About Jabber

Just got introduced to Jabber :) Some tid-bits about it, till I get you some more descriptive stuff later on...

Jabber is actually an Open Source XML specification for communication over the Internet. Multiple Jabber clients and server implementations can be used... all as long as they adhere to the basic specification. One of the key Jabber implementation is for Instant Messaging. Also called the "Linux of instant messaging".. it is the open source, ad free alternative to consumer IM services like AIM, ICQ, MSN and Yahoo...
Refer URL - http://www.jabber.org/about/overview.shtml

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This is, in fact, a new post.. Am putting it in "About Jabber" for convenience sake -

One of the interesting features in Jabber is the concept of 'Gateways'. Using the Jabber client's Gateway feature, you can register with other IM services such as MSN, Yahoo, and AIM, to communicate with users of those services. You must already have an account established with the service and know your user name and password before you can proceed with the registration. This handy feature, makes the Jabber client a multi-messaging platforms client (though the primary platform supported would still be Jabber). NOTE - One very well known Jabber clients for Windows users would be - Trillian.

How to use Gateways?
You need to first register with the appropriate gateway (Yahoo, MSN, ICQ and AIM being the options available). After that you can add contacts to ur 'roster' (the Jabber term for 'contact list') using the IDs of the different IM service users. And viola! u r ready to chat.
NOTE : One cause of concern could be the fact that "After registering with a particular IM gateway, all of its communication must pass through Jabber Messenger. If you want to go back to using the service separately from Jabber, you must unregister from the gateway." Hence, you might just end up not being able to use the Jabber client AND the Yahoo Messenger on the same machine. However, this is text book stuff. I would let u know more about it, when I get an opportunity to check it out myself.

Bro's tips : "As for Jabber...I did use it for a while earlier and found it to be good. Then the Jabber.com service went paid and I went offline. Free gateway servers are now aplenty. I even tried a Jabber implementation on my cellphone! There are tons of clients out there on all platforms. You might find these links interesting:

http://www.jabber.org/software/clients.shtml (Available Jabber clients)

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/jabber/chapter/ch05.html (Jabber Tech Basics)

http://s23.org/wiki/index.php/Jabber (Jabber Wiki)"