Hey, so you know those dorky-ass instant messenger programs
like AIM and ICQ and stuff? And how dumb they are? You
know? Well, OK, they're only kinda dumb. OK, I use them a
lot. THERE, I SAID IT.
What I love about Linux developers is that they go OVER THE TOP with
everything. Like, it's never enough to make a program that EMULATES or STRIVES
to MIMIC an existing Windows or Macintosh or whatever program. With Linux folks,
it's got to be DIFFERENT, it has to be BETTER, and it has to be SHITHOUSE CRAZY.
Take, for example, this Everybuddy program (link at the bottom of the page).
Instead of creating a little thinger that you can use to send dorko instant
messages to your ICQ
friends, or to your AIM friends, the crazy-ass Everybuddy development team made
it so you can use it to send stuff to ALL your
friends. Bitchen!
For me, personally, it's one of the main reasons I don't use the ICQ so much.
Too many people use that AIM, and there's a growing number who use quirky small
services like MSN or Yahoo!. So Everybuddy is real cool -- you get the same
interface and contact list for all yer little pals, without having to switch
between programs or whatever.
Admittedly, Everybuddy still needs a little work. The UI could be more
streamlined, and it only gives you lowest-common-denominator functionality on
each service, so it's kind of remedial. Oh, and it doesn't have an IRC back end.
BUT, the whole thing's a step in the right direction and I must give warm cries
of "beaujolais!" to the doughty developers.
The best part is that it's built on GTK, the world's greatest UI. Yay for GNOME!
Yay for GTK!
Yay for Everybuddy!
