Pidgin: A Better Instant Messaging Client
Posted in Freeware
Update 4-13-07: Due to legal concerns, the previously named GAIM instant messaging client has changed its name to Pidgin.
To those of you who still use AOL Instant Messenger, listen up! You don’t have to endure an advertisement filled instant messaging client anymore. Pidgin is a modular messaging client capable of using AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, Jabber, ICQ, IRC, SILC, Novell GroupWise, Lotus Sametime, Napster, Zephyr, and Gadu-Gadu all at once. The interface is clean, though I like to tweak the default settings a bit. First, hide the buddy icons by unchecking Show buddy icons in the Preferences. This compresses the buddy list quite a bit so you can view more of your buddies without the need to scroll. Secondly, enable the tray icon so Pidgin can minimize unobtrusively to the system tray. This is done easily by enabling the System Tray Icon plug-in (included with Pidgin, along with a number of other plug-ins).
What won’t work: Unfortunately, not all features of the AOL client transfer over, but I haven’t run into much of a problem. The main thing I noticed was that you cannot voice or video chat with other people, but that’s what Google Talk and Skype are for, aren’t they?
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