Save Your IM History Automagically
Just out of private beta; IM history saving or archiving service (would be more accurate) called Simkl has opened up for everyone to use.
Once you have registered for the service and added your instant messaging identities Simkl starts automatically saving your instant messaging history as you have conversations. There is no download or installation of software required. The service supports almost every IM client out there, all the popular ones at least. The list of what it doesn’t is probably shorter, noticeably absent is Skype. This has been typical of Skype in general in regard to 3rd party software and services.
So this service essentially archives all your chats you will ever have. Great for checking back on that link you were sent or that crucial conversation after a game of “he said she said”. However, some people may be concerned about a 3rd party holding their data, not just you - your contacts might not be so keen on the idea either. If this is offset by powerful search and the joy of recounting that funny conversation or finding that damn link you know your were sent, then this is for you. Especially when this is available from any computer you log in from.
While the absence of Skype is a bummer, I would argue that the archiving and search in your history of conversations in Skype is now very good. So the service in regards to Skype is probably unnecessary.
Can anyone else think of what this service might be useful for? How do you feel about your conversation ending up on a server in the cloud somewhere, forever?
If this online service is not for you but you are still interested in an all in one IM saving solution. You might like to try IM History. This one you download and it also aggregates all your IM chats on your machine. Plus the data is stored locally, so no snooping is possible. Oh, and one more cool thing about this one is that it does support Skype. But your data is not available from another computer, so with your privacy comes some give and take.
Both services have merit and the good the bad and potentially ugly in my opinion. But heck, do we have to archive everything. My IM conversations are boring, trust me. Plus these days I am using Skype almost exclusively, so for me that means good history management.
