What is this all about?

We all want to know when the next item appears on steepandcheap (SAC) or Whiskey Militia, or . We don't all want to constanly monitor the site to see when the next item comes up. A solution to this problem is to automatically alert you when a new item appears. Since the beginning of sacattack.com, and now gearattack.com there has been email and SMS alerts. The problem with these methods of alerting is that they can take several minutes to arrive. For some items this delay is acceptable, but for others it only alerts us of what we just missed.

The fastest way to get these alerts is to use "instant messaging". There are many IM protocols/networks out there (eg. MSN, ICQ, AIM, Google Talk), but they all work differently and it can be difficult to support all of them. Instead of trying to support them all, I will just stick to one and invite all of you to use it for your alerting needs. Attack IM will use an existing protocol/network called Jabber (XMPP). This is the same base that Google Talk uses. If you already have a gearattack.com account, you already a third of the way there. Registering to use Attack IM is free, as are most of the IM clients. Give it a try, you won't regret it.

Advantages

• - really fast alerts
• - can pick any sound to be played for a new alert
• - uses a protocol supported by hundreds of IM clients (most are free)
• - available for any operating system
• - many of the clients support other IM protocols (eg AOL, ICQ, MSN, etc.), so you could get your alerts and stay in touch with your regular contacts using the same program.
• - oh yeah, really fast alerts ... need I say more?

 

Note

If you decide to use Attack IMs, you will control when you get them. If you are logged in and "online", you will get the gearattack alerts. If you are not "online", you won't get the alerts. It is as easy as that.

AlertAttack.com IM Setup

Gearattack.com highly recommends using "Instant Messaging" to get the fastest alerts. The word "Instant" isn't there for nothing. Interested? Follow the steps below.

First, you need to sign up for an account. After you have signed-up and activated your account you are ready for the next step.


 

You will get an activation email after you sign-up. There will be a link in that email that you must follow to confirm your email address. Once you activated your account you can now login.


 

Second, after you have logged in you need to create a Attack IM username and password. Enter the settings page for your account (remember, you must be logged in).


 
Now scroll down to the "Attack IM" section and create your username and password.


 
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Save Changes"

IM Client Setup

You have now setup your Attack IM account. Now you must choose an IM client. Almost any third-party IM client will be able to accomplish what you want to do, the only requirement is that it supports the Jabber IM Protocol (aka XMPP). For a partial list, please go here. I have tested both PSI and Exodus for Windows and both Adium and iChat for the Mac, but it should be easy to get others working. Download one, install it and let's set it up.

I cannot describe the procedure and give pictures to setup every IM. I will include the steps for one windows client (Psi) and one Mac client (Adium). There are really only a couple things to set up, and if you are going to use another client, the settings at the bottom should be all you need.

Psi IM Client (windows)

First, let's create our IM account. Click on lower left icon and choose "Account Setup" from the menu.


 
Now, create a new account, click on "Add" in the "Psi: Jabber Accounts" window and you will be greeted with the "Psi: Add Account" window.


 
Enter any descriptive name for "Name" and leave "Register new account" unchecked and click "Add".


 
In the "Psi: Account Properties" window, enter your Jabber ID and password. The Jabber ID is the username you created on the gearattack.com settings page (plus the ending @alertattack.com), and the password is the password from the gearattack.com settings page.


 
Now click the "Connection" tab and enter "im.alertattack.com" as the "Host" and "5222" as the "Port" and click "Save".


 
You can now close the "Psi: Jabber Accounts" window also. Here comes the big test, "right click" on the account and change the status to "Online". You should be logged in.


 

Congratulations! Now wait for your gearattack alerts. If you want to test that it is setup correctly, log into gearattack.com and go to your settings. At the top right there is a link called "send test Attack IM alert". If you are "Online" with your IM Client then clicking this link should send you a test message.

Adium IM Client (mac)

First, let's create our IM account. With Adium downloaded, installed and running, click on the menu choice "Adium" -> "Preferences".


 
In the "Preferences : Accounts" window, click on the plus in the lower left of the wondow and select "Jabber" from the menu choices.


 
Enter your Jabber ID and password. The Jabber ID is the username you created on the gearattack.com settings page (plus the ending @alertattack.com), and the password is the password from the gearattack.com settings page.


 
Now click the "Options" tab and enter "im.alertattack.com" as the "Connect Server" and "5222" as the "Port" and click "OK".


 
Your "Preferences : Accounts" will now look something like this. Here comes the big test, check the box for your account and enter your password.


 

 
Congratulations! Now wait for your gearattack alerts. If you want to test that it is setup correctly, log into gearattack.com and go to your settings. At the top right there is a link called "send test Attack IM alert". If you are "Online" with your IM Client then clicking this link should send you a test message.

Other IM Client

Jabber ID/Username: The Jabber username you gave in your gearattack.com settings, remember it will be postfixed with "@alertattack.com" (e.g. username@alertattack.com)
Password: The Jabber password you gave in your gearattack.com settings.
Jabber Server: im.alertattack.com