In the world of instant messaging, few services come close to the popularity of AIM, and no one can beat AIM in terms of longevity. The communication tool was launched as a feature of the first version of the AOL dialup service in 1989, according to AOL technology fellow Edwin Aoki.

AIM has come a long way since then. It now incorporates voice and video, and has more than 100 million users worldwide. Aside from the sheer size of its user base, continued innovation and partnerships in the enterprise IM space have allowed it to maintain its dominant position.

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In a Q&A session after the launch of Apple’s new notebooks today, Steve Jobs called Sony’s Blu-ray a “bag of hurt” and stated that licensing the standard for Blu-ray hardware and software is currently too complex. Jobs then remarked that Apple is waiting for Blu-ray to “take off in the marketplace.”

However, the company was quick to point out that it supports HD video–as long as it’s not on a disc. Speaking after Jobs, Phil Schiller, Apple’s vice president of marketing, noted iTunes already has the “best” HD movie and TV options. Apple has spent years developing products that incorporate streaming media, such as Apple TV and iTunes libraries.

Schiller’s comment highlights how Apple defines the “best” in entertainment. It’s not the technical particulars relating to screen resolution and sound, but rather the immediate ease and accessibility of the content.

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YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley has posted an interesting description of his company’s long-term plans and prospects. YouTube’s (and Google’s) goal is to allow anyone to easily upload video to the ‘Net and make that content available on any device. He also makes a bold prediction that online video will be the “most ubiquitous and accessible form of communication” in 10 years.

I would like to offer a counterpoint to Hurley’s vision. While I don’t dispute the impact of online video and its growing importance to the way people produce and consume media, I believe that online video is limited in several important ways, and will have difficultly competing with emerging graphics technologies that allow better interactivity, customization, and visual appeal.

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Second Life may be getting more real by the day. In a post on the Second Life blog on Monday, Jack Linden describes the Linden Lab plan to better regulate the Mainland, the section of virtual land that’s managed directly by Linden Lab itself. With the implementation of a Department of Public Works, Second Life residents were alerted to a Linden Lab that wants to be more involved and regulate more of the user experience.

The new plan is still vague, but seems to center on the concept of zoning. One of the most frequent user complaints is the proliferation of ad farms in-world where a virtual world parcel is filled with nothing but ads for other in-world businesses, and the post suggests that Linden Lab will take steps to control what is viewed by many in Second Life to be akin to an adult bookstore moving in next door.

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