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Jabbering away with instant messaging Question : What is jabber?
Answer : Jabber, a technology first developed in 1998, enables
compatible software programs to exchange instant messages over the Internet.
Unlike MSN Messenger or other software products that don't let users poke
around in the programming, jabber's
programming code is open source -- which
means that anyone can see inside the
software and improve it.
Google Talk, an instant-message and audio
chat service, is one system that uses jabber
for its instant messaging function. Although
the Google Talk software is Windows-only,
Macintosh and Linux users can tap into the system with other instant-messaging
programs like iChat for Mac OS X or Psi for
Linux. (Details for doing so are at
www.google.com/talk/otherclients.html.)
The Jabber Software Foundation has links
to other jabber programs and networks for
instant messaging, along with information
on how to get started, at www.jabber.org. |
