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Name Gooey
Website http://www.gooey.com
Download it @ download.com

Twilo's thoughts
Tell Twilo to hurry up and write the review 4 me here - seanmurphy@cablesurf.com


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From the official site:

How does it work?
As a Gooey user, you get a constantly updated list of all the other online users on any site you visit. With its friendly, intuitive interface, Gooey lets you conduct group and private chats, exchange information or files, and meet new friends while exploring your favorite sites.

Where is the action?
With Gooey, you're always just one click away from where the action is. Check out the Hitwave window for the top 100 most popular sites among Gooey users at any given moment.

RealPlayer - Gooey's rich-media platform now supports RealPlayer streams.
Gooey Zone

While surfing and chatting, explore Gooey Zone, a state of the art content box that provides you with three high quality channels:

News Feed - Constantly updated headlines from Reuters allow you to keep current on the latest activity in politics, business, sports, science and entertainment. CNET's Tech news streams you the hottest info about computers, the Internet, and digital technologies.
Flash Space - Tune in to cutting-edge animation, fun games, mesmerizing vi suals and stunning Web art.
Video stream - Bloomberg Television, Fashion TV, NASA TV... Gooey brings y ou the coolest live TV and video on demand on the Net!
MiniGoo - the MiniGoo window mode displays Gooey as a fully functional taskbar, leaving more free space on your browser.
Find/add users - Now you can easily search for Gooey users around the world, and add them to your buddy list.
Profiles - Gooey 2.1 enables you to create several Gooey profiles on the same computer, or use a single profile on several computers.
Video Conferencing - Utilizing NetMeeting, an integral part of the Windows operating system, Gooey 2.1 allows you to run one-on-one video conferencing with other Gooey users.

Download.com's review
Gooey is an Internet tool that allows people simultaneously browsing the same Web site to communicate with each other (see screen shot). With Gooey, chat is not restricted to specific areas or sites but turns into an integral, natural part of your browsing. Using Gooey, you can chat on virtually any site on the Web, and get a constantly updated list of all the other online users on any site you visit. You can conduct group and private chats while exploring your favorite sites. A special Hitwave window displays the most popular sites among Gooey users at any given moment. Gooey also has a media-rich content zone that provides you with anything from news feeds and cool games to Flash animation. Gooey supports Internet Explorer, Netscape and America Online 4.0 browsers. After downloading and installing Gooey, you are required to register and create an online personality.

Gooey 2.0 features advanced instant messaging functions that allow you to create a buddy list so you can remain in contact with the people you meet. The client also has a reverse list feature that allows you to see whose buddy lists you are on and to remove your name from the list. In addition to Flash animation and games, the content zone now features streaming video feeds from a variety of broadcast channels and continuously updated headlines from several news sources. Gooey now includes file transfer capabilities, allowing you to share photos and other multimedia files with anyone on your lists. Also included is a spike feature that locks Gooey on one site, allowing you to keep chatting while you surf to other sites. Other new features in version 2.0 include Hitwave enhancements and support for NeoPlanet and Opera.

Note to users who receive a "Failed to create clientcomm.dll" error message after installation: This error occurs on PCs that utilize private IP addresses, which Gooey currently does not support. Hypernix states that a solution for this problem will be provided soon.

ZDNet review of Gooey:
A key personal instant messaging feature is a meet-and-greet function, which lets you find and talk to others who happen to be online when you are. Whether "random chat partner" on ICQ or "find a buddy" on AIM, this is the basic stuff instant messaging is made of. Hypernix Technologies' Gooey 2.0 extends this feature by enabling surfers to share the experience of specific Web sites.

Gooey is more of a community-building technology than a Web business tool, but its features do have business potential. With Gooey's second version, the designers added a news headline ticker and streaming video support. But other features make it useful also for exchanging comments and ideas related to Web sites.

Surf a site and Gooey's Nicks (nickname) window tells you if other Gooey users are there. If so, click on a name and send a message. You can add a person to your buddy list, though you won't be able to see which sites your buddies are browsing, so they need not worry that they're under constant surveillance. And a Gooey feature called Hitwave tells you where the action is, listing the top 100 sites frequented by other Gooey users.

By default, Gooey updates the Nicks window whenever you visit a new site, but by hitting the Spike button, you can keep your Gooey persona attached to one specific site and then surf at will. This is particularly handy for people who run businesses on the Web and who want to interact with customers as they go about their work.

As an IM client, Gooey is strictly bare-bones. True, you can send files and off-line messages, but its chat options are limited to one-on-one in an IRC-style window or in a group chat with all site users. Also, there's just one line to enter messages, and no way to pick and choose users for a multiparty conversation.

Though Gooey does a great job finding buddies, you may be better off talking to them via a more robust IM client such as AIM or ICQ. But Gooey is just getting off the ground, and we're looking forward to its next version.

Today there are few sites with Gooey users on-board. It's a slow start, but a promising one.


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