If you're an "early user," you have already infected all the people on your email contact list:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/071307-yoomba.html People who try stuff like this without checking out the security ramifications are idiots. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Jason Spock <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Page 11 > > All-chatting-calling e-mail is here > > Special Correspondent > > Bangalore: A year-old U.S.-based Internet application developer has just released a tool that significantly pushes the envelope of seamless, global communication. Yoomba's offering of the same name, allows any one with an e-mail address to contact any other e-mail addressee ... and with a click of the mouse, convert the off-line contact into an instant chat based on text messages or even a live voice call. > > The beauty of Yoomba lies in its simplicity: Well-known e-mail services such as GMail, YahooMail or MSN offer instant communication modes like live chat but they work only within the mail group. That means GMail can chat with GMail only. And Net telephone applications such as Skype also work within closed groups. > > Now, we are offered a tool that bypasses the administration of individual e-mail services and allows one to chat instantly or talk, as one would on the telephone, with any other e-mail address owner, using what is known as peer-to-peer networking. > > The tool is a free service from www.yoomba.com and by just entering your e-mail ID at the site, you initiate action to receive a key for the download which takes less than five minutes at typical connection speeds in India. Once installed, you can activate all e-mail accounts and make them Yoomba-enabled. > > Of course, you must invest in a head-phone-microphone combo (which costs a couple of hundred rupees) and connect it to your PC if you want to use Yoomba to make telephone calls. > > Invitation > > The first time that you try to call or instant-chat with another e-mail address, Yoomba will send an e-mail invitation inviting the recipient to install the software. Once your friend does that you are all set. Just clicking on the phone icon besides the e-mail ID in your address book, sets off a very realistic ring tone at both ends... and the two parties are talking to each other! When this correspondent tried it out with a few friends the quality was excellent. You can also switch to the loudspeakers of your PC or use a built-in mike. Yoomba is so simple, anyone from age 7 to 70 can be up and running with the tool in minutes. It allows you to invite all the people on your regular mailing list to join in. But you need to use this feature with some care, otherwise you will be sending out spam to a lot of angry e-mailers! > At the global launch of the product on Friday (Indian time) Yoomba founder-Chief Executive Elad Hemar is reported to have said that he planned to keep the service free for now and make money through advertisements. Yoomba is a compelling application that one hopes no one will throttle it at birth. > > > The Hindu > > > > > --------------------------------- > Never miss an email again! > Yahoo! Toolbar alerts you the instant new Mail arrives. Check it out. >