AIM Express Blog

GM reSoFresh!

2009-11-24T16:36:00.000-05:00

Corny I know but couldn’t help it. :D

We just released a new AIM Express that has some stuff that we think will make your day a little sunnier.

Import Buddies – We find that too often people have a hard time tracking down their buddies. Now, we’ve added a menu item that will help walk you through a process to help you find them!

Photo Uploader – Want to set a status with a photo? Maybe upload a picture of the beach with a comment saying “I love life”? Now you can! Click in the status field and you’ll see a gray box that you can click on to upload a status photo. Yup, that easy. :D

Status Sync – This was already in AIM Express but I figured I’d give it another shout. Chances are you have a Twitter or a Facebook account. If so, I encourage you to click on the Lifestream tab and set them up so you can set and receive comments directly from AIM! Once you’ve done that, the status field will have checkboxes that will let you decide where your status will be broadcasted, you know, just in case you don’t want something going to Facebook. J

Compact Buddy List – Known to the team as “Boss Mode”, compact mode strips out buddy icons, state icons, and compresses everything in the Buddy List so each buddy only uses 1 line. This helps you have that extra real estate so more buddies can fit into view. Oh, and it also helps in not making it so obvious to the Boss that you have AIM running. ;)

Please, as always, let us know what you think; after all, we’re making this for you. ;)

Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving!

~ Romy

I'm kind of a big deal.

2009-11-24T16:04:00.000-05:00

Sorry. I had to start off my introduction with an Anchorman quote. If you haven’t seen it…get on it!

*Puts Corporate Cap On*

Hi, my name is Romy Macasieb and I’m the new Product Manager for AIM Express. I’m coming from the AIM Desktop team where I was a software developer focused on UI development.

*Takes Corporate Cap Off*

I’m absolutely stoked to be working on this product. I’ve worked side by side with AIM Express’ dev team and let me tell you, these guys can build what you want; you just need to tell us what that want is. Oh, and of course, they can build everything except for things they can’t build. Got it? Good.

But yea, on a serious note, we’re really interested in receiving your feedback, both good and bad. Have an idea? Please, shoot them our way. In fact, I encourage you to spam us regularly because we can’t promise quick turnaround times, but we can promise that we’ll stay in tune and take all ideas seriously. Don’t believe me? Try us out!

I’ll be posting on here regularly and trust me…there are some things coming down the pipe that you’re going to want to get your hands on. ;)

Many Thanks and Happy AIM’ing!

~ Romy

Rough Week

2009-10-30T11:12:00.000-04:00

There was a server upgrade this week that was kinda bumpy. You may have seen some occasional trouble getting connected and staying connecting. The upgrade is now complete and the logs are showing that things are looking better.

Normally, server upgrades are seamless and you can't even tell they are happening. We're really sorry for the trouble this week, though. Let us know know you're still seeing problems.

Sign in as Invisible Not Working (Update)

2009-07-02T01:12:00.000-04:00

So here's the deal: The server fix for this issue will go into place on 7/17. I know, that's kindof a long wait. Trust me, though, the server team has *a lot* on their plate. Management did consider an emergency fix but it would be risky and might cause more problems so we're going to take our time and make sure we do it right.

In the meantime, i've removed the "Sign On as Invisible" checkbox from the login screen. This will make sure that no one tries to sign on as invisible and then goes, "What! I'm visible? What the $?^#!". I'll put the UI back in place as soon as the server is working again.

You can still go invisible after you log in. If you have any questions, please just leave a comment. Thanks, all!

Shawn

Sign in as Invisible Not Working

2009-06-29T17:02:00.000-04:00

We *just* discovered that there were some AIM server changes which are causing "Sign on as Invisible" to fail to actually make you invisible. You can still make yourself invisible after you sign in, though.

First, our apologies for not catching this before it went out.

Second, thanks to all those who reported the problem. We absolutely watch the user feedback.

I will post again as soon as i have an update on how quickly we can fix this.

Shawn

The Running Man is back!

2009-04-22T10:13:00.000-04:00

So we know it's been awhile but we are proud to announce the upgraded version of AIM Express. Highlights of this version include:

Running Man branding: We have re-introduced the Running Man, so now your friendly yellow guy is back and here to stay!

Multi-party Chat (beta): All I have to say is...FINALLY! We know you have been missing the ability to invite multiple buddies to a chat room so we added this into the new version.

Simply go to the Menu>Create Group Chat>Add your Buddies to chat group>Name it or add a Description>click Create Chat!

If you are the Chat group host you can edit your settings (name, description, members) at any time! Just go to your options menu in your group conversation and select Edit Chat preferences...
We also added the ability to see a roster or list of members in your chat group. You can hide this by going to the drop-down options menu on the group conversation.

We want to keep improving on the functionality of the chat feature so tell us what you would like to see!

Chat bubbles in conversation: We changed the message history layout to include chat bubbles which are a cleaner look. Let us know what you think!

....and now with Buddy Info!

2008-12-15T09:32:00.000-05:00

So we took your advice and made a huge update from our last release to include the option to edit your Buddy Info directly from AIM Express! To access this just go to your menu button on the Buddy List screen and click on "My Buddy Info" to edit what you want to push out to the rest of your buddies.

Also, don't overlook one of our really cool features...Buddy Updates. If you click on the link below "Buddy Updates Settings" you can manage what feeds you want to broadcast to your network of friends or do so from the website here: http://buddyupdates.aim.com/. This is a great way to keep your buddies in the loop as you make updates from some of your favorite sites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Youtube, and more! Each time you make an update to a feed thats linked to your profile you buddies see an orange "i" appear in their Buddy List screen. You can view these updates by clicking on the "i" icon or go directly to their buddy info. Let us know what other feeds else you would like to see here too :)

-Ryan

ICQ2Go! Beta

2008-10-03T12:08:00.001-04:00

Hey AIM users,

If you like AIM Express then you might be interested in trying out a similar product we worked on called "ICQ2GO!" The ICQ brand has been around since 1996, and like AIM they have a desktop version and a web-based version. So if you have savvy ICQ friends or family who might be interested let them know we've integrated many of their most popular features like sending & receiving SMS's, searching for ICQ contacts, invisibility, and sending fun ICQ emoticons.

You can sign in with your AIM account or ICQ UIN (number) and chat with your friends or family from around the globe. Check out ICQ2Go! Beta now and let us know what you think!

-Ryan

Fresh new updates!

2008-09-08T10:09:00.000-04:00

Awww, the new AIM Express is 3 weeks old! It's unbelievable to think about how far the product has come through it's development and how we've really grown as a team. There is definitely more work ahead of us. We have a NEW BETA that we will use to refresh the current AIM Express and added a few things we took your advice on. So check it out now!

Text Messaging made simple: We've all been in a situation where a friend quickly signs off mid-conversation as you remembered an important detail to a story or where to meet for evening plans. If this happens now you have the ability to keep the conversation going and toggle between IM and Text Messaging (sending an SMS). Once you click the mobile icon & you can enter the mobile number into the dialog box (area code first) and save it to their screen name. Message will be sent straight to their mobile device!

Emoticon Pick-ah: Feel like blowing a kiss or sending a wink to a friend? You won't need to just rely on shortcodes to send an emoticon-use the picker found in the IM text field. We plan on adding to this gallery, what other ones would you like to see?

Invisibility : Now you see me...now you don't! If you want to hide from your friends and just browse your Buddy List we've added the ability to set your self as "invisible" from the state dropdown menu. Even if they try to IM you- you will appear offline.

Block & Unblock: We have listened to your feedback and many of you were asking for the ability to block buddies that message you. You can select "Block" either by right-clicking on a buddy or if you are in a conversation click the buddy options menu. We will make sure their IM's never reach your screen! If you be-friend this person again just find them in your offline group (denoted by the 'blocked' icon) right-click again and "Unblock" them.

Thanks again to our faithful users who have been helping us find interesting bugs & offering suggestions behind the scenes. Keep the ideas and comments coming!

-Ryan

Welcome AIM users!

2008-09-04T15:45:00.000-04:00

Hey there, my name is Ryan, Product Manager of the web messenger products for AOL. I love to play outside, eat crunchy cheetos, and spend a lot of time chatting online :) After graduating from James Madison Univerisity in 2006 I was drafted as a intern-alumni and I've working with the AIM team ever since. My most recent project has been working with our web team to redesign AIM Express, and if you have not already been introduced to it, then you are missing out!

If you are a new or existing AIM user you may want to check out this product if you are like me and always on the go, or prefer to use web messenger services. The product runs on IE6 and higher, Mozilla Firefox 2.0 and higher, and Mac's Safari 3.0 and higher. The new sleek, streamlined design features an all-in-one Buddy List with tabbed IMs, status messaging, and the capability to send text messages (SMS), buddy icons, and access to buddy info & profiles.

Our brilliant and talented team is working diligently to include some highly asked features into our next few releases, so stay tuned!