2008 IM Client Eval Team

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This page has been created by the Spring 2008 IM Client Evaluation Team as a place to collaborate and collect documentation and resources for the team.

The 2008 IM Client Evaluation Team is working together from April 1 through early-May (or the end of May as needed for documentation). For more information on the evaluation, please visit the 2008 IM Client Evaluation Team website.

Contents

Team Members

Email list for group discussion: webbrowser2007 at isc.upenn.edu

  • Al Matthews, SAS, albertm@sas (team co-lead)
  • Rob Short, ISC TSS, rshort@isc (team co-lead)
  • Dave Anstine, ISC N&T, anstine@isc
  • John Bartol, WXPN, jbartol at xpn.org
  • Sheila Bayes, ISC TSS, sbayes@isc
  • Tim Emgushov, School of Medicine, emgushov@mail.med
  • Steven Gay, VPUL, sgay@exchange
  • Thomas Gudmundsen, Business Services, tgudmund at upenn.edu (email participation only)
  • Larry Macy, Psychiatry, macy@bbl.med (email participation only)
  • Timothy Johnson, CHAS, atimothy@pobox
  • Jason Lehman, Wharton, jrlehman@wharton
  • Darian Anthony Patrick, ISC N&T, darianp@isc
  • Adam Phillips-Silver, School of Medicine, apsilver@mail.med
  • Charles Rejonis, Wharton, rejonis@wharton
  • Mark Sirota, ISC N&T, msirota@isc
  • Timothy Struder, Nursing, tstruder@nursing
  • Jason Watkins, SAS, jasonrw@sas
  • Jorj Bauer, SEAS, jorj@seas (email only participation)

Questions for the Team to Consider

  • Client compatibility with ISC Jabber Service
  • Other Penn Jabber Servers (Library, Law, Medicine)
  • Additional functionality of clients (outside Jabber Server)
  • IM Clients to test
  • Current account holders (ISC Exchange, POBOX, and PennNet Phone users)
  • Billing for non-ISC accounts
  • Advertising or announcement to generate wider interest/participation/use of ISC Jabber Service
  • Suggestion made to drop Exodus
  • Terminology (clients make up their own terms rather than following the Jabber/XMPP specifications)

Evaluation Criteria/Things to Test

  • Client compatibility with ISC Jabber Service
  • Ability to initiate a chat request
  • Chatroom browsing and creation
  • Advanced chatroom features/administration
  • Presence functionality (away, idle, etc.)
  • Presence subscription
  • Custom Skins?
  • Notification system - sounds, pop up, flashing windows
  • File Transfer capability/limits
  • Privacy functionality (allow invites, block, etc.)
  • Ability to add/delete from User List
  • User List Group creation/management
  • Support for latest encryption versions (SSL vs TLS)
  • Avatar (supported size and file format; functionality, display)
  • Chat log storage
  • Multimedia chat support/desktop sharing (client-side)
  • Native Kerberos functionality
  • Appearance Rating
  • Client MUST be under current development for consideration

Potential Questions for the Survey (derived from the section above)

Client Installation & Configuration

  • 1. Does the client install successfully without warnings or errors? Yes or No
  • 2. Can the client be configured to connect to ISC's Jabber Server? Yes or No
  • 3. Does the client support Kerberos for authentication? Yes or No
  • 4. Does the client connect using the latest protocol (TLS via port 5222), or must it be configured to use the old port 5223 in order to establish a connection? Yes, Uses latest protocols or No, Uses legacy
  • 5. Is the client currently under development or no longer being developed? Yes, current or No, no longer under development
  • 6. Is the client free to use? Yes or No
  • 7. Any additional notes or comments on Installation and Configuration? Enter in a box

Client Features & Functionality

  • 1. Can you add a buddy/user? Yes or No
  • 2. Can you Group "buddies" into different lists? Yes or No
  • 3. Can you initiate a one-on-one chat with another buddy? Yes or No
  • 4. Can you browse the Jabber server for a list of available chatrooms? Yes or No
  • 5. Can you join a chatroom? Yes or No
  • 6. Can you specify your resource name? Yes or No
  • 7. Can you create a chatroom? Yes or No
  • 8. What types of chatrooms can you create? Please reference the Room Types http://prowiki.isc-csg.upenn.edu:16080/index.php/Jabber_XMPP_Terminology and then list the capabilities
  • 9. Can you configure your Presence mode, i.e. Away, Available, Custom, etc? Yes or No.
  • 10. Can you enter a descriptive text about your Presence, i.e. "In a Meeting," "Out to Lunch," etc? Yes or No
  • 11. Can you Block or Allow others to see your Presence? Yes or No, and a box for specific comments
  • 12. Can you setup a custom skin? Yes or No
  • 13. Can you customize the notification system, i.e. sounds, popups, etc? Yes or no and a box for specific comments
  • 14. Can you send/receive files to/from other users? Yes or No?
  • 15. Are there any limitations of what types of files or the size that you can send? List here in a box
  • 16. Can you Allow or Block invitations to chat (Privacy Settings)? Yes or No
  • 17. Can you import an Avatar to use? Yes or No
  • 18. What formats can you use for the avatar, and is a specific size required? List here in a box
  • 19. Can you choose to store logs of your chats? Yes or No
  • 20. Does your client support Multimedia chats, i.e. Audio or Video Conferencing? Yes or No and comment box
  • 21. Does your client indicate other users' capabilities (such as Video, audio, send file, etc)? Yes or No and comment box
  • 22. Does the client look good? Rate the interface from 1 to 5 stars, with 1 being the least appealing.
  • 23. Does the client support other chat protocols, such as AIM, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, etc? Yes or No, and list supported if possible

*the survey is now posted http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=MdcvuM0FevOeZtN9zd9O5Q_3d_3d"

Testing Schedule and Results/Notes

  • Notes
    • Team members: put your name next to what you'll test
    • Each testing item is a link to an individual page for that client/platform combination for notes, questions, problems encountered during testing, etc.; please use freely
    • Testing to take place either on your own machines or in the ISC Standards Lab
    • There can be more than one tester per scenario, but please try to help fill out the missing links first (where possible)
    • Test script is hosted online by SurveyMonkey - coming soon - email Rob (rshort@isc) if you need the password
    • Test results will automatically be collected by SurveyMonkey

Final Recommendations

Supported Products

  • Mac OS X
    • iChat
    • Adium
  • Windows
    • Pidgin


NOTE: As the team feels that there will likely be significant changes and developments in IM clients in the coming year, and as this was Penn's first formal evaluation of IM technology, we elected not to list any specific clients as "Recommended and Supported" this year as a result of our evaluation. We have instead listed "Supported" client recommendations only. We do recommend another similar evaluation team next year to revisit current conditions and available clients.

Documentation

Resources and News

Retrieved from "http://prowiki.isc.upenn.edu/wiki/2008_IM_Client_Eval_Team"
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