I really like the idea. I can see myself using it at coffee shops, or other places for impromptu groups.
I wouldn't mind seeing a web-app just because I think that would be even easier to pull people in with. Installing something just for a quick chat might be too much for people, or might not even be possible, i.e. wanting a quick group chat but you're at a public library computer.
All in all though, it's a cool idea, and solid little app. Also ethpressO was very nice and engaging in the chat :-)
Thanks! it's cool to talk synchronously (in the messenger) and asynchronously (on hackernews) with you at the same time. I really appreciate your feedback :)
Joint is an Instant Messenger platform built on top of your existing Twitter social graph.
* Here are some highlights:
1. Instantly IM with anyone on Twitter.
2. Private group chat with friends on Twitter.
3. Meet friends of friends through chatrooms.
I've created a sample chatroom for this thread. Please visit and try. As a regular HN heavy reader, I would appreciate some help and feedback from the community. Thanks! : http://joint.im/r/khPZl9sn4eg
The Adobe AIR Application Installer seems to launch automatically. I hadn't decided whether or not I wanted to try the app at that point, but I definitely didn't want to see my CPU usage shoot to 100% and have my browser lock up. So I decided to force quit the installer and close the website. Maybe it's a great app, but the AIR experience immediately kills it, for me at least.
We spent quite a lot of time working on Adobe Air's CPU issue. I think many crappy air based apps out there are like that and give the impression that Adobe Air always uses up CPU power, but we've been testing and optimizing this with several people for last month and the cpu usage stays around 0.1% most of the times, so please feel free to try again. Thanks!
The problem isn't related to the app itself, but moreso the way that AIR Application Installer launches immediately when I navigate to joint.im — before I even click the "download" button. I find it intrusive, considering Application Installer hogs my CPU (and I'm not sure if there's any workaround for that). Application Installer runs in the background and consumes 100% CPU even if I navigate away from the page. So then it has to be quit via Activity Monitor. I'm not sure if this is only an issue with my AIR install or if it happens for everyone on OSX.
I can attest to the hard work that Ethan has done on the AIR CPU problem and on my Windows 7 machine it behaves very well - actually much better than other AIR apps I have tried.
I dig it, Ethan. The Twitter contact tie is brilliant, and I can see this crossing into many different potential areas of real utility.. sexier DM sessions, group collab (work or for fun), CS. Very slick.
I really like the idea. I can see myself using it at coffee shops, or other places for impromptu groups.
I wouldn't mind seeing a web-app just because I think that would be even easier to pull people in with. Installing something just for a quick chat might be too much for people, or might not even be possible, i.e. wanting a quick group chat but you're at a public library computer.
All in all though, it's a cool idea, and solid little app. Also ethpressO was very nice and engaging in the chat :-)