Gus What?!

Last night I released and update to my RX-Plugin. This new version has a number of fixes, new features, and an all new registration model. You can now download this plugin directly from the plugin’s main page. I have improved the activation mechanism to make it easier to automatically paste this data into the activation dialog. The installer will now direct you to the registration page if you have not activated a copy of this plugin before.

New in this release is the remote control feature that lets you specify any number of screen names that can control your client while you are online. The commands let the remote user send special IM messages to change your away (.rc away) and status (.rc status) messages. You can also let the remote screen name sign you out (.rc signout) of your IM client. These settings will apply to any screen name that is signed in from your Windows login session.

Another new feature, is the new set of /idle commands. You can toggle idle by sending “/idle” in an IM. You can also set yourself as having been idle for a specific number of minutes by adding a number to the end of the /idle command, e.g., “/idle 90″. I have been asked to provide a simple way to toggle the passive idle lock option, this can be done by sending “/idle passive”, or “/idle p” for short. To make it easy to access the idle lock settings, you can open the RX-Plugin settings window in the idle lock tab by sending “/idle settings” or “/idle s” for short. None of these messages will be sent to your buddy so you can enter them in any IM compose field.

The last seen feature has been extended to save the last 10 status messages and last 8 away messages set by all the buddies on your buddy list. Give it a try.

Finally, I have to mention that this plugin runs best on the latest AIM 6.5 Beta, especially the status message features.

Let me know what you think. I appreciate all feedback. Enjoy.

I added a built-in anonymous feedback mechanism to my RX-Plugin a couple of months ago. My goal was to increase the amount of feedback I get by making it easier for you to send it.

I can now report that this has been a great success. I am getting a lot more high-quality comments than ever before. Many of you even reported on problems that gave me plenty of new insights and perspectives on what and how to fix things. This is exactly what I need to turn a good product into a great product. This will soon be out on all of my plug-ins.

Please keep the feedback coming. Just remember to be precise and clear as possible on what problems you encounter. Don’t be afraid to post a question on my blog. I will do my best to resolve as many problems as I can.

On another note, the recently launched gallery.aim.com site is causing a noticeable increase in the activation rate of my plug-ins. This affirms my belief in the power and efficiency of these kinds of central distribution sites. I am glad it is finally here. Unfortunately, the activation step has stumped a few of you. I will be improving this process soon.

Attention AIM Phoneline users! You can now try out the new call alerts in the latest AIM 6.5 Beta.

We have integrated the incoming call alerts in the IM window. Each new call will appear as a new tab in this window if you enable grouped IMs. Here is a sample call alert for a Free AIM Phoneline user:

Free AIM Phoneline users (Did you know that you can get a free phone number from AOL?) can use the call alert to take the call or send to voice mail. If you miss the call, you can also use the alert to listen to the voice mail. NOTE: You cannot place calls from a free AIM Phoneline account, just receive them.

Unlimited AIM Phoneline ($14.95/mo) subscribers can take advantage of the extra features in the call alerts like: Forward the call, and special greetings. You can also listen in and pickup the call while it’s in voicemail. Here is a sample call alert for and Unlimited AIM Phoneline call alert:

Here is what the “Tell Caller…” menu shows:

Please help test this out since it is a brand new feature in the AIM 6.5 Beta. Let me know if you have any problems, questions or comments on this cool new feature.

Don’t forget that AOL offers free AIM Phoneline accounts. It takes about 5 minutes to get a phone number. You can even get one in any area code in the country where AOL offers this service so you can let your long-distance friends call you on a local number near them and talk all you want for free without restrictions.

From the how to support custom app development department. AOL recently launched a new web site dedicated to the showcasing of custom apps that are built from the Open AIM SDK and web APIs.

This site, called AIM Gallery, can be accessed at gallery.aim.com. It should quickly become the best place to find and share mashups, AIM Bots, AIM Custom Clients, AIM Plugins, and AIM Whimsicals. See the web site if you don’t know what these are.

The site lets you search, browse, download, rate and comment on these apps. You can also upload your own creations.

Please visit the AIM Gallery today and be sure to let us know what you think about it. Thanks.

Hope everyone is enjoying their NFL season opening Sunday.

Here is a Redskins themed ‘yell’ rule for my RX-Plugin. This is similar to the existing yell rule except that it adds a color gradient from gold to burgundy. Just add ‘@@’ to the end of you message to trigger this rule.

Click here to import the ‘Redskins Yell’ rule into your RX-Plugin settings

Enjoy, and Go Skins!

I got some feedback questions today from a few of you reporting problems with my plug-ins.

Q. Do these plug-ins work on Windows Vista?
A. Unfortunately, I can only test them on Windows XP. That being said, I don’t see any reason why they should not work on Windows Vista. Can someone post a comment on their experiences in running my plug-ins on Windows Vista? Is there anything that is not working?

Q. I get an “Error opening file for writing C:\Program Files\Gus Verdun\rxplugin.dll”. What does this mean?
A. This means that the installer could not overwrite a plug-in file since it is being used by the client. Just exit AIM before installing the plug-in. Once you exit your AIM client, you can select re-try to make this install work. You might have to wait a bit for the client to truly exit so just keep re-trying.

Thanks for your feedback.

I just released an update to my RX-Plugin. This version adds support for an often requested feature: automatic translation to Leetspeak.

There are two ways to use this feature. You can send a single message that is translated into Leets by sending “/leet ” followed by your message. Or, you can turn it on and off, on a per conversation basis, by sending “/leet on” and “/leet off” respectively. These on and off commands will not be sent to you your buddy. Automatic translations occurs with each message you send when you turn it on.

Here is a screen shot of me sending a message using /leet:

This release also adds support for the Open AIM SDK 1.3.0 and later.

You can download this plug-in and read more about it here.

Enjoy.

A number of you have communicated with me indicating that you are seeing the “Disclose idle preference is off. Idle Lock is disabled.” message pop up when you sign in to AIM and don’t know how to enable this.

Idle Lock requires that you disclose your idle status to others. This is a privacy preference in AIM.

To enable this, open the AIM Settings window by pressing F7 from the Buddy List.

Click on the Privacy tab. Then, at the bottom, make sure the “I am idle” option is checked in the “Allow others to see:”… section.

Click on Save, if you made any changes.

Idle Lock should now be available for use. Press the hot key (CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+I is the default) to toggle it.

I meant to post this on Friday. But late is better than never.

Speaking of late is better than never, here is a picture I took last March when the Airbus A380 flew around Washington for a demonstration flight. I barely caught it as it was coming in for a landing. Here it is over AOL’s CC6 (Creative Center 6) Building.

A closeup of the A380 from that same image:

Enjoy your holiday.

AIM lets you create BOTs. BOTs are essentially custom clients that can sign-on and appear on the AIM Network so that anyone can send them IMs and put them on their buddy list. BOTs generally respond to commands and send their results back.

Here is an idea I doubt would be allowed by AOL’s Terms of Service (TOS). However, I am not a lawyer and like most ideas go, they can always help with the next big idea.

What if you had a Screen Name (SN) that you didn’t need it anymore? Rather than letting it go away unused, why not trade it (remember: hypothetical)?

So here is my BOT idea. First, some simple definitions: The Dealer is the one running the web site and BOTs used to trade SNs. The Seller is anyone who has a SN to trade. The Buyer is anyone that wants a SN that is available for trade.

Sellers register their SN with the Dealer and hand over the password (again: hypothetical). The Dealer takes control of the SN (that’s called assignment, right? It’s a no-no in AOL’s TOS, bummer) and turns it into a BOT.

The Dealer has a BOT and web site that Buyers go to and search for a screen name they want. SNs can be tagged with attributes so that you can search for things that the SN stands for like, sports, football, animal, celebrity, random guy, etc. Each SN that is for trade is also running as a BOT and you can IM the BOT your offer to trade. Buyers know the SN is for trade because the BOT keeps saying “This SN is for trade. Please make an offer”, and provides a verification link on the Dealer’s web site.

When the Seller likes an offer, he tells the Dealer to close the deal. The transaction completes and all parties are happy.

It definitely makes use of the AIM Network in an interesting way.

WDYT?