Full featured IM client for internal communication
Spark is an attractive, secure, and fast IM client for local network communication. It is designed for organizations such as schools or companies to allow people to communicate with each other in a quick and efficient way. Unlike other big IM programs like Live or Yahoo! Messenger, Spark is faster and far more secure. It uses the Jabber protocol, which can be configured to use either private or public networks, depending on the plug-ins installed on your server.
Spark features a nicely designed interface that is pleasant to use. The program includes emoticon sets and uses a color code to distinguish between different statuses, such as online, away, and busy. It also offers avatar support, conference rooms, voice chat, spellcheck, and even a special tool to capture anything on your screen and send it directly to any contact.
In addition to these features, Spark includes some other useful tools like a basic note editor and a task list. However, there are a few drawbacks to note. Some users have reported bugs when managing contacts, with groups disappearing from the screen (although easily recovered by restarting the program). The configuration settings also fall short, lacking options to change the font and color of text or hide offline contacts.
Overall, Spark is an attractive, secure, and fast IM client for local network communication. It offers extra tools that make it a great companion for your daily work at the office. However, it does have some bugs when managing contacts and the configuration settings are incomplete.
