The Instant Messaging Service in orchidmedia allows you to chat with family, friends and colleagues over the internet. The software currently supports the MSN Messenger protocol, so you can chat with anyone who uses MSN Messenger.
To use the Instant Messaging Service, you need a MSN Passport login, a MSN Live account, or MSN Hotmail account, which Microsoft are currently providing for free. (Get a MSN Live account here). If you have an account, you are ready to setup your account in orchidmedia.
Follow the instructions in the topic Getting Started | User Preferences | Instant Messaging to setup your account in User Preferences for the current user. The Instant Messaging Service will not start until you have setup at least one account in this way.
How does Instant Messaging work ?
As the name implies, this service allows one or more people to send a message instantly to one another over the internet. Whereas email messages are sent over the internet, and there is a delay between sending and receiving a message, instant messaging is designed for one or more people to talk to each other while they are connected to the internet.
In order to know if someone is connected to the internet, and vice versa, there are computer servers on the internet which are used to maintain lists of who is connected and who is not. This is why you need an instant messaging account with Microsoft to use the MSN Messenger service. Your account uniquely identifies who you are to the computer servers, so they know if you are connected to the internet or not.
When you connect to the internet through MSN Messenger or orchidmedia, the software sends your account details and your current computer address to these computer servers to tell them you are connected. The instant messaging servers maintain a list of other accounts that you allow to talk to you. When you are connected, these same servers send a message to the computers on this list of other accounts that are also connected, to say that you are available to talk. They also send back a list of those accounts that are connected to your MSN Messenger or orchidmedia software.
When two or more connected people want to talk to each other, they open a session using MSN Messenger or orchidmedia. Opening a session tells the instant messaging servers to forward any messages sent or received between these connected accounts. When you send a message in an open session, the MSN Messenger or orchidmedia software sends the message to the instant messaging servers. The instant messaging servers lookup the computer address of the recipient and forward the message instantly to the recipient's computer.
Instant Messaging in orchidmedia
Instant Messaging is part of the Contacts Activity, so you need to navigate to the Contacts Activity to access the Instant Messaging actions, click on the Contacts Activity (1) to see and use these actions :-
The Contacts Activity
Those users who are familiar with MSN Messenger or other Instant Messaging software, will be familiar with the use of groups to group their friends and family together. orchidmedia does not use groups, it uses contact folders to do the same thing (see area 2). As you connect and exchange information with the instant messaging servers on the internet using orchidmedia, you can automatically create your existing groups as contact folders.
As you may receive a request to start an instant messaging session, when you are in any of the activities in orchidmedia, your current instant messaging status is displayed to the right of your Avatar and below your nickname in the Navigation panel (see 3).
Further reading from Instant Messaging
