Channel hamradio and ubuntu-hams on irc.freenode.net is where is used to get some information on amateur radio. IRC stands for internet relay chat. i started to use irc since 1997, until now i never get bored with it. Simple and fast, text only chat. You can talk to any nickname you want, either on the public channels or private messages. I made a lot of friends on IRC. Some of them are mypapit 9W2WTF, Steve AI4QR and Kamal KA6MAL. First IRC client that i use is mIRC, after trying Red Hat linux, i’ve found BitchX (CLI – command line interface) and then X-Chat (GUI). People are forgetting the IRC now, they prefer web-based social sites such as Facebook. Skype is better since it has support for video and voice call.
Some amateur radio old timers are still on the IRC. Discussing and developing software for amateur radio usage. Ted Williams WA0EIR, a 70++ aged ham radio developed lots of software, http://wa0eir.home.mchsi.com/. Steve and Kamal are working with Canonical and developing the hamlib for linux. Diane Bruce VA3DB made a custom FreeBSD for amateur radio called Hamfreesbie. Mypapit 9W2WTF actively working on android apps, visit https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=mypapit
You can simply install an IRC client for your pc or macs. My operating system is Ubuntu and i use xchat. Just search xchat on Ubuntu software center and install.