AIM alternatives: did they ever get better?

I use Digsby on my XP and Vista machines, Pidgin on my ubuntu install. I wish digsby would support webcams like aim/msn does (when I've used it, it prompted the other person to download/install something to view it... wtf?), and I want it to work on ubuntu.
 
Disgby - all around awesome, has new feature incorporates facebook etc and looks really pretty, but ram/resource hog
Pidgin - utilitarian and stilll the best all around AIM Client imo, it came from GAIM, although pidgin still has many minor annoyances and bugs it is overal reliable and doesn't use resources, my favorite part is the plugins, and not as flashy looking and doesn't have nearly as many trendy new features as Digsby
GAIM - outdated and had bugs issues, crashed a lot on XP, but was once the best program around and is the father to pidgin
trillian - generally a giant piece of shit
Miranda - extremely minimal and customizable, takes forever to customize and setup if you don't know what you are doing, still has most potential of any client if you want it to look badass
AIM 6.0 - aims modern reincarnation of AIM 5.0, has new features like video capability, and games etc, is generic aim client works well good for average user, sucks for advanced users because its the official AIM lacks many features that the other clients have
AIM 5.0 w/ deadman middleman - old school minimal official and has all the extra features you will ever need still my all time favorite but very outdated and lacks new abilities
AIM Lite - a stripped version of AIM 6.0 removes all the bullshit not needed in AIM 6.0, good for people wanting quick and easy use of official aim without all the BS
 
why do that when you have a perfectly good computer sitting in front of you
I move around between a lot of different PC's. This also has the advantage of keeping a persistent chat environment, so if someone says something to me while I'm in the car or between places, I can look at it later. Same thing's true if my computer crashes or I lose internet connectivity for whatever reason.
 
Trillian is def the best anyone making fun of it is just plain dumb. Easy to install, looks great, supports any feature you want, uses less than 10MB memory. Here are some better opinions


Disgby - resource hog with lots of protocols you don't care about
Pidgin - ugly, resource hog, lacks many features you'll want
GAIM - outdated
trillian - great
Miranda - great if you have hours and hours to mess with
AIM 6.0 - POS
AIM 5.0 w/ deadman middleman - POS
AIM Lite - POS
 
Miranda.
I use it for all protocols, although I only ever use IRC, AIM, and ICQ on rare occasions.

Trillian always fucking turned to shit after about a month, even on fresh builds with nothing but a few games and firefox.
 
Miranda.
I use it for all protocols, although I only ever use IRC, AIM, and ICQ on rare occasions.

Trillian always fucking turned to shit after about a month, even on fresh builds with nothing but a few games and firefox.

Explain turned to shit. I've never had ANY issues with it. Have been using it for years.
 
I had used trillian for years. I changed to digsby because I'm a slut.

Edit: What I mean is I got tired of having to pirate the new version of trillian pro every time they updated it, so I went with a free alternative.
 
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so little changes between releases of Trillian these days I just stick with the same version until I do my yearly reformat and then grab the latest.
 
Pidgin, until GTK+ fucked itself, apparently the bundled version doesn't like Vista.
None of the devs will help me out.

So Digsby, but they need to come out with the new release. :(
 
i'm going to try miranda out again, I used it all the time on my laptop. I've been using Trillian Pro for years. Maybe its time for a non
scott_the_pirate.png
messanger.
 
If you're a chat whore Adium X is enough to be considered a killer app. It's brilliant in every way as far as I'm concerned. Mine doesn't look like this as it's highly customizable but this gives you an idea--

overview.jpg

more ss's - Adium - Screenshots
 
I use digsby. I always leave it on in the background and do other shit, yet I never notice any slow downs at all. (2.5ghz core 2 duo/4gb ram)
 
I love Miranda because it's free, open source, and there are a ton of plugins for it. It does damn near everything but I mainly just use it for AIM/ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, weather, and ping.
 
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