That way, if there are certain tasks that shouldn't be interrupted, the presence status can change automatically to tell others we are busy. Manually, users can change their online status so they appear as busy, available or even pretend to be...
Mute that handset, sir - or rather, keep on top of your status. Mobiles, PCs, PDAs, embedded gizmos, elevators, kitchen appliances - you name it. PTT, like instant messaging, is great for immediate communications but also like IM depends on presence.
Microsoft on Thursday signed deals with two Indian cell phone companies to deliver email and instant messages via SMS. Similarly, the MSN Messenger over SMS service is a two-way text messaging system that lets users communicate with MSN Messenger...
One of the reasons that Microsoft continues to eye new server products, Hilf said, is the fact that many companies use Office for far more than the kind of general productivity tasks originally envisioned for the product.
Enck also pointed to IM's capacity for showing other users' online status as one of several discouraging factors for telcos. Handset vendors were also an "important wildcard", said Enck, who suggested Nokia's decision to open up its new series of...
When users navigate away from the Google Talk window in the browser, their status is set to "unavailable". The iPhone runs a stripped-down version of Mac OS 10.5 and automatically checks for security updates.