The AIM Express® service is a Web-based version of the AIM® service. It lets you view your Buddy List® window and send instant messages from any computer that has a Java™ enabled Web browser and an Internet connection. Like the AIM® software, AIM Express is free. However, there is no need to download AIM Express to use it as it is accessible right from your Web browser.
To use the latest version of AIM Express, you need to have a Javascript-enabled browser, the latest version of Flash player (Adobe® Flash® 9.0 or higher), and one of the following browsers - Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 6.0 or higher, Mozilla® Firefox 2.0 or higher, or Safari 3.0 or higher. The new AIM Express is compatible with Windows 2000/NT/XP/Vista® and Mac® OS X.
To get started with AIM Express, go to http://www.aim.com/, and click Launch AIM® Express. An overview of the latest features of AIM Express is given below.
Features
Lifestream tab
Lifestream is a simple and efficient feature. It lets you keep track of the status updates of your friends from different networking sites by aggregating these updates at one place. To know more on Lifestream, visit our online help article What is Lifestream.
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Me tab
The Me tab in the My Notifications section is the place where you can see who's commenting about your online activity or replying to your posted messages. Now, you can publish your status, broadcast it to your AIM buddies, and reply to comments right from your Me tab.
The My Buddy Info section helps you keep track of your AIM buddies, the number of buddy lists you are on, and the number of updates that you've made. The Me tab displays your status updates from all services.
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Side-by-side view
In addition to its new conversation interface, AIM Express brings to you the side-by-side view which lets you scan both your IM window and Buddy List window simultaneously. To use it, click the side-by-side view button in the lower-right corner of your Buddy List window. This will launch a double-panel view to accommodate both your Buddy List and active IM window. You can turn it off at any time by clicking the side-by-side view button again or resizing the AIM Express window back to its narrow size.
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Hide Groups and Show Groups option
You can now customize your Buddy List window to display only those groups that have at least one online buddy. To do this, click the Menu icon, and then click Hide Groups. You can show all your buddy groups at any time by selecting the Show Groups option from Menu.
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Icon photo cropper
Icon photo cropper takes customization to a new level where you can create your own buddy icon. You can upload any picture from your computer, take a photo using your webcam, or browse the AIM Expressions gallery, and then select the area of the picture that you wish to use. To know more, go to our online help article How do I edit my buddy icon on AIM Express using the icon photo cropper.
Notes:
- You must have Flash 10 or higher to use the icon photo cropper. If you have an outdated version of Flash, you will be directed to download the latest version.
- You must disable the pop-up blocker on your browser.
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Buddy alerts
The Buddy Alert feature lets you keep track of your unread incoming IMs by displaying the number of unread IMs you've received.
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New look for status message
Now that you have more space to post status messages, you can share all updates with your buddies. Not only that, if you or your buddies post a link within the status message, a small arrow button will appear on your Buddy List. You can directly click this link to view the Web site in a new page. This helps you keep in touch with your buddy's latest posts. Also, when you change your status from online to away, a cursor appears in your status message letting your buddies know what you're up to.
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