Flashes of Panic

(I have a massive experimental run going in the background, load average over 2, so I can justify a little non-work time.)

I may or may not have mentioned that I tried Skype early last summer, and found it pretty cool. But it seems like my tendency to avoid speaking to people on the phone extends to VoIP, so I’ve used the IM feature more than the voice. (I have accounts on “real” IM services, but I almost never have the client on, so few people bother. My username is the same as this site’s domain, on AIM at least.)

Anyway, one thing regular IM services have on Skype’s IM is flexibility of “Away” messages. There are two basic levels that everyone supports—“Responsive” and “Unresponsive,” whatever they’re named—but since Skype supports both voice and IM, there’s a need for more detail. For instance, if I’m at my cube in the CS building, I can IM, but I’d prefer not to speak, since I share the space with three other grad students. Skype only offers “Away,” “Not available,” or “Do Not Disturb.” Can I set voice to DND and IM to Online?

Regular IM services allow for the customization of messages with both the green and red lights. Looking in to Adium, I see eight custom messages (“Coding” shows up under both “Available” and “Unavailable,” as does “In class,” but “Grading” is only under “Available.”) I would probably have more if I used it more often. I wish I could do that with Skype: something like, “Shhh!”

Technorati Tags: Adium, IM, Skype