I've loved instant messaging ever since it came out. It's as convenient as having your friends and family in the same room with you, but less awkward if you want to walk around naked. I personally use AOL Instant Messenger or "AIM", Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, and Windows Live Messenger or "MSN Messenger."
They're certainly not difficult to install or set up, but with so many types of instant messaging services currently available, it can be cumbersome to keep track of people spread around different services. Not to mention it can be pretty taxing on your computer's resources to be running 6 different messenger applications at once. Just like our current economy, let's downsize!
There are quite a few instant messaging consolidation programs, so I'm going to focus on a few of the most popular. Also, let it be known that I do not get excited about things like smilies. I like my instant messaging software like my soul, black and void of emotion. OK that's not true, I'm chipper like puppies and kittens on a sunny day, but I still don't want unicorns in my chat window.
Pidgin: I have really liked Pidgin for years. It's very stable, and doesn't have too many confusing bells and whistles. It worked really well with the Jabber server (internal instant messaging service) I set up a few years ago for my last company. It was definitely the least glitchy of all we tried, so for that it gets high marks. On the down side, Pidgin only supports video/audio chat for Google Talk. They have said that support for other services is in the works, and when that's complete, I'm pretty sure I'll be sold because it's otherwise an outstanding application. Who are we kidding? I'm already sold. When I want to call somebody using my computer I usually use Skype anyway.
Meebo: Meebo is interesting because it's web based. Instead of installing an application on your computer, you log in to their website, plug in all your account information for your various messaging accounts, and they all pop up like magic. This is a great option for folks who are not allowed to install software on their work computers. That's right, don't let the man bring you down!
Trillian: This little guy used to be my favorite. It was the first application of it's type I had used. I'm honestly just not a big fan anymore. The installation process is full of sneaky installs, like really sneaky. They asked me once if I wanted to install it with the Ask Toolbar (I'm not going to link it because I consider it to be almost malware) so I unchecked the bubble...then they snuck it in there AGAIN at the end. That made me raise an eyebrow. It's certainly not a bad application, it's cute and bubbly. I try it each time they put out a new build for nostalgia sake, hopefully they'll hit the nail on the head again someday.
Now after you've chosen an application and installed it, don't forget to uninstall any messaging software it's replacing! The point was to subtract, not add! And remember, TALKING IN ALL CAPS IS LIKE YELLING. Don't do it.
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