The Download Blog

About a month ago, multi-protocol instant messaging client Digsby found itself at the center of a user conflagration, sparked by how it notified people about their installer's bundleware. Digsby build 65, today's update, addresses some of those complaints and throws in feature enhancements, too.

Users can finally opt-out of Digsby's grid computing system before they install the program.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

However, this doesn't mean that Digsby has changed its business model. The program still comes bundled with several opt-out changes to your browser. To avoid them, users must opt out of several bundled add-ins. One will change your default home page to a Digsby-branded Google search, and another will add eBay and Amazon.com to your search bar. A third installs the Ask.com toolbar. Note, however, that none of these are new to this build, and have been in Digsby for quite some time.

The Plura network uses your CPU cycles when idle for both nonprofit and for-profit ventures, and users could only deactivate it after they had installed the program. While it will probably upset some that Digsby still participates in Plura, at least now Digsby is being more fair about it by giving you the chance to opt-out before the CPU cycle usage begins. Also, the one ad for the Ask.com toolbar is all that's left of the five ads that users had to opt out of--again, it's still annoying, but now it's less so. Some users might not see the Ask.com ad, depending on whether the installer detects that it's already installed or if it determines that installing it will be difficult.

The new features in Digsby 65 include a revamped Facebook news feed that pulls in all Facebook feed content, not just your friends' status updates, and support for MySpaceIM. Digsby seems to have corralled its RAM issues for good, maintaining around 35 to 45 MB RAM even when running multiple tabs from multiple protocols over the past several program updates.

Because Digsby has allowed users to opt out of all its bundleware, if you can tolerate the opt-out nature of it, then it looks like it's worth a second glance.

Typing on the iPhone/iPod Touch's keyboard can be arduous. This is never more evident than when trying to bang out messages in several instant-messaging conversations at once. Shape Services, the makers of the popular IM+ instant-messaging app ($9.99 App Store link), have realized this, and are soon rolling out a new version of the app that includes speech-to-text, albeit at a price.

Taking advantage of Apple's recently released in-app payment system, 99 cents a month gets you the feature, meaning that the annual cost of continuing to use it is about $12 a year. Not bad if you're a heavy user. But how well does it work?

In short, it does a decent job, but it still experiences some of the typical pitfalls found in other speech-to-text tools. If you've used Google's search app on the iPhone you know all too well that it can handle some words better than others, and that it works slightly faster when you're on Wi-Fi. The same can be said of IM+.

The app managed to get a few sentences without flaws, but I regularly found myself going into make a quick edit to one or two words each time. That wouldn't be so bad if it didn't take so long to do all the processing. Over 3G, small quips like a four- or five-word reply took around 15 seconds to process and get sent back, whereas full messages took up to 24 seconds. These times were cut a few seconds shorter when on a solid Wi-Fi connection, but still on the long side.

The updated version of the app is in Apple's review queue, meaning it could be out later this week, month, or be rejected outright (although not likely since it's using standard APIs). Besides speech-to-text, the update also adds animated emoticons for whatever service you're using. It's a small touch, but sure to make IM enthusiasts happy. We take a quick look at that and the speech-to-text feature in the video below. Worth noting is that processing times have been sped up for the sake of time, although we make note of that when it occurs:

Trillian Astra has finally, officially replaced Trillian 3. Users who experienced the Astra beta will find the final version to be similar, with the biggest change being the features that are limited to the paid Pro version. If you're new to Trillian Astra, this update makes the multi-protocol chat client competitive again.

This screenshot of the Astra beta looks identical to the final version of the program.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

The differences between the two versions are enumerated here; the short of it is that the extras are nice--but they're merely extras. You'll still get the improved performance, and support for mainstream services like Yahoo, AOL, Google, and ICQ. MySpaceIM is supported, and Skype is included, but it requires the program to be running before it can be accessed through Astra--just as Skype does with other multichat applications. It includes POP3 and IMAP account notifications rolled in alongside the Facebook and Web mail notices.

Perhaps most importantly, the Cerulean Studios team promises that Trillian Astra will be updated more frequently than Trillian 3 ever was, with regular maintenance patches.

Editor's note: There is a bug currently on the Download.com product page that indicates that the program is only available to buy. This is being worked on and should be fixed Monday. The program can be downloaded for free.

Updated Friday at 3:17 p.m. PDT with comments from Digsby.

When it comes to program installation, I'm a strong believer in caveat emptor. If a software publisher warns you during the installation process that it will install the Yahoo search bar or a Firefox extension along with its program, and makes it clear that you can opt out of it, then so be it. Nobody's forcing a gun to your head, and it's important to read each of the installation screens no matter which program you're installing--at the very least to make sure that the program is not legitimately changing a directory or installing somewhere you don't want it to be.

The section of Digsby's EULA where they tell you they're going to use your idle CPU cycles.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

However, what's made clear in this Lifehacker post, and I've verified, is that popular multi-protocol instant messaging client Digsby will grab your processor cycles when you're not looking and use them without giving you a say in the matter. Whether Digsby is using your CPU for cancer research, the hunt for Yoda, or to help marketing agencies crunch their numbers is irrelevant. By not giving you the opportunity to choose to do so, they are distributing malware. Before you think that's too harsh of a comparison, a botnet like the notorious Conficker does the same thing: it grabs your processor, and gives you no choice about it. Digsby is merely polite about it, giving notice in the EULA and waiting until your system is idle. Of course, nobody is forcing you to install the program, but they're not exactly making this information prominently available.

To be fair to Digsby, they called out this behavior in a blog post back in December 2008. However, it's not noted in the installation process itself, whereas the other opt-out choices have been made easy to see and decide upon. This is abusing a user's trust, because--like the mention in the EULA--the information is essentially buried and inaccessible unless you know to look for it. As the comments to the Digsby blog post indicate, it's been receiving negative feedback about this since it announced it. To take no steps to rectify the situation except to give users more choices on promoting Digsby is unethical.

In light of all this, and the Digsby team's reluctance to address what we consider a serious flaw in the program, the Download.com editorial team has decided to lower the ratings score for Digsby.

I've requested comment from Digsby about their policies, and will update this post when I have a response.

Users looking for alternative multi-protocol IM clients should look at Pidgin, Miranda, Trillian, or VoxOx.

UPDATE: Digsby representatives have commented on the situation, both in a new blog post and directly to me. I found this new blog post to be somewhat disingenuous. It starts off by saying, "Several months ago, we started testing two unique revenue models to help us keep Digsby free and ad-free for all our users," and then the next sentence points to the above-cited blog post from December 2008. That's eight months ago, not exactly the standard definition ascribed to "several." It's a minor point, but one I found emblematic of Digsby's reaction to the situation because, as you'll see, nothing's changed.

The post continues, explaining that its relatively new installer is no different from other software publishers that offer a free product but force users to opt-out of installing a toolbar or search results hack. As noted above, I agree with that premise. Although it's unfortunate that you have to opt-out to avoid these changes to your system, they are definitely presented clearly.

Digsby build 61 on the left, and build 62 on the right. As you can see, the only change is a link in the research option to an explanation of what it is and how to turn it off.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

After that, there's an explanation of the "research module," named Plura, which is the bit that borrows your CPU cycles. "Some of the research Digsby conducts may be for nonprofit projects like the ones mentioned above (in the blog post) and some may be for paid projects, which will help us keep Digsby completely free," the blog states, which means that whatever the project is that you're being asked to donate your spare processor time to, you're not going to learn what it is and it's none of your business. At least with SETI, you know what it is you're donating your cycles to. With Digsby, it's a crap-shoot--and hardly a transparent process.

When asked for comment last night, Steve Shapiro of Digsby said, "It's clear from this that a lot of users still weren't aware of it since they don't read the terms of service or track the blog closely," and I think that's a point we can all agree on. He also said: "(W)e will be making a change in the product to make sure that every user we have now and every user who signs up from this point forward is clearly informed of what we do to keep Digsby free and shown how to enable/disable the functionality."

Further e-mails with Digsby's Director of Public Relations Erick Davidson revealed what those changes were: "When it runs for the first time, there will be a pop-up that will stay until the user reads more about it." Despite having left my computer idle for 30 minutes after doing a clean install of Digsby build 62, when the Plura system theoretically would be running, I saw no pop-up warning when I returned to it.

Rushed out overnight, build 62 of Digsby does not include any changes to the installation process. When asked, Davidson stated that this was because the installer is provided by another company, and added in a follow-up e-mail that there is no time line at the moment for introducing a toggle to Plura into the installer.

Users who want to keep Digsby but don't want the Plura system to run can disable it by going to the menu bar Help option, clicking on Support Digsby, and choosing Disable for Help Digsby Conduct Research.

As I've said, the issue for me isn't that Digsby is running Plura, it's that it's doing it without giving users the ability to opt-out before installation. Given that Digsby's competitors are able to offer similar and, in some cases, identical features, and that they're able to do it without burying a bad-faith feature in the EULA or behind a semi-functional pop-up, I'm going to stand by my assessment from yesterday: For now, don't use Digsby.

Multi-protocol messaging and VoIP communication client VoxOx is back with some new and impressive features amid claims of a more stable platform. Available for Windows and Mac, the freeware offers a robust Personal Assistant feature that includes call recording, call forwarding, call routing, and call screening, as well as expanded social-networking features and stronger back-end support to keep its multitude of services from getting disconnected.

VoxOx 2 is a robust communication tool.

(Credit: TelCentris)

VoxOx also has made a new-user sign-up bonus available to CNET Download.com users, which I'll explain at the bottom of this story.

The Personal Assistant feature introduced in the new version underlines VoxOx's attempt to snag users from its competitors. This is a robust, useful feature for anybody who needs to manage multiple phone lines or is trying to mitigate being "on call" all day, every day. In addition to the on-the-fly features mentioned above, the Personal Assistant can be set to answer all your calls, route calls based on who's calling as well as more standard uniform call routing, "eavesdrop" on voicemails as they're being recorded, set personalized ringback tones, and call recording that can be toggled at-will and in the middle of a call.

Combining the Personal Assistant with the individual phone number that VoxOx gives to all users, and the well-planned call forwarding that allows you to switch phones at will, and VoxOx makes clear its desire to be a one-stop communication hub.

Instant messaging support has been expanded in VoxOx 2. Along with current support for Yahoo, AOL, Google Chat, MSN, ICQ, and Jabber, the new version supports Facebook IM, MySpace IM, Gadu Gadu, and Skype. The new version also bakes-in Facebook status updates, and support for Twitter.

E-mail address book support has also been expanded. In addition to being able to import your contacts from Yahoo, you can now do the same for Google, Hotmail, AOL, Mac, and Outlook address books, too. The contacts are then filtered into a single interface. There's a notification icon that tells you which service the contact originates from, but the unified interface should make it far simpler to keep track of who you know and what service you know them on.

One of the more unusual features in VoxOx 2 is its fax support. Both inbound and outbound faxes are included as part of VoxOx's free feature set. The program automatically converts text documents to fax-appropriate signals when you're sending out. Incoming faxes are received as PDFs. The fax feature does not come with a usage plan limitation.

The useful SMS callback feature from the first version of the program is back, this time with stronger foundational support. VoxOx says that stability and failed callback issues should no longer happen with their new servers.

All outbound phone-based features in VoxOx are based on the number of minutes you have with them. Users are provided with 100 minutes when they sign up, and can earn more points for free via referrals and occasional VoxOx promotions like surveys. CNET readers can take advantage of a limited-time offer to gain more minutes for free.

The first 200 CNET readers who sign up for VoxOx 2 will receive 1,200 free VoxPoints, which equals 1,200 free U.S./Canada calling minutes (or free texts). VoxPoints are also redeemable for international calling and texts at various rates. In addition, CNET readers to sign up within the first 48 hours of the VoxOx 2 launch will receive 200 VoxPoints--double the standard amount of free points given to new users upon sign-up. New users must sign up and SMS verify in order to get their free VoxPoints. To take advantage of the special CNET deal, go to http://signup.voxox.com/cnet2vox.

I'll be writing a hands-on later today, but you can read previous coverage of VoxOx here and here. Mac users should note that the publisher, TelCentris, has discontinued support for older PowerPCs and OS X 10.4.

A variety of multiclient instant-messaging services have cropped up that allow users to communicate with each other over the Web. Some can be downloaded onto your desktop, while others can be accessed on the Internet. In either case, they're worth trying out, if you want to enjoy a fine experience communicating with your friends.

Multiclient IM resources

Adium Adium is my favorite multiclient instant-messaging tool for a few reasons. It supports practically any IM platform around, including AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Facebook, MySpace, Google Talk (via Jabber), and more. It even has a plug-in for Skype.

You'll rarely have any trouble communicating with friends in the service. But its most redeeming quality is that it's open source. So, if you want to modify the code to fit your own IM desires, that's possible. And those in the open-source community are constantly improving the product, whose updates typically install with ease.

When you download Adium (it's available for Mac OS X), you'll have the option of choosing your IM service. By default, Adium takes on the same design as Mac OS X. But with the help of some plug-ins from Adium's site, called "Xtras," you can customize it as you see fit. Those add-ons include emoticons, dock icons, scripts, and more. I could go on about Adium, but I think that you get the point: if you're a Mac OS X user, it's worth trying out.

Adium takes on the look of Mac OS X by default.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Digsby Digsby is a multifaceted tool that lets you communicate with friends over instant messaging, e-mail, or social networks. I recently took a look at its social-networking capabilities. After having the opportunity to use its IM services, I was just as impressed.

After installing Digsby on my Windows PC (Mac and Linux versions are reportedly on the way), I was able to log in to my accounts on AIM, Yahoo Mail, Facebook, and others. Digsby's app is designed well, with a more attractive interface than Adium's default skin. Digsby also gives you the option of sending an SMS text message from the application. Overall, I liked Digsby.

Digsby lets you chat with anyone at any time.

(Credit: Digsby)

Digsby's buddy list.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Even though it's been around almost as long as the modern Web, instant messaging is still a great way to send short communication bursts without tying your ear to a telephone. But with great utility comes buckets of options: Do you use Yahoo IM? AOL IM? MSN? Google Talk? ICQ? What do you do if your parents are on one service, but everybody at your office uses a second, and your friends are all on a third?

Nobody wants to be logged in to half a dozen different chat programs simultaneously, which is where multiprotocol apps come in, to free up resources and streamline your experience by presenting a single interface for managing your contacts, regardless of their preferred networks.

In this collection we show off several of the best multiprotocol chatware apps around, some of which have portable versions that you can carry on a USB key. Google, AOL, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, and others are one and the same to these helpful apps. To keep things fair, I'm presenting the programs in alphabetical order.

With so many ways to network and socialize online, you may find it difficult to keep track of everything. Digsby promises to help keep chat, e-mail, and social-networking conversations in one convenient place, but it's still in beta and not without its flaws. It supports AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Google Talk, and Jabber for IM; Gmail, MSN, Yahoo, AOL, IMAP, and POP for e-mail; and LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter for social networking.

Miranda IM's buddy list and status options, with Google represented by Jabber.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

The contact list appears as a skinny rectangular box, with clear controls to add accounts to get started. From there you'll find a menu of IM and e-mail programs, and multiple social-networking sites. When selected, each simply asks for your log-in and password and connects to the system. Your various programs are displayed, with IM buddy icons separate from e-mail and social-networking e-mails. You can reorganize contacts regardless of network. Digsby is known for being sluggish, and although there have been vast improvements in this area, it doesn't have the best response times.

An unofficial portable version is also available, but many users have had significant problems installing it.

An interface refresh wouldn't hurt Miranda IM, but it makes up for the lack of pizazz by supporting most IM programs in one fully customizable package. It's got an older build for Windows 95, 98, and Me users, and comes in a portable version, too. Miranda supports 29 chat protocols, including AIM, Gadu-Gadu, ICQ, IRC, Jabber, MSN, Yahoo, Google, MySpace, QQ, Skype, Twitter, and iChat, and allows you to manage the personal information for all your accounts from one central control panel.

Palringo's buddy list can include Facebook chat contacts.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Miranda IM's plain, gray instant-messaging window offers just the basics for typing and viewing messages. Text formatting options, emoticons, and other features can be added via plug-in. While this won't appeal to many people, if you're looking for a stripped-down application with features that can be built out only as you need them, Miranda is the strongest option. One plug-in even customizes where messages from a specific user appear on your monitor, and another tweaks hot keys.

Where Miranda's appeal is in being an IM kit with a multitude of Frankensteinian options, Palringo's strength lies in its portability across mobile platforms. It's available for your desktop as well as iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and other handhelds, and it supports MSN, AOL, Yahoo, Google, ICQ, Jabber, iChat and MobileMe, QQ, Gadu-Gadu, and Facebook Chat. It tends to consume a fair amount of resources, so it won't be as nimble as open-source options like Miranda or Pidgin.

Formerly Gaim, now Pidgin, this multiprotocol client offers a bit more out of the box than Miranda does--but it's still light on its feet and offers useful features like chat history and emoticons without tinkering. It, too, has a portable version. Out of the box, it supports Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, Lotus Sametime, MySpaceIM, MSN, Novell GroupWise, AIM, ICQ, QQ, SIMPLE, SILC, XMPP clients like Jabber and Google, Yahoo, and Zephyr. Some of these, like Yahoo, are limited to the basics of chatting and file-transferring.

Pidgin's buddy list includes avatar thumbnails.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Pidgin makes plug-ins easy to access, with more than 20 packaged to be accessible but not weigh down the program. Messaging with Pidgin is simple, if frills-free. Smileys, file transfers, group chats, Buddy Pounce, and logging and time-stamping make Pidgin worthwhile, even if it lacks IP telephony and video conferencing.

Trillian 3 hasn't been updated in a long time, but it still offers a sharp interface, tabbed chatting, enhanced messaging functionality, improved file transfers, and a new Instant Lookup feature. The program offers simultaneous access to five chat clients--Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, IRC, and AIM--but lacks Google and Jabber connectivity. Trillian also eats a ton of RAM and can be sluggish even under normal usage.

There's also a beta of Trillian 4 available, code-named Astra. Currently it's free, and it's been in development for more than three years. It services multiple chat protocol, including Google, MySpaceIM, and Skype. It includes POP3 and IMAP account notifications rolled in alongside the Facebook and Web mail notices. Astra is still a chatting behemoth, but it is more nimble than its predecessor.

Trillian Astra offers an Aero theme, even in Windows XP.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

VoxOx brings two unique features to its messaging client. It's got multiprotocol chat capabilities, social-networking support, and Web-mail integration, but it also offers a telephony service that includes call encryption, mobile-to-mobile calls initiated by either SMS or via a Web site, a free personal assistant-style call forwarding service, and a system for earning minutes by watching ads or responding to surveys. It's essentially Skype crossed with Digsby.

To entice you, VoxOx offers 120 free minutes of call time to all registrants at the U.S. rate, a free U.S.-based phone number, international calling, pay-by-minute upgrade plans, voice mail, customizable hold music, video conferencing--limited to VoxOx contacts for now--two-way text messaging, e-mail-to-SMS support, and both desktop and mobile instant messaging for MSN, ICQ, AOL, Jabber, Yahoo, and Google. Users can share files up to 100MB via a generated download link that they can then share via e-mail or instant message.

VoxOx's buddy list.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

VoxOx is troubled by stability issues, and frequently the callback services don't work.

Out of these six chat clients, each one offers a different experience. The best one for you depends on your needs as a user, but one drawback they all have is that none offers the full feature set found in single protocol chat clients. Tell us about your favorites and the ones you like the least in the comments below.

The first iteration of multiprotocol chat-client Digsby that circulated earlier this year made a splash, but fell short of its potential. Although it incorporated e-mail and social-networking notifications with its instant-messaging services, it was a massive resource pig. Even users with top-of-the-line computers found the drag it caused not to be worth the convenience of having all communications wrapped up in a pretty bow.

Digsby's easy-to-use and comprehensive chat-log window.

(Credit: Digsby)

The latest version, released last week, is a huge step forward in the resources department. In the changelog for this release, Build 32 r17926, the publisher directly addresses the RAM hogging. ''We optimized from the ground up and fixed memory leaks to lower RAM usage by almost 75 percent. This has been the number one complaint since our launch and we are proud to introduce this massive improvement.''

I don't have performance numbers from the earlier beta that I looked at, but it's apparent that many, if not all, of the performance issues have been improved. The program no longer hangs randomly and it didn't crash on me all weekend.

As the change-log states, many of the changes are back-end issues that the average user will never see. Nor should you: when you do notice this stuff, it's a sign that something's gone wrong.

If you're not familiar with what else Digsby can do, it basically rolls your instant messaging, e-mail notifications, and social networking into one interface. The range of features is impressive, going beyond basic chat protocol and Web mail and incorporating IMAP and POP3 support for e-mail, a wide variety of skins and other interface configuration options, and support for RSS feeds from your social network sites.

The only other major change in this new version is the inclusion of the LinkedIn social network, but even without it this iteration of Digsby makes it a compelling download. The program is not perfect, of course. Users must still opt out of the ''Google Powered Digsby Search'' and two other search reconfigurations that the installation will make. I would prefer it if you could opt in, since forcing your browser to filter its Google, Amazon, and eBay searches through Digsby is a fairly significant change.

As long as you don't blindly hit OK for every option that Digsby offers, this version is a worthy upgrade and definitely worth considering as an A-level multiprotocol chat app for Windows. The Mac and Linux version are still apparently in development.

AOL has upgraded its AIM Express software, an online Flash-based application that replicates many of the features of the regular downloadable software (add your own review here).

Among the new AIM Express 7.0 features are tabbed conversations, status messages, text-message support to communicate with buddies' mobile phones, and compatibility with Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 and 7, Mozilla's Firefox 2 and 3, and Apple's Safari 2 and 3.

The software is an example of the growing utility and sophistication of Web-based applications. Instant messaging, though, is somewhat more amenable to the task: it doesn't require the heavy processing burden of a spreadsheet, and not being able to work while offline isn't a big deal given that the whole point of IM is to chat with contacts on the network. Moving applications online poses some compatibility issues with various browsers or with software foundations such as Flash, but it can sidestep myriad other compatibility issues such as operating-system compatibility.

AOL also announced a new version of AIM for phones using the Windows Mobile operating system, including the Motorola Q, Samsung BlackJack, and some Palm Treo models. CNET Download.com editor Jessica Dolcourt reviewed the AIM for Windows Mobile phones beta in June.