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| Developer(s) | dotSyntax, LLC. |
| Initial release | February 5, 2008 [1] |
| Stable release | Build 73, r24920 (Public Beta) Build 75, r25144 (Private Alpha)[2] / 2009-11-16 |
| Platform | Windows, (Mac & Linux in development) |
| Available in | English |
| Type | Instant messaging client |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | www.digsby.com |
Digsby is a proprietary multiprotocol instant messaging application developed by dotSyntax, LLC. Digsby is written in wxPython and uses WebKit for rendering. It supports most mainstream IM protocols such as AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk, ICQ, XMPP, and Facebook Chat. Digsby also supports e-mail notifications and alerts from MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.[3] It is released free under a proprietary license. Development is funded through optional sponsored add-on applications via installer and a distributed computing,[4] web-crawling,[citation needed] and data-mining[citation needed] function that is turned on by default. It needs registration, which can be done through the program's installer or through a web interface. As of March 20, 2008, the Digsby application is in its beta stage of development.
Contents |
History
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009) |
Digsby started as the school project of Steve Shapiro. Digsby was Steve's project while he was working on his MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Later, he decided to materialize this project into an actual application by forming a team of developers, who began to code Digsby.
It took two years to code Digsby until its public launch in March 2008. Initially, the idea was to make a basic multi-protocol IM client. The email notification and the social networking site integration were both added later on in development.
Name and Mascot
The name Digsby was thought of as a name that was simple, easy to spell and remember, something that sounded like fun, and most importantly, something that had yet to be registered as a .com domain name. The Digsby mascot was designed by Hewlett Packard's Logoworks. The idea was to have an actual mascot, rather than just a logo. Quoting Steve,
“ We really liked Digsby because we could have a mascot instead of just a logo - someone who would be Digsby. ”
Features
Supported IM protocols
- .NET Messenger Service (Windows Live Messenger, commonly known as MSN)
- OSCAR (AIM/ICQ/.Mac)
- XMPP (Google Talk, ...)
- Yahoo!
- Facebook Chat
Supported Email
The program includes a rudimentary email client, with e-mail notifications. It automatically retrieves a "from" email address from the logged in instant messaging profiles.[5]
- Gmail
- Yahoo! Mail
- Hotmail
- AOL Mail
- POP/IMAP email
Supported Social networks
Digsby allows users to add social networking sites to the application:[5]
- MySpace: Shows updates to a user's friends' profiles, status, and private messages, and instant access to various parts of their MySpace account, such as their profile, home page, blog, etc.
- Facebook: Shows updates in a user's friend feeds.
- Twitter: Allows users to easily submit new "tweets", and view their friends' tweets.
- LinkedIn: Shows various updates from a user's friends.
Buddy list
It is possible to customize the buddy list by re-arranging of all aspects of it and skinning it for a personalized look. Users can set custom notifications for various actions such as contacts signing in and out, messages sent and received, etc. It supports meta-contacts, which is a drag-and-drop system that allows a user to have one alias for a contact who uses multiple IM protocols with different accounts. Buddy list, IM accounts, widgets, and application settings are synchronized on Digsby's server, so all user settings can be transferred between installations on other computers.[5]
Privacy and Other Concerns
As of August 18, 2009, the Digsby installer provides a Google search plugin called "Digsby-powered Google Search". The add-on redirects Google searches through Digsby.com, which remains enabled after the uninstall process.[6]
Digsby's distributed computing function, which uses Plura Processing, has been a subject of criticism both for its CPU and power consumption. Digsby developer "chris" responded by saying that CPU usage is limited to 75% for desktops, and 25% for laptops unless operating on battery power.[7]
Digsby has recently announced they will try to make their policies more transparent.[8]
References
- ^ dotSyntax, LLC. "Digsby Wiki » changelog". http://wiki.digsby.com/doku.php?id=changelog. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ^ dotSyntax, LLC. "Digsby changelog". http://wiki.digsby.com/doku.php?id=changelog. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "Use Digsby for Managing IM, Email and Social Networking, Sept 13 2008". http://blogs.iium.edu.my/jaiz/2008/09/13/use-digsby-for-managing-im-email-and-social-networking/.
- ^ "Digsby Blog » Keeping Digsby Free and Ad-Free". http://blog.digsby.com/archives/68. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
- ^ a b c dotSyntax, LLC. "Digsby = IM + Email + Social Networks". http://www.digsby.com/features.php. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
- ^ "Digsby Forums » Firefox and Digsby powered Google search". http://forum.digsby.com/viewtopic.php?id=2773. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
- ^ "Questions about the research module". http://forum.digsby.com/viewtopic.php?pid=23214#p23214. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
- ^ "Digsby responds to claims of shady money-making tactics". http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/08/14/digsby-responds-to-claims-of-shady-money-making-tactics/. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
External links
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