In addition to writing for Zeropaid, I manage a project called IMCourier, a free plug-in that lets AIM and ICQ users check their away messages from the web. (Shameless plug, I know, but there’s a point to this.) We were contacted by AOL executives about a month before the release of Open AIM, a series of software development kits that “open up” AIM’s underlying code to developers with new uses for AIM in mind. They wanted to discuss the possibility of a new version of IMCourier built using the SDK, but almost immediately my mind shifted elsewhere. Why not AIM and P2P?
Since Napster and up, virtually all P2P apps have included some way to send quick text messages back and forth between users on a network. Unfortunately, the chat systems found in file swapping programs aren’t exactly what I’d call reliable. My experiences with P2P chat mechanisms include countless dropped messages, failed deliveries, and even application crashes.
This was all particularly frustrating for me. I would often find a rare B-side or live track that just refused to download no matter how many sources it claimed to have or what the connection speed of the user who posessed it was. These roadblocks would lead me to contact the owner of the file I wanted so I could try to arrange a transfer outside the network. What sounds like a logical workaround in theory becomes a brick wall in practice. P2P chat usually lacks presence indicators that display whether or not a user sharing a given file is even available. Thusly, any attempt to talk is a shot in the dark at best and an echo to nowhere at worst. We can do better in a community environment. Reliable communication systems in P2P software could give rise to new friendships and simpler communication among like-minded swappers everywhere.
So, to the Gnutella and other desktop P2P vendors out there, I issue you this challenge: integrate AOL Instant Messenger functionality within your applications. The SDKs being made available by AOL allow developers to fully brand the AIM functionality to the look and feel of the application putting it to use, and many customization options exist. It could even be something as simple as having a user specify his or her screen name upon installing the P2P software, and having a chat box inside the P2P app route all messages to the user’s desktop AIM client. Any measure of AIM integration would at the very least allow someone on the network to know if someone sharing a file they want is active, idle, away, or offline. With roughly 40 million people using AIM, it’s probably safe to assume a considerable amount of overlap; that is, people who use both AIM and various P2P wares.
Creating a chat system from scratch that can scale reliably with a potentially limitless userbase might well be a daunting task. I’m not a programmer so I’m probably not qualified to speculate in either direction, but going with AIM seems simple enough. It seems like a solid value-add for any P2P developer and it would definitely make life easier for bootleg traders and others who scour the networks for rarities. What do you think?
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Good article i really like the idea of combining these 2 technologies. Skype addition would also be a nice addition as well. As far as privacy that would be another topic.
Aye privacy is a concern when you talk about tying P2P monikers to AIM handles. Gives would-be litigators another avenue to identify you. But then again not all the file-sharing going on is being targeted by the courts. I think it’d be an interesting development if there were a way to reconcile it with the privacy issues.
Then again lots of AIM screen names are registered with bogus data anyway so the privacy risk might not be as big as imagined.
I’m pretty new to zeropaid however I’ve actually used the application IMCourier that was discussed here and I must say it’s pretty cool I really hope they add this stuff.
-doc devious plaayaaa
this idea has already been tried-it was called aimster but was shut down by the riaa
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question587.htm
Not exactly. AIMSter was about turning AIM into a file-sharing platform. That idea was doomed from the start if you really think about it. I’m talking about adding AIM chat capabilities to decentralized file-sharing applications.
There was a Program Called AIMSTER!
Someone remember that?*lol
the guy who had his dooughter on the mainsite!!!*lool
We don’t need AIMSTER again
Again AIMSter tried to turn AIM into a file-sharing platform. Not the case here.
I don’t know about you guys but Aimster was awesome! I loved that program. However it didn’t just search people that were on your buddy list. Later on you could search the whole network for files. Then they got in trouble and sued by AOL because of the “AIM” in “Aimster” They then switched the name to Madster. But then shortly after all the publicity the RIAA went after them and they got shut down. But Aimster/Madster were the best programs ever!!