Beta test AIM 6

This week AOL started new series of beta test for AIM 6.
Some examples of features slated to be added are proxy settings, several cool skins, and a one-click method to send an SMS text message to your buddy. This is just a subset of upcoming features and you will be the first to use and submit your comments against them.

The new version of the AIM 6 beta software is 6.2.14.2. You may determine this by going to Help and then selecting About AIM. This release incorporates the following new features:

• The Buddy Notes feature, also known as Buddy Notes in AIM 5.9. The Edit/New Buddy window now offers a Notes field. The Notes entered against a buddy are surfaced in the Quickview tooltip for that buddy.
• A new theme, black chrome, has been added to the color changer, accessible from the small circular button next to Help on your Buddy List.

The new build also offers some functionality changes:

• A self-extracting installer will be used to deliver the build to your machine. This means that there should be fewer problems with downloading installers for this and future versions of the software.
• The Notifications window has been redesigned to look much smaller and use Arial font text as opposed to the Times New Roman font that was used in previous versions of the software.
• The Settings window is now accessible from the Sign On screen. To get to it, simply select or enter an already-saved user name in the Screen Name field and then either click the Settings link below the Sign On button or go to Edit then select Settings.

They look forward to your active participation in another round of beta testing.

"We encourage you to use the resources provided in this site such as Known and Fixed issues, Message Boards , and the Feedback or Bug Report forms." [via Beta AOL]

So download beta AIM 6, and get started.

Pidgin, formerly Gaim, version 2 beta

Pidgin, formerly known as Gaim, has released the last beta of version 2.


"While previous betas in the 2.0.0 series have been extremely stable, and we recommended their use, this release is actually of beta quality. This is our first release to reflect the name change from Gaim to Pidgin, and so there are a lot of fairly significant changes here, which we'd like to see have broader testing before declaring it ready for release...

I strongly recommend that you backup your ~/.gaim directory before running Pidgin for the first time. Windows users should see where their version of Windows stores their configuration files at our Win32 FAQ. Things you should be on the lookout for include problems with preferences being lost or forgotten, buddy icons not working as you expect, plugins or other external files not properly being found. If you find an issue that severely prohibits you from using 2.0.0beta7, please report it at http://developer.pidgin.im/. There are a bunch of less fundamental, more cosmetic changes in this release that are sure to jump out at you" [via Pidgin News]

If you would like to help with testing, grab a copy from Sourceforge.net