COMM Report #37
Message Board Changes!
You might (or might not) have noticed that the message boards have recently been changed. Thanks to the efforts of COMMA FA AbsoluteK, we have a new system of posting rewards in place. The old MoC system of counting by hand is gone, and it has been replaced with an automated system. This new system takes the place of the FCHG rewards, and displays your level of activity with a relavent MoC.
IRC Issues
IRC has been rather smooth recently. The COMM office as a whole has been enforcing the CoC's and AoW's on a regular basis (as usual), but no major problems have been reported. We'd like to keep it this way, since after all-it's there for everyone's enjoyment. Just follow the general rules of engagement and we'll all have a good time. On this subject I'd also like to further stress that even with the recent events regarding the War, and the heated political debate that we all enjoy in the IRC channel, that civility and conduct must be maintained. Many of us get very invovled when debating something we believe in, but we must all recognize the fact that rules are still in place (and we don't discourage debate :).
Now, on to a product review!
(By RA Andrew)
As this is my first review, I am going to lay out the groundwork for what areas I condsider when working on a review. I base my judgements on a 10/10 scale where 7 should be considered average. The five areas are: Installation, Ease of Use, Customization, Value, and Overall.
Review of Trillian, by Cerulean Studios
Trillian is program designed to "merge" AOL IM, ICQ, and Yahoo Messenger into one, easy to use interface. While I don't use Yahoo Messenger, this feature is very attractive since I have a lot of "ICQ only" and "AOL IM only" contacts. Installation: This was actually the worst part. At first, the program did not install properly and gave me no reason why. However, being vigilant, I gave it a second try after tweaking some settings on my computer. It worked rather well the second time around, and allowed me to configure AOL IM, ICQ, MSN, and IRC into one component. However, I again ran into trouble. After installing it, and going on the first run, it still had some trouble recognizing my AOL IM (and turning it on so I could recieve messages). Maybe most everyone else has better luck with this, but I must go on my experience. 5/10.
Ease of Use: Install problems aside, once it's up and running, this program is actually pretty easy to use. It has an auto start feature for when you first boot your computer, making it very useful for people (like me) on a network or with DSL/Cable. It's rather straightforward like AOIL IM and ICQ, simply clicking on a nickname lets you open a dialogue box, and right clicking gives you an array of other options. I found this to be the most redeeming feature of the program. 9/10.
Customization: There isn't a great deal of customization available in the primary programs (AOL IM, etc.), so I'm basing this on what you can do. It's very easy to tinker with your buddy/contact lists. Furthermore, options like away messages can be easily edited from the Trillian toolbars. And don't worry, you can still keep that buddy icon. I give it a perfect score because it does everything the major chat programs do, plus a few extras. 10/10.
Value: Trillian is free. However, from the virtual value standpoint, it doesn't do a heck of a lot more than combine your programs. I actually like having ICQ separate from AOL IM, and Trillian really only cuts time useage down by a few seconds a day at most. 7/10.
Overall: I give it an "Average" overall grade because that's what it is. If you have 4 or 5 different communication software programs, then this would be godsend. However, with only 2, I really can't say I have too much use for it. Aside from the installation rifraff, I certainly give it a thumbs up. It's not bad to try out if you want to see how it works for you, and therefore I'd recommend giving a test run, but don't expect it to make person to person communications much better than we have right now in AOL IM and ICQ. Trillian just seems to lack that innovative utility that would make it superior to having multiple chat programs. 7/10.
Trillian is available at http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/trillian/index.html
That's all for now,
CA:COMM/RA Andrew