When I’m on my Mac I’m always signed into iChat, which PC users will know as AIM (AOL Instant Messenger). AOL customers can communicate with with each other, iChat and AIM users…..infact, all three messenger clients can talk with each other, they all contact and communicate through the same servers at AOL.

Internally (we have lots of remote workers) Ultralab people are now using iChat and Skype to talk to each other to cut telephone costs now that these technologies are excellent at voice conversations across the Internet.

So on the left of this blog now you’ll be able to see if I’m online or offline.

I could not find a decent bit of code to display my current Online/Offline status which allowed the following:

1. Allowed me to NOT need to submit my iChat password to an external website
2. Did not use my iChat password at all
3. Allowed me to create my own ‘Online’ and ‘Offline’ images

First I looked at Online Status. This service uses servers around the world which create code using your ‘iChat/AIM/AOL’ username. The generated code refers to an external to AOL server. The services offered allow you to link your own generated images, but sadly after trying 4 different server pages, this did not work for me and generic images were created. I tested the code, and it worked, it showed me online and offline, but it did not display the images I had created.

The cool thing it did was allow the user to click the ‘Online’ status and automatically start iChat and open a message window which would allow a message to be posted to me.

Sadly I realised that the servers that offer this service are referencing AOL servers, meaning if either fell over, the status would not show…..and the images I generated were not working….so I left this service to look for something else.

So then I thought, well surely if an external to AOL service was accessing AOL to pull information on the status of an iChat/AIM/AOL user then surely I should be able to get that information direct from AOL?

Another blogger from Yet Another Web Site has managed to achieve this pulling data from AOL concerning Online/Offline status.

But the code he generated does not allow the ‘Online’ status graphic to be clicked allowing the user to open iChat/AIM/AOL in order to send an instant message direct from the webpage.

So I hacked the two pieces of code I’d discovered together and managed get it to work as an alternative ‘Online/Offline status’! Obviously Yet Another Web Site has done the core work! Well done dude!

Here is my slightly adapted code, download the Text file: aol_code1.txt
Obviously you are advised to change the image URL’s to your own graphics. Check out Yet Another Web Site for some images you can use for Online and Offline status.

UPDATE 14 February 2005:The above code has since been modified by Steffen Nork. Click the following link to see the update:

iChat AOL AIM Online Offline Status - Code Updated by Steffen Nork + Send webpage URL’s

After one hell of a drive, and getting lost a bit, we arrived last night at Anita’s hotel. How she has changed! We took her out for a meal at ‘The White Hart’ Inn down the road. Meal was not great, but it was really good to see her again!

The funny moment of the night was phoning Christian Dibben, AKA Dibbs/Dubbs. Christian was on the USA Canada trip 1997 with us. He could not believe who he was talking too when I handed the phone over to Anita…….he was on Oxford Street at the time, probably on the pull!

Have a safe trip back to Canada Anita!

I forgot to add to my blog entry regarding my trip to France that I had to get up at 4am and drive to Gatwick airport.

On route I listened to BBC Radio 1 to the ‘Early Breakfast Show’ hosted by
Nemone.

So, who else was listening to Radio 1 at that time in the morning? That was the hot question of the day that the lovely Nemone wanted to know, and the reason why!

So, I txt her (of course I pulled over at a safe place on route to do that) to tell her I was flying to Geneva, and could she remind me to feed Roger the Goldfish before leaving the house….

NEMONE, MATT FROM ESSEX, MUST LEAVE HOUSE SOON FOR GATWICK TO GOTO SWITZERLAND, CAN YOU PLEASE REMIND ME TO FEED ROGER THE GOLDFISH LOADS BEFORE I LEAVE.

Nemone promptly reminded me 10 minutes later, which, was too late, as I had left the house…

“Feed Roger the Goldfish, Matt from Essex, who is shortly on his way to Gatwick to fly to Switzerland….’Roger the Goldfish’ (she said)….Thats a funny name for a Goldfish. Matt you must leave the house now, feed the Goldfish!!!” She said…..

…then she promptly then played another song.

So I pullled over once again, and txt her to say ‘IT IS TOO LATE MATT FROM ESSEX HAS LEFT HOME, PLEASE CAN YOU VISIT ROGER AND FEED HER’.

As soon as the song finished Nemone came back on the air to say…

“Oh no, oh no, oh no…. Matt from Essex has left the house…..and he has not fed Roger, who is apparently FEMALE????….I will go round and feed Roger…..there are some strange people in this world”.

So there you have it.

At 4:45 in the morning I was mentioned live on National BBC Radio 1, twice.

So, my tips for getting your message on at radio.

Text in the early hours of the morning, when not many people are listening.
Text something bizzare. There were a lot of Text Msg’s from the likes of ‘DAVE THE TRUCK DRIVER, ON M23 DELIVERING FOR SAFEWAYS’ etc…..I’m sure Nemone would get bored with those, so try an be a little creative.
Make up a story about having a Goldfish called Roger who is female.
Sit back, drive and listen.
I’ve got to hand it to her, Nemone is a very very good Radio DJ and I cannot understand why talent like that is on in the early hours of the morning and unfunny Sara Cox gets a primetime radio slot.

I’d even dare to say Nemone is better than Radio 1’s Chris Moyles.

2004-03-05 10:49:26

This blog gets tons of hits every day for people searching for ‘East London’.

Why?

Could someone who has found this page via searching for ‘East London’ please comment below how you got here….

All I have on East London is a link to Derelict London.