Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Old topic - new need. Instant messaging in the office

Been using gtalk (Google talk) for intra-office messaging for years. Now Google has terminated it, trying to get everyone to use Hangouts, which we find to be not nearly as useful.
What are people using for in-office messaging?

I use Softros LAN Messenger, costs a few bucks but works well

We used LAN Messenger for a couple years before we switched to Mumble. It was good. No centralized server needed. Simple setup. You can change display names.

Mumble is more of a voice chat. It also narrates typed text which I thought was pretty cool. Also really good on the security side with SSL certificates on all communications. Geared towards gamers but we found it to be useful in the office.

LAN Messenger: http://lanmsngr.sourceforge.net/index.php
Mumble: http://wiki.mumble.info/wiki/Main_Page

I use BORGChat, which hasn't been updated in ages, overall works well but occasionally crashes and does work with Windows 8.1. It's, of course, free (although donations are probably appreciated.)

http://borgchat.10n.ro/news.php?lang=eng

We started using Slack for development since we are spread over several time-zones and OSs, but it several excellent integrations as well. Available on desktop, iOS, and Android.

https://slack.com/

You set your groups (channels) that are broadcast, and you can Direct Message (DM) as well.

And for that old favorite - "Did I mention FREE?"

Let me know if you have questions.

I have used IPmsg for ten years. Never lost a connection yet. The best thing about IPmsg is that you CAN'T integrate with your smartphone, email, Dropbox, the Internet, and a million other communication uses. You can send files, but we never have a reason (in our office) to send a file that way. They are mostly on SharePoint or we email them.

Borgchat is also excellent.

I use IPmsg like Bert - great and does not leave your network and travel on the internet making it okay for sensitive information.

Agreed. Hard to believe I am saying this, but I think some look for a simple IM for their network, then find several that can do what Yahoo does and more. These can be nice but a lot are very tempting for staff as they can end up messaging friends, linking to Facebook and even doing Twitter and snapchat

But, not knocking them. To each his/her own. If they had been available ten years ago, I may have used them.

If anyone does want to try IPMsg (and I would like to hear Steve's view on this), I have an earlier version, which I think is much better. It also has Bert's special instructions on how to set up. One of the nice things about IPMsg, is it only saves to one log -- a text file on the server. And, only one person really needs to know where that is.

Stick with IPmsg - no outside messages and only seen on your computers. It works great - is free and very simple.

Thanks for all of the advice.
Now looking at qliq which is HIPAA compliant. Which may or may not matter.
Agree that "simple" is a big part of what we are looking for.

I think a lot of it depends on how much you want it to do and whether you want messages on the Internet or staff to have access to the Internet.

Our staff can access the Internet for many business reasons and even get to surf during lunch. But, that isn't communicating with someone out of the office.

Just my two cents. Things to think about.

wouldn't it be cool to have a IM system within AC? keep it all hipaa compliant, etc...or where we can flag that a patient is in a room? or in xray? or in WR? or in the lab...etc....

Assuming your network is already HIPAA complaint, I don't see how a LAN Messenger could make you not HIPAA compliant unless it interfaces through the Internet. But if you want the extra security. Mumble uses SSL Encryption for all messaging.

We used to use Borgchat. It was fun, because there were lots of animated characters you could add to a message to add emphasis or just to make the day a bit more exciting. But it crashed all of the time and was not dependable. We switched to Sidenotes by Blue Note Software. It is not free (about $150) but it has worked flawlessly since installation. We have it on 20 computers and have used it for about 3 years now. Not as much fun as Borgchat, but we all have to grow up sometime

I want to try IPmsg.
Sounds like something I need
Please point me in the right direction

Gerardo

This install takes about five seconds or less. There is some configuring to do. Easy to figure out. I wrote a configuration document mainly for my staff to be able to set it up easily, but more because I am a control freak. I really hate saying that, because now people will know.

This is an earlier version than the one you can download on the Internet. I find it a better version which is more efficient.

We use AIM Pro, a free business professional instant messaging service which sends messages encrypted to we can IM from one location to another.

http://aimpro.premiumservices.aol.com/faq.html