Jabbering on about fine print
Who said that the government was trying to do away with our privacy? Look at AIM’s newly-updated Terms of Service, under the “Content You Post” heading:
… You waive any right to privacy. …
This puts Microsoft’s assumed evilness in perspective. In any event, I urge my readers to gradually transition from AIM to a more powerful, more user-friendly service, like MSN Messenger or Jabber.
You’ve probably never heard of Jabber before: think of it as the Linux of IM. Linux offers a lot more power and flexibility than Windows; likewise, Jabber lets you do a lot more than software like AIM. Like Linux, Jabber comes in many varieties, called Jabber client. The types of features and the amount of eye candy you get depends on the client; I prefer neos.
Via gateways, the program can connect to a number of other networks for you, including the networks of AIM, MSN Messenger, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger, and SMS. If I’ve chatted with you online during the past three years, chances are that I’ve been chatting with you via Jabber.
Jabber is in the process of becoming an international standard at the ISO. Unfortunately, I don’t think AIM will be changing its policies as a result.
Thanks to Ralph Meijer for the heads-up.