Labs

All right, we know instant messaging is often something you do instead of work rather than to help with it, but it's also becoming a vital business tool. And if you have to be constantly available, better for it to be through a text window in the corner of your screen than an endless stream of phone calls.

While you may already have a favourite instant messaging (IM) program, meebo is a one-stop web application that makes it easy to keep up with several at once. It lets you connect simultaneously to AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ and Jabber accounts. That's very handy if you've got friends, family and colleagues who use various different incompatible services.

You just enter your screen name and password for each of your IM accounts (obviously you'll need to open accounts with any services you don't already use, but they're all free), and meebo can then log you on to all of them them with one click. A status page shows you which services you're currently

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connected to, grouping all your contacts into a single buddy list. And it's all done within your web browser, so you don't have to run the multifarious client programs supplied by the different messaging services, with their idiosyncrasies and endless demands for downloadable upgrades.

A better way

As enthusiastic as we are about the possibilities of online software, some web applications seem like rather pointless imitations of desktop programs. Meebo (like the other apps we've picked) is one of the welcome exceptions, and a great example of creating extra functionality. When you receive messages, they normally arrive in their own pop-up windows. What if you've disabled pop-ups in your browser to avoid adverts and scams? Very sensibly, messages then appear as draggable windows within the web page.

If you work in an office with fussy firewall restrictions that block the usual IM services, using meebo could also provide a sneaky way around them: as long as you can connect to the web, you should be able to chat via meebo. Of course, if you do end up compromising the network's security as a result, on your own head be it.

If you don't mind logging in to each of your IM accounts individually, you can do so without registering at meebo, which is a handy way to start a quick text chat with a friend or check who's online. You can even be invisible, so you can see your contacts but they can't see that you're online. Sneaky, but so handy when you're waiting for a particular person to come online but are too busy to chat.