IM (instant messaging) in web browser?

[smallfish]

i have a client who is requesting IM (instant messaging) functionality in their website so that customers can immediately interact with customer service. i would like to purchase a module to plugin and configure for their website.

my question: is there such a beast?

apologies: i posted this same question in PHP a couple days ago and got some response. the 2 replies led to me to believe that the language is not dependant. hopefully someone viewing here will shed some light.


thx,
grant

[Albatross]

There are some Java applets that you can plug right into your Web pages that will let you have the IM functionality you require. Try going to www.google.com and looking them up.

(another cheap and dirty way to do it is to go to www.e-messenger.net/in_your_website.php and read up on this service. It works for MSN, Yahoo! and AIM. But you have to agree to their terms and conditions before you use it though.)

[Jona]

I don’t know that anything is completely usable for practical applictions at this point, but there are a number of projects like this out there. Quad, Lace, Chategory (my own!), and others exist.

Essentially, it’s a web page that periodically requests information from the web server (without reloading the page, via JavaScript, known as “Ajax”). You have the opportunity to choose which server-side language you would like to process the request.

[pcthug]

Java has been the standard for real-time apps for many years now, however lately, AJAX has shown it's abilities for doing such - not requiring the user to have Java to be installed on there computer. With this said Java still has it place, and at current time AJAX is still very choppy

[Jona]

I don’t know about choppy, just not supported in archaic browsers, where Java may (or may not) work. The choppiness probably depends on just how it’s programmed.

[JayM]

i have a client who is requesting IM (instant messaging) functionality in their website so that customers can immediately interact with customer service. i would like to purchase a module to plugin and configure for their website.

my question: is there such a beast?

apologies: i posted this same question in PHP a couple days ago and got some response. the 2 replies led to me to believe that the language is not dependant. hopefully someone viewing here will shed some light.


thx,
grant

I think you're talking about LivePerson (http://www.liveperson.com) . Here's a quote from their site:


A complete contact center solution at a great price with live chat, email management and FAQ to manage all customer interactions from a single, easy-to-use interface.


Cheers

[smallfish]

thanks for all your suggestions. i'm going to review each and give a report on the path that is taken.

thanks again,
grant