looking for something less bulky that AIM Triton or Windows Live Messenger.

"One thing I've been pushing for at AOL since I got here almost a year ago is a light version of AIM. Ted Leonsis, Jim Bankoff, and Jon Miller and I have had countless discussions about the issue and we've made huge progress," says Netscape.com head Jason Calacanis. "This is really the future of AOL: light, fast, free products that compliment our bigger, more feature-rich products."

AIM ET is designed to answer this demand. It removes all but the primary IM functionality from AIM, and contains no advertising. The software utilizes very few system resources, making it ideal for those with older machines.

Still in prototype form, it's unclear whether AOL will officially release AIM ET and under what branding. Calacanis notes that the names "AIM Light" or "Light AIM" are under consideration. However, AOL has developed a number of new products over the years, such as AOL Media Player, that have never seen the light of day.

But Calacanis seems confident that AIM ET represents the direction AOL is headed as it migrates from an ISP to offering open Web services to all users. "Drop everything and go play with it," he says, "this is the future of AOL: light, open, cutting-edge, and elite as well as mass market."

AIM ET 1.07 is available for download now from FileForum.

Source

Edited by slimy
Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/500351-aol-testing-light-version-of-aim/
Share on other sites

Sound's great, I wonder what it's like.

It's AIM...Lite. It's exactly what you would expect, UI is sexy as hell, no "bloat" features, just file tranfser as far as I can tell and it only uses 1.4 megs of memory in the systray (about 7 when pulled up) and it's very sleek. I'd say this is about as good if not better than miniaim as far as minimal AIM clients go (Y)

But again, it's an AOL product. I await the bashing as per the usual AOL threads. Come on guys, you know you want to!

Wow, this is actually nice.

I wonder if that AIM+Google thing is interop?

Oooh, might wanna blot out your buddy names there. Just a tip :|

Sound's great, I wonder what it's like.

EDIT: Bah, when they said it was just straight IMing, they meant it. It's too boring and quiet for me. No profiles either!

You are actually complaining because it's exactly what's advertised? :|

looks kinda cool but im using aim 5.2 right now and its only using 5mb of memory when its opened.

And AIM 5.2 has been optimized and bug fixed and streamlined after months of work. AIM ET is brand new and the first version, I'm sure it has streamlining and optimizing to be done as well. Not to mention it is an early beta :)

AIM ET is a reference application for testing some new client technology developed here at AOL, with the intent of being simple, fun and light. Provides a fast, no-frills AIM experience.

This is a preview version which may expire

Brand new beta version...very lightweight, no frills, no useless features, only using 9mb of ram! :yes:

Screenshots coming when I get home from work...

Aim Lite

post-32407-1159898848_thumb.jpg

post-32407-1159898865_thumb.jpg

post-32407-1159898878_thumb.jpg

post-32407-1159899253.jpg

Edited by xxdesmus

@monacelli

I agree, I hate applications that use custom skins/UI...it's the only problem I have with Trillian as well. I've commented to the developers countless times about how irritating it is, and how just an option would be much appreciate :yes:

I agree. I miss the classic "Windows Classic" look. :no:

looks kinda cool but im using aim 5.2 right now and its only using 5mb of memory when its opened.

Same here. I've been using AIM 5.2 plus DeadAIM for years now and I've been very reluctant to try out any newer AIM versions because all the bad reports I've heard from AIM 5.5+ and Triton. Lately, though, is seems that AOL is headed in the right direction with AIM. I may just take this new AIM "ET" for a spin.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Still using Classic Outlook? Microsoft highlights 15 reasons to switch to New Outlook by Usama Jawad As many of you may know, Microsoft has been trying to get customers to ditch Classic Outlook in favor of New Outlook for quite some time now. To that end, it has added numerous capabilities to the latter, including PST features, and it is working on several more, such as a unified inbox. However, customer response has been a bit lukewarm so far, with many considering the New Outlook to be "hot garbage". Now, Microsoft has highlighted 15 features that users can leverage in New Outlook in yet another attempt to get customers to migrate. Although not all of the 15 capabilities are exclusive to New Outlook, in fact, most of them are available in Classic Outlook as well. But Microsoft hopes that this combination of familiar and fresh features will be able to attract existing users as well as new ones. For ease of readability, we have summarized the 15 features below: Pin an email: This makes it easier to track important emails Snooze an email: You can temporarily snooze an email thread for a specific time frame until it becomes relevant again. This can be very useful in scenarios where you don't feel like actively following a thread or simply want to follow up on a later date Add multiple categories at the same time: You can assign multiple categories to an email through a single, simplified interface Sweep: As the name implies, you can define automated move processes on your inbox to declutter it, rather than cleaning it up manually Schedule send: Does exactly what it says on the tin, and can be useful when accommodating recipients in different timezones Simplified folder sharing: The sharing process has been simplified so permissions are automatically applied on parent folders Follow a meeting: This is an RSVP option that lets people know that you won't be able to join the meeting but would still like to access a recap Save calendar views: You can save different views for the calendar based on different workflows Improved meeting tracking: Organizers have more controls in viewing meeting responses, such as the ability to sort and download them. Typically useful when there is a large audience Meeting recap: The Outlook Calendar surfaces a meeting recap with recordings, transcripts, and shared files Filtered views: Allows you to declutter your Calendar so that it's easier to scan and schedule Change a recurring event: Users can modify future events of a series of meetings while preserving the configuration of previous ones Rename your email account: This labeling makes it easier to identify multiple accounts in Outlook Modern themes: Exactly what the name says, plus Dark Mode Keyboard shortcuts: This facilitates flexible user behavior as customers can choose between Outlook for Windows shortcuts, Outlook for the web, or turn them off completely There you have it. It's a decent list, but it remains to be seen if it will move the needle in a meaningful way for users who are attached to Classic Outlook. Again, a lot of the aforementioned features are already available in Outlook Classic, but for some, native functionality is not present, and people typically resort to workarounds. Microsoft will be hoping that it's primarily those capabilities that get people to finally switch.
    • Please I need help I been trying to find this secure boot on my ColorFul motherboard in the bios But i cant i turned off CSM everything watch every video i cant find it. BATTLE-AX B660M-HD DELUXE V20
    • LibreWolf 151.0.3-1 by Razvan Serea LibreWolf is an independent “fork” of Firefox, with the primary goals of privacy security and user freedom. It is the community run successor to LibreFox. LibreWolf is designed to increase protection against tracking and fingerprinting techniques, while also including a few security improvements. This is achieved through our privacy and security oriented settings and patches. LibreWolf also aims to remove all the telemetry, data collection and annoyances, as well as disabling anti-freedom features like DRM. LibreWolf features: Latest Firefox — LibreWolf is compiled directly from the latest build of Firefox Stable. You will have the the latest features, and security updates. Independent Build — LibreWolf uses a build independent of Firefox and has its own settings, profile folder and installation path. As a result, it can be installed alongside Firefox or any other browser. No phoning home — Embedded server links and other calling home functions are removed. In other words, minimal background connections by default. User settings updates Extensions firewall: limit internet access for extensions. Multi-platform (Windows/Linux/Mac/and soon Android) Community-Driven Dark theme (classic and advanced) LibreWolf privacy features: Delete cookies and website data on close. Include only privacy respecting search engines like DuckDuckGo and Searx. Include uBlockOrigin with custom default filter lists, and Tracking Protection in strict mode, to block trackers and ads. Strip tracking elements from URLs, both natively and through uBO. Enable dFPI, also known as Total Cookie Protection. Enable RFP which is part of the Tor Uplift project. RFP is considered the best in class anti-fingerprinting solution, and its goal is to make users look the same and cover as many metrics as possible, in an effort to block fingerprinting techniques. Always display user language as en-US to websites, in order to protect the language used in the browser and in the OS. Disable WebGL, as it is a strong fingerprinting vector. Prevent access to the location services of the OS, and use Mozilla's location API instead of Google's API. Limit ICE candidates generation to a single interface when sharing video or audio during a videoconference. Force DNS and WebRTC inside the proxy, when one is being used. Trim cross-origin referrers, so that they don't include the full URI. Disable link prefetching and speculative connections. Disable disk cache and clear temporary files on close. Disable form autofill. Disable search and form history...and more. LibreWolf 151.0.3-1 changelog: Upstream release, see the Firefox 151.0.3 Release Notes Notable changes: Clears the preference toolkit.winRegisterApplicationRestart, which may otherwise trigger an upstream bug on Windows (librewolf/issues#3056) Download: LibreWolf 64-bit | Portable 64-bit | ~100.0 MB (Open Source) Download: ARM64 | Portable ARM64 Links: LibreWolf Home Page | Addons | Screenshot | Reddit Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Unsurprisingly, there's what the law says and what the old white wealthy males legally enforce...
    • Or anything online that requires an anti-cheat
  • Recent Achievements

    • Conversation Starter
      mobandz earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • Apprentice
      fernan99 went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • One Month Later
      nothanks earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      B2Proxy earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Year In
      MadMung0 earned a badge
      One Year In
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      478
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      248
    3. 3
      Skyfrog
      79
    4. 4
      FloatingFatMan
      76
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      60
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!