Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
There.are.also.messaging.systems.that.can.be.set.up.and.
administered. within. an. enterprise,. such. as. Microsoft's. Live.
Communications. Server. and. GroupWise. Messenger,. so. the.
servers.that.host.and.relay.the.messages.are.actually.within.
the.enterprise.instead.of.in.a.separate.location.on.the.Internet.
However,. all. of. these. work. in. a. similar. way.. Once. the.
client. software. is. installed. on. the. user's. computer. (remem-
ber.our.discussion.of.client/server.systems.above?),.a.session.
begins. by. activating. the. client.. Often. the. client. is. set. up. to.
activate.as.soon.as.the.computer.is.turned.on.
When. the. client. is. activated. it. connects. to. the. vendor's.
server. and. that. server. notes. that. the. user. is. available. for.
instant. messaging.. Anyone. else. who. has. the. same. type. of.
client.or.one.that.is.compatible.with.that.client.(some.clients.
are.able.to.access.multiple.types.of.instant.messaging.or.chat.
formats).and.who.has.included.that.person.in.their.contacts.
list.(called.a.Buddy.List.in.some.cases).will.then.see.the.irst.
user's.name.on.their.instant.messenger.client,.listed.as.being.
available.. These.can.also.note.that.users.on.their.buddy.or.
contact.list.are.ofline,.busy,.out.to.lunch,.and.so.forth.
Either.user.can.then.select.any.of.the.names.on.the.list.of.
available.“buddies”.or.contacts.and.type.in.a.message..This.
message.is.relayed.through.the.vendor's.server.and.directed.
“instantly”.to.the.buddy.
These.same.clients.can.also.be.used.to.send.iles.(docu-
ments,.spreadsheets,.graphics,.etc.).between.connected.users..
Some.of.these.applications.also.allow.you.to.have.chats.with.
groups.of.people.and.even.share.“white.boards”.where.the.
participants. can. type. and. share. ideas. in. a. virtual. meeting..
Some. (i.e.,. Skype). have. an. audio. and. video. function. that.
allows.you.to.see.and.speak.to.the.person.with.whom.you.
are.communicating.
There. are. often. settings. available. on. the. client. software.
that.allow.a.user.to.choose.to.save.his.or.her.chat.sessions..
In.some.cases.these.logs.will.be.saved.to.the.user's.computer,.
but.in.others.they.are.saved.to.a.central.server.
