Network Talk and Messenger Clients: ICQ, IRC, AIM, and Talk

You may, at times, want to communicate directly with other users on your network. You can do so with Talk, ICQ, instant messenger, and IRC utilities, provided the other user is also logged into a connected system at the same time (see Table 15-2). The Talk utility operates like a telephone, enabling you to have a direct two-way conversation with another user. Talk is designed for users on the same system or connected on a local network. ICQ (I Seek You) is an Internet tool that notifies you when other users are online and enables you to communicate with them. ICQ works much like an instant messenger. With an Internet Relay Chat utility (IRC), you can connect to a remote server where other users are also connected and talk with them. Instant messenger (IM) clients operate much the same way, allowing users on the same IM system to communicate anywhere across the Internet. Currently the major IM systems are AOL, Microsoft Network (MSN), Yahoo, ICQ, and Jabber. Unlike the others, Jabber is an Open Source instant messenger service (www.jabber.org).

Table 15-2: Talk and Messenger Clients
Clients	Description
Kicq, KXicq2	KDE ICQ clients
GnomeICU	GNOME ICQ client
X-Chat	Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client
Kit	KDE AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) client
Kaim	KDE AIM client
Gabber	Jabber client
Gaim	GNOME AIM client
GNU Talk	Talk client and server

ICQ

The ICQ protocol enables you to communicate directly with other users online, like an instant messenger utility. Using an ICQ client, you can send users messages, chat with them, or send files. You can set up a contact list of users you may want to contact when they are online. You are then notified in real time when they connect, and you can communicate with them if you wish. Several modes of communication are supported. These include chat, message, e-mail, file transfer, and games. To use ICQ, you register with an ICQ server that provides you with an ICQ number, also known as a Universal Internet Number (UIN). You can find out more about the ICQ protocol at www.icq.com.

Several GNOME-based ICQ clients are available for your use. Check the GNOME software map at www.gnome.org for new versions and recent updates. GnomeICU is an ICQ client that can communicate with other ICQ users on any platform, whether Linux, Windows, or Macintosh. GnomeICU features include message history for individual users, chat, messages, and sound events. Kicq and Kxicq2 are K Desktop ICQ clients currently under development. They will support instant messaging, client lists, and other ICQ features.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) operates like a chat room, where you can enter channels and talk to other users already there. First, you select an IRC server to connect to. Various servers are available for different locales and topics. Once connected to a server, you can choose from a list of channels to enter. The interface works much like a chat room. When you connect to the server, you can choose a nickname by which you will be known. Several Internet Relay Chat clients are available for use on Linux systems. Most operate on either the X Window System, KDE, or GNOME platforms. Irssi and X-Chat are GNOME IRC clients, though there are versions for other platforms. Both have support for multiple concurrent server connections, multiple windows, Direct Client Communication (DCC) to bypass intermediate servers, and Perl scripts. X-Chat has a plug-in interface for adding new features (see xchat.linuxpower.org for more details). Irssi has an easy-to-use interface with support for the GNOME panel. Kvirc is a K Desktop IRC client. Kvirc features an alias and events editor, DCC, and scripting.

Instant Messenger

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) is a free service provided by AOL for anyone who registers for it, as well as those who are already members of AOL. With AIM, you can send messages to members instantly, play games with them, and receive stock alerts. You can even share images, sounds, and photographs. AOL already provides clients for Windows and Macintosh. A new version called AIM Express is designed to run on any Web browser and will run on systems with JDK 1.1 or greater. You can find out more about AIM at www.aol.com/aim.

Kit is the KDE desktop AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) client, providing support for panel docking and session management. Kit is included as a standard part of KDE 2.x. When you first start Kit, you are asked to create an initial profile, providing a screen name and password. Once selected, the main window will display your buddy list, organizing them by group. From the Settings menu you can open a configuration window where you can enter your buddy list as well as set permissions and edit your user information. If a buddy is also logged in, you can click his or her entry and open an instant messenger window to send and receive messages. You can find out more about Kit at kitclient.sourceforge.net. Other AIM clients also available are Kaim and Gaim.

Several GNOME instant messaging clients are designed to work with all instant messaging systems, including AIM, Yahoo, MSN, and ICQ. Gaim has plug-ins that let you connect to ICQ, Yahoo, MSN, IRC, Jabber, and Zephyr. Gabber, a Jabber client, is an open source instant messaging system that allows communication with all other systems, including AIM, Yahoo, MSN, and ICQ. Everybuddy is designed to be a universal instant messenger service for all the major services.

Note

Talk is the original Unix talk utility designed to set up an interactive two-way communication between you and another user using a command line interface. It works much like instant messenger. Due to security concerns, you should use talk only on a locally secure system. A K Desktop version of Talk called KTalk displays user screens as panes in a K Desktop window. GNU Talk is a GNOME version of Talk that supports multiple clients, file transfers, encryption, shared applications, auto-answer, and call forwarding.