Chat and e-mail

-- IMSafer, the parental IM monitoring system we covered in October, got a big upgrade today with support for Mac OS X and Windows Vista. The app keeps an eye on your child's (or spouse's!) instant messages, and alerts you via e-mail if the analysis tool finds inappropriate content. Previously, there was no Mac support.

-- MySpace is planning to launch an app that lets curious parents or significant others track MySpace log-ins on the family computer. Code-named "Zephyr," the app will make note of username, age, and location, then save the data to your machine. … Read more

CallWave is about the coolest free cell-phone utility I have ever seen, and it goes a long way toward making me not care so much about the "visual voice mail" that Steve Jobs touted for the upcoming iPhone. The CallWave service, which is live now, replaces your standard carrier-provided voice mail with a much better system, and it lets you pick up incoming cell-phone calls on any other phone or even your PC.

I've been using the competing GotVoice service since I first wrote about it in May to get my cellular and home voice mail messages … Read more

Some digital publishers are complaining that the new Microsoft Outlook rolls back design standards by half a decade. The 2007 edition of Outlook, the most popular e-mail client for big businesses, ditches Internet Explorer's technology for that of Word 2007 to display HTML messages.

The result? In your Outlook 2007 in-box, background images may not appear within dressed-up HTML messages. Forget about filling out certain forms. Animated GIF images won't play, and a red X will mark the spot where a Flash movie would be. ALT tags, which describe pictures and help blind people to "see" … Read more

The group SMS service Twitter launched last year. Essentially it's a message board you can update from your phone via SMS, or from the Web or your IM account (the IM function is new). Twitter updates are limited to 151 characters each, which makes sense for an SMS service, but it does put a limit on depth, to say the least. Twitter's Web entry window even says "What are you doing?" which also encourages short and content-light updates, such as "I'm putting on my hat."

This raises the obvious question: Who cares? But … Read more

It's pretty obvious: Everyone's talking about Apple's iPhone, from its touch-screen interface to the "close to the ear" sensor to the fact that it's actually called the iPhone (since Linksys did get there first.) But from our perspective, one of the most fascinating and least-talked-about aspects of the just-announced iPhone is Apple's collaboration with Web giants Google and Yahoo on some of the new device's features.

More specifically, Apple has teamed up with Google to bring two of its most popular Web applications to the iPhone: Google Search and Maps. Google's … Read more

I guess this must be a pretty empowering concept to some people. Take those nasty spammers who fill your inbox with "Ch3ap V1c0d1n!!!!" and "FREE Credit Rating Analysis!" and tell them that if they want to make their way into your Gmail, they're going to have to pay the toll. Kind of like that troll-under-the-bridge fairy tale--or was that a Monty Python sketch?

I digress. There are a few companies out there that are trying to convince you that opting into spam is not only good, it can get you some pocket change (InboxDollars comes … Read more

When Helio struck an exclusive deal with MySpace earlier this year, it became the only carrier in the nation to support MySpace Mobile--in fact, MySpace Mobile was one of the defining features of owning a Helio handset. Starting today however, all Cingular Wireless subscribers will have access to MySpace Mobile as well. All they have to do is text MYSPACE to 386 (FUN) to get the MySpace Mobile application. It costs $2.99 a month in addition to standard data charges, so it's not cheap. As with the Web version of MySpace, you can upload photos, approve friend requests, … Read more

Yahoo released an update today to make its popular instant messenger more secure. But if you speed through setting up Yahoo Messenger with Voice 8.1, you're likely to get more than you expect--namely, the Yahoo Toolbar within your Web browser, which then sets Yahoo as your home page and your default search engine. CNET News.com explains the problem.

This is not the first time users have complained about intrusive extras from Yahoo's free IM program. Yahoo and other software vendors continue to insist that these kinds of surprises are for the benefit of users, but I … Read more

Meetro is a small program that brings together instant messaging and localization to let you see and get in touch with others near you. Next week, Meetro will get several new localization tools packaged into their home console, or what is basically an information page with services you can open up within the program. The biggest is a Google map in the corner that shows you local restaurants and bars within walking distance of your location. Clicking a restaurant name will pull up some basic info and highlight it on the map. Clicking the name again will take you right … Read more