Gary Chan 2.0

UPDATE: Lifehacker also has an invite code.

Digsby just launched in private beta this week, but we’ve got 5000 invites to give away to Download Squad readers. Keep on reading to find out how to get yours.

Digsby is a desktop client that lets you chat with contacts no matter which IM service they use. It also includes an e-mail notifier, and a pop up screen for keeping track of Facebook and MySpace updates. You can even add a Digsby chat window to your Facebook page so that anyone viewing your profile can send you instant messages which you can reply to using Digsby.When you first run Digsby, you’ll be prompted to add accounts for each service you want to use. Under IM, you can choose AIM, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, and Jabber. For e-mail, you have a choice of Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL Mail, or any POP or IMAP e-mail service.

If you want to take Digsby for a spin, just download and install the application and enter “dlsquad” when asked for an invite code. Digsby supports Windows XP and Vista at the moment. Mac and Linux clients are under development.

downloadsquad.com

So, we’ve linked up Reader with Google Talk (also known as chat in Gmail) to make your shared items visible to your friends from Google Talk. Once you’ve logged into Reader and been notified of the change, these friends will be able to see your shared items in the Reader left-hand navigation area under “Friends’ shared items”. We’ve provided an option to clear your shared items in case you don’t want your friends to see what you’ve shared in the past. We’ve also added a Settings page so you can choose which friends you see and invite friends who aren’t yet sharing to try it out.

googlereader.blogspot.com