IM Portal

FAQ
For right now is the manual too!

general questions
setup questions
winamp questions

general questions

What do I need to use IM Portal?: You need a PC connected to the internet via which has both AIM and IM Portal installed, 2 AIM screen names (example: myPCname and myRemotename), and a device for remote AIM use. A sense of humor and adventure would be helpful too, kind of like Indiana Jones.

Why do I want to use IM Portal?: It allows you to access information remotely using AIM which is faster than mobile web surfing. SMS might be a close second, we haven't raced them side by side yet. The only thing faster is actually calling someone and asking, assuming of course you don't get voicemail.

If that wasn't enough IM Portal has added technomagic to compensate for a mobile device's unstable connection. For example, you send a request for driving instructions but before you get the response sent back, you lose the mobile signal for a few minutes. IM Portal will remember what it needs to send you and send it when the mobile connection is re-established and you sign back onto AIM.

How do I use IM Portal?: Smoke and mirrors? Magic? Nah. Say you want the weather for your destination while you are in a cab. You would send an IM from myRemotename to myPCname with the message "Give Weather 90210". IM Portal which is on your PC computer would quickly retrive the information and send back an IM to myRemotename with the message "Weather 90210: Cloudy with a chance of rain". Hopefully you brought your umbrella.

Does IM Portal work every version of MS Windows?: Short answer: not today. Long answer: one version at a time, is what we can support.

It does run on Windows XP, Windows 2000,....

Does IM Portal run on a Mac, Linux, Palm, Java OS machine? Will it ever?: Short answer: not today. Long answer: one platform at a time, is what we can support.

I would love to see IM Portal be able to do _____.: Sorry, not in the form of a question. But we will still answer, YES! We likely would like to add the feature you are looking for. As you can imagine we prioritize things based on user requests, and user requests that come via the Donation (upper right corner) button are certainly looked at first.

My company does "X" and IM Portal would be perfect for our internal use for things like: looking up customer's contact information, tracking packages, tracking invoices, tracking P.O., placing my lunch order with the new intern. Can you do this?: Can we? YES, we can. We would love to give you the competitive advantage you need to succeed. To begin doing business together, drop us an email with what you are thinking about. Small, mid-size and large companies can all benefit from our business tool sets. Next step for your company, global domination.

oryp please comment on this: are you saying you have trillian here? Not sure.
"for more technical people:
i actually have my own aim clone client(not made by aol but has all the functions of it) and i'll probably add on my own yahoo messenger and msn messenger...so other people can use the computer without having like 3 instant message programs and an irc program open...."

setup questions

Do I need to do anything before running the program for the first time?: Funny you should ask, because yes you do. You need 2 AIM accounts. (see next question) You need to add your Remote username (myRemotename) and IM Portal's username (myPCname) to your AIM buddylist otherwise IM Portal will not recognize your commands

Why do I need 2 AIM accounts, and where do I get them?: Ok this is actually 2 questions, but lucky for you we will answer them both. You need 2 AIM accounts because your remote location and IM Portal location are going to carry on a chat session to accomplish all the "cool" stuff like passing commands. It is like having a buddy sitting at your PC and performing tasks for you.

To get an AIM account visit: http://aim.aol.com/aimnew/newreg/register2.adp

If you already have AIM running on your PC then you can simply select, create new user.

How do I start IM Portal?: Sign on to AIM from PC (myPCname). Sign on to AIM on remote device (myRemotename). Create 2 new buddies for your buddy list on your PC, add both myPCname and myRemotename. On your PC start the program IM Portal. Sign in with your PC user name. Feel free to make noises during the sign on like the guy from the Police Academy movies to make this more fun. On second thought maybe not if you are in a cubicle.

winamp questions

My WinAmp commands don't work what should I do?: IM Portal supports WinAmp v3. There are many other versions on the market so you may have a different version on your PC. If you want v3 visit:
http://www.winamp.com/download/

If you are still having problems you should go to our download page and get the WinAmp Application Control. It helps IM Portal communicate with WinAmp a little easier. Not every user needs this tool.