Contact
This page shows an overview over the possibities to get in contact with me. This includes the instant messaging systems offered by AIM, ICQ, MSN and Yahoo, as well as telecommunication based on different services.
The form at the end of this page can be used to contact me directly and send me a message from within my homepage. This service is mainly targeted to visitors without any other possibility.
Messaging
There exist several different online instant messaging systems enabling users of a dedicated group to see directly if other group members are online or not. Online users can be contacted directly by using a special application to exchange text messages with each other (Instant Messaging). In most cases these systems offer much more services like for example file exchange or the retrieval of information about a single user (as long as the user allows it). The user group is made up of users that have registered to the system. Those users have a unique ID (login, buddy, etc.) and a password that is needed to log into the system.
At the moment I am a registered user of the following six system (where Skype is a system targeted to voice over ip telecommunication) that are summarized in the following table:
| Service | ID |
|---|---|
| AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) | imalexblock73 (Buddy) |
| ICQ (I seek you) | 288667210 (UIN) |
| MSN (Microsoft Network) | im alex block 73 @ hotmail. de (spaces have to be removed) |
| Yahoo | imalexblock73 (Yahoo ID) |
| Jabber | ab @ jabber. ez. no (Jabber-ID, spaces have to be removed) |
| Skype | imalexblock73 (Skype-Name) |
As an experienced linux user, I am using the Kopete application to manage all accounts (besides Skype) at the same time. One disadvantage of this application is that it does not support the full set of features compared to the application offered by the different system providers. This means that there can be functions that can not be used when others users contact me. Well, it sufficient to just chat.
Telecommunication
When calling the phone number +49 25 61 / 95 95 69 79 6 one can leave a voice message on a answering machine for me and send a fax, too. People who do not have any internet connection can send me emals either as far as they own a mobile phone. This functionality depends on the network of the provider. In most cases this services must be activated first. How this works is most commonly described on the website of the mobile network provider. Most providers maintain a dedicated SMS office that is able to receive short messages from the mobile phone that will be redirected as an email. To get this working one has to use a special mobile phone number to send the message to. The short message must be assembled in a special way to enable the system to recognize it as a message that should be forwarded as an email. In most cases the first parrt has to be the target email address (in this case my one). The email address is following by a whitespace and the message that should be sent. Special characters in the email address can be encoded using other characters or strings. The following tables shows a summary:
| Net | SMS office | Receiver | Message assembly |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | +49 171 / 0760000 | 8000 |
Message Within the email address: instead of @ also * is possible |
| D2 | +49 172 / 2270333 | 3400 |
Message Within the email address: instead of @ or _ also * or -- possible |
| ePlus | +49 177 / 0610000 | 7676245 |
Message Within the email address: instead of @ also * possible |
| O2 | +49 176 / 0000443 | 6245 | Message |