GeekSugar

Download of the Day: GroupMe

Kristen Hawley — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 04:02:13 PDT

Perhaps the biggest trend to come out of this year's SXSW Interactive: group messaging services. One such option, Beluga was recently snapped up by Facebook. Another, GroupMe, was the clear favorite during the Austin event.

GroupMe allows you to talk to multiple friends or contacts at once, share photos, or conference call across a group of people. You can even use the app to geo-locate yourself and share your location with friends. To get started, download the appropriate app or use the GroupMe website to enter your name and number. Then, enter names and numbers of friends or contacts - search using your phone's contacts, Twitter, or Facebook.

Download GroupMe free for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry. It also works on any phone with text messaging capabilities.

Join Our Live Acne Help Twitter Chat Today!

BellaSugar — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 06:00:00 PST

If you have a breakout question, a comedo conundrum, or a pimple problem, today, at 1 p.m. PST, is the time to get help, because we're hosting a live acne chat. We'll be giving personalized advice, trying to help you figure out what the cause of your skin issues could be, and discussing what treatments might give you the best results. So just log on and tweet at BellaSugar, and we'll get right on your question. See you there!

Hello! Lets You Text and Chat Without the Fees

GeekSugar — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:00:43 PDT

If you've been longing for a BBM-style chat and text client on your iPhone, you can stop holding your breath - Hello! has arrived. This mobile-to-mobile messaging service works like BBM by assigning you a PIN so you can keep your number a secret, and all of your texts are free since you aren't using your SMS plan. Plus, Hello! is available worldwide as it works on 3G, GSM, and WiFi networks, and lets you chat with a group of friends all at once. Additionally, push notifications ensure you don't miss any messages, and all of your sent or received photos and messages are saved if you're offline. It's a great alternative to SMS since you can save a few bucks in the long run.

The iPhone and iPod Touch version of Hello! is available now through the App Store for $2 (free if you don't mind bothering with ads), in BlackBerry App World for your BlackBerry smartphones, and is arriving soon for Android devices.

Facebook Enhances Privacy by Adding Group Filters in Chat

GeekSugar — Tue, 12 May 2009 01:45:19 PDT

Have you noticed anything different about Facebook? Yesterday when I was checking out my profile, a new chat pop up appeared showing me all of my groups of friends. I didn't think much of it and then I realized - new filter functionality in chat - yippee! Facebook has already improved friend organization with their Friends list feature, and now you can control which groups of friends see you online.

Now you can check off certain lists you want to include in the chat pane so you can be online and chat with close friends, and your work colleagues won't know you're available to chat. You can also create new lists by selecting the "Friend Lists" menu on the Chat pane, then enter the name, and drag whoever you want to be included in that list. And if you don't want to appear online to anyone, you can turn off the green switch beside a particular Friend list (they will not be able to see if you are online), or just choose Options and go offline altogether.

Cool Download: Digsby

GeekSugar — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 08:01:24 PDT

I don't know about you, but sometimes I get lost when I'm forced to log in and tab through my multiple email accounts and instant messenger clients - all while trying to keep up on my Myspace and Facebook pages (not to mention Twitter that's a full time job in itself) throughout the day. What can I say, I'm addicted to staying connected!

So imagine my utter relief when I found Digsby - a life saving application that gathers up all those different accounts, and keeps them neatly in one convenient spot. No more expose-ing to find the right open window, browser tabbing, or multiple chat alerts to sift through. To find out why I heart Digsby right now, just

read more. Not only can I chat with pals on different accounts from one place, but Digsby will merge those who use more than one account - say Google Talk and AOL - into one contact, so I don't have duplicate buddies to deal with. Plus, I can view my emails and Facebook updates right from Digsby. It really is the bee's knees so to speak, but right now it's only for you lucky PC users. But hang tight the rest of you, the awesomeness of Digsby will be coming to Mac and Linux soon! Source

Geek Tip: Adding Video and Audio to Adium

GeekSugar — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:00:18 PST

If you prefer using Adium as your all-in-one messaging application, you'll be happy to hear that there is now a plug-in that integrates video and audio chat into this IM client. The freeware MeBeam plug-in lets you start chatting with you contacts immediately by video when you click "Initiate MeBeam Videochat." According to lifehacker, Adium will create a web-based chatroom and send the URL to your contacts, who don't need the plug-in themselves. Not the greatest quality since it's still fairly new, but you can have up to fifteen people in a multiuser videochat, which is really neat.

Geek Tip: Stay Tuned for Trillian for Mac Users

GeekSugar — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 11:00:29 PDT

For those of you who are eagerly anticipating the release of Trillian for Macs, Cerulean Studios has just announced that it is in the process of developing a Mac OS X port for its software. Discussed on Mashable, Trillian for Macs will include all the features from the Windows, Flash and iPhone versions- allowing a user to load one program for multiple IM chat clients. So for those of you who want a change from Adium, Trillian may be your answer. Trillian for Macs is set to be released in the upcoming months when the user interface improves. Do you know a great shortcut or tip you think geeksugar readers should know? Share it in our 'How To' Help - Guide To All Things Geeky group,

read more
I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the 'How To' Help - Guide To All Things Geeky
Click "Create and Share!" on the left hand side
Choose "Blog"
Give your photo a Title
Leave the category as "general"
Change the channel to "technology and gadgets"
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Geek tip")
Click on the "Add Image" link below the "body" box
A popup window will happen - click on "Browse" to find your image on your computer
Once you have the image chosen, click "Submit"
The popup will show you your image, choose size: "normal" - if you want, you can give it a title (which will show up as a caption)
Click "Insert" and the popup will go away
Your "body" box will now have some text in it. Leave it as is. If you want to add some text before the picture telling me why you think this person is geeky, do it before the code that has appeared.
Click Submit

So join the 'How To' Help - Guide To All Things Geeky and start sharing your favorite tips! Your tricks just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Geek Tip: The New All-In-One Chat Tool imo.im

GeekSugar — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:00:31 PDT

If you like accessing all your IM clients with meebo, imo.im is a new instant messaging tool that you can use to link your accounts as well as start chat groups.

It's especially good for Google users since Gtalk doesn't offer group chat functionality. Still in Alpha phase, don't expect imo to have a bunch of mind-blowing features just yet, although the company promises some in due time. via mashable

Meebo Goes Mini For The iPhone

GeekSugar — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 14:00:32 PDT

Last week I showcased some great IM chat clients made specifically for the iPhone. Well, now I can add Meebo to the list because they've just announced a new and improved version for the iPhone. Discussed on CrunchGear, you can now have all your IM accounts and buddies from AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ or Jabber in one place. No download is required to get started. Just log into your Meebo account and you're instantly connected. This IM client is guaranteed to load much quicker on both WiFi and Edge networks than previous versions. Such a great way to save money on long distance calls!

Geek Tip: Using Chat On The iPhone

GeekSugar — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 13:00:23 PDT

With so many bells and whistles on my new iPhone, I'm still learning the ropes of various applications, including chat. Unfortunately the built-in iPhoneChat client isn't the greatest to say the least. It can only handle ten minute chat sessions, has interface glitches, software issues and sadly only supports AIM. Consequently, I was curious to see what else I could use to make my chat experience more pleasurable. I've provided some suggestions below which I've found to be the best iPhone IM clients.

JiveTalk: JiveTalk by beejive is a beautiful IM program for the iPhone that looks similar to iChat (with the pretty bubbles), is very fast and supports AIM, MSN, Yahoo, GoogleTalk, ICQ and Jabber.
FlickIM: This chat program, specifically designed for the iPhone, allows you to send YouTube videos and Apple movie trailers over chat. FlickIM can load on the Edge Network in four seconds, whereas other chat programs like Meebo take 20. Probably because it only supports AOL’s AIM, whereas Meebo integrates many clients at once.

via electro^plankton