Best free IM clients
Universal IM clients link you to many systems
|
By
Scott Spanbauer
Instant messaging lets you communicate with friends and coworkers in a jiffy, but each different network uses its own software. Universal instant-messaging programs let you connect to lots of different services to chat and transmit files, audio, and video, all from the convenience of a single application. |
Get a handle on the messaging mess
America Online's AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and its sister service ICQ are two of the biggest and most popular IM offerings. Yahoo Messenger and Microsoft's MSN Messenger likewise have millions of subscribers.
Each of these services provides Web-hosted chat interfaces and downloadable, standalone client software for one-to-one and group chats. They also let you share files and audio and video connections.
Even Google has recently jumped on the IM bandwagon via its text-only Google Talk service. All these offerings are free and generally work without a hitch whenever you're ready to chat it up.
The only real drawback to using one of the IM networks is that — like estranged relatives — they don't talk to each other. In order to chat with your AIM buddies, you need to log in to the AIM network. Talking to Yahoo subscribers requires a separate login to that system; messages from one of these networks can't reach subscribers on the other networks.
Thus, keeping track of your myriad IM contacts can require installing and using a half-dozen or more different programs, an inconvenience that for many people outweighs instant messaging's benefits. The Jabber IM system is based on the open Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) designed to allow competing IM networks to intercommunicate. Unfortunately, Google Talk is the only other well-known IM service that has adopted the protocol so far.
Here's the good news: three alternative universal IM client programs take much of the pain out of this situation by allowing you to use a single login to access your many different IM accounts. The three are Cerulean Studios' free Trillian Basic and Trillian Pro (U.S. $25); the free, open-source Pidgin; and the free, Web-based Meebo service.
Note that universal clients may not support such advanced features as video conferencing, so to use these bells and whistles, you'll still likely need to launch each service's native client.
Also, as each network makes changes to its proprietary messaging system, universal IM programs may stop working temporarily. Even with these limitations, these systems are unbeatable for shoehorning the most popular features of up to a dozen IM networks into a single interface.
#1: TRILLIAN 3.1
|
$25 version
92 Free version 90 More info |
I was ready for one of the newer IM clients to trump Cerulean's time-tested messenger, but it wasn't to be. There may be a few networks that Trillian doesn't connect to, but both the free Trillian Basic and the Pro versions offer the best collection of tools and network compatibility of the programs I looked at.
One caveat: Be sure to opt out of the Weather Channel Desktop and Ask.com toolbars Trillian wants to install during setup.
Trillian's compact interface mimics the slim panels used by the classic IM utilities AIM and ICQ. The program manages to avoid clutter by shunting IM network account preferences — including notification, away status, and audio and video settings — to a separate window. If Trillian lacks a feature or setting you find indispensable in another IM program, you may find that one of the 70 plug-ins available on Cerulean's site adds that option.
Figure 1. Trillian's features are easy to find and don't clutter your desktop.
Trillian Basic's default configuration supports AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) protocol, which is the backbone of Internet chat. The main difference between the Basic and Pro versions is video: the Pro version supports it in AIM, MSN, and Yahoo (but not ICQ).
Trillian Pro also adds support for Novell's Groupwise Messenger and Jabber/Google Talk via XMPP (these features are also available in Trillian Basic via free plug-ins). For small businesses that want to integrate a universal IM program with in-office chat, Trillian Pro uses Apple's Bonjour protocol (formerly called Rendezvous) for discovering other Trillian Pro users on a local network without having to set up a server.
#2: PIDGIN 2.5.1
|
Free version
89 More info |
If you're an IM polyglot who sticks with text for the most part, Pidgin is your gateway to universal-messaging bliss. Not only does the open-source program connect to the usual big-name networks and protocols — AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, IRC, and XMPP/Google Talk — it also parleys with Gadu-Gadu, Novell's Groupwise Messenger, Lotus Sametime, and a variety of other protocols, including MySpace's IM system.
The program's support for Apple's Bonjour network protocol means that, like Trillian Pro, Pidgin can connect over a local office or home network without requiring a dedicated chat server or Internet connection.
Pidgin uses a clean-and-simple interface. The program can be minimized to the system tray and gives you lots of options for buddy login/logout notification, away messages, and idle detection.
This IM client survives on mere breadcrumbs of system memory: it used less than 8MB on one of my test machines. A couple of dozen plug-ins extend Pidgin's default features; these include additional notification options, buddy trackers, and transparency tools.
Unfortunately, Pidgin achieves its small footprint by omitting several key features. Though it supports file transfers, the program doesn't offer audio- or videoconferencing with any network. If that's a deal-breaker for you, try either Trillian Pro or Meebo, or simply use each network's native client software for the occasional multimedia chat.
#3: MEEBO
|
Free version
88 More info |
These days, I spend about half my time working away from my home office. Most of these remote locations have Internet-connected computers available for me to use. With the Meebo IM service, I can roam freely about the globe and still access my main IM accounts with a single login.
The Web-hosted service supports six networks: AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, and Google Talk. If you need to connect to another network or require more than Meebo's basic features, you'll have to look for another IM client. Unlike Pidgin or Trillian, Meebo offers no library of plug-ins to boost its features or enhance its network compatibility.
There are some cool ways you can customize your Meebo experience. The service offers a Firefox plug-in that loads and runs the service unobtrusively in Firefox's status bar. Greasemonkey fans will find more than 25 Meebo-related scripts on the Userscripts.org site for use in posting to Twitter from your Meebo page and for other interface and settings customizations.
Meebo doesn't support audio and video in the networks it connects to; instead, it embeds a link to the service's own Flash-based conferencing feature whenever you invite a contact to an audio or video chat. The video feature didn't always work well on my system, but since I stick to text most of the time, this isn't a problem for me.
Some universal IM clients fit better than others
Trillian, Pidgin, and Meebo are far from the only universal IM clients out there. If Pidgin's open-source roots appeal to you, you may want to give Miranda a ganda; the program supports text messaging in all the major networks. There's no audio or video, but the program is highly customizable, thanks to its community of plug-in and skin developers.
Meebo has inspired a number of Web-based IM aggregators, though none of them inspires me to switch. However, if you're looking for an open-source alternative to Meebo, check out Soashable, which connects you to AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and the site's own XMPP-based network.
I tend to use a conventional IM tool such as Trillian on my main PCs and a Web-based service such as Meebo while I'm mobile, just as I rely on a combination of Microsoft Office, OpenOffice.org, and Google Docs, depending on where I happen to be.
Scott Spanbauer writes frequently for PC World, Business 2.0, CIO, Forbes ASAP, and Fortune Small Business. He has contributed to several books and was technical reviewer of Jim Aspinwall's PC Hacks.
Multiple flaws in Yahoo Messenger
Two separate serious flaws were disclosed in late August. Check your version number and if less than 8.1.0.419 then update now from here:
http://messenger.yahoo.com/download.php
How to send an SMS text message via Google
For U.S. phone numbers only.
http://toolbar.google.com/send/sms/index.php
Google introduces chat from within Gmail
Google is progressively rolling out to USA-English users, a beta version of a new GMail chat feature that allows you to talk with anyone connected to the Google Chat network or compatible network. The integration works very well; To contact someone, just hover the cursor over an email or contact and a window pops up asking whether you want to chat or email the person. If you select chat, an invitation is sent to the recipient. If they accept, a green ball appears next to their name and a special chat window pops up. You don't even need the Google Chat client installed to use the service though it is required for voice contact. Chats can also be saved and searched from within GMail, just like email. Quite impressive really. To use Google Chat you'll need IE6 or Firefox 1+. If you use the later you may have to disenable the AdBlock extension as it interferes with the Google service.
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=8405