AIM Alternatives?

[bil]

Does anyone know of good AIM alternatives for Windows? I'm really getting sick of the ads embedded within AOL's client. They're using full blown video now with audio in addition to using Java.

I walked into my room and a commercial for Lowes Hardware was playing within AIM. This is getting out of hand. What's next, ads within individual IM's?

 

[Litchfield285]

i use trillian...

it allows me to use my aim sn but not actually use aim itself... i switched about 4 years ago and havnt gone back since...

 

[n0cmonkey]

gaim
trillian

 

[HN]

AIM 4.8.xxx + DeadAIM 3.2.1
both at http://www.oldversion.com/

 

[Schadenfroh]

Miranda

 

[BW86]

I used to use Gaim, now I use Trillian. Both are much better than AIM.

 

[KoolDrew]

gAIM. I have tried Miranda, Trillian and gAIM and gAIM is by far the best IMO followed by Miranda. Miranda was extremely low on recourses if that is what you are looking for. It doesn't have many feutures though. It's recourse usage was a huge plus for me though.

 

[suse920]

trill

 

[bil]

I'm trying out GAIM now and so far I like it. Is there anyway to set your profile though?

The reason I'm staying away from Trillian is that I don't really want the extra resources if all I use is AIM.

 

[KoolDrew]

If you are worried about resource usage you may like Miranda. Give it a try.

 

[Gurck]

I've tried trillian, miranda and gaim - I liked gaim best and so stuck with it.

 

[MetalMat]

Whats not to like about trillian? No ads, nos bs, plus it incorporates MSN, Yahoo, AIM, ICQ, and even the chat servie MIRC.

 

[ShadowBlade]

(trilly)

 

[rh71]

another Trillian vote.

 

[Blayze]

GAIM or Trillian

 

[JBT]

Aim ad hack.

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

Trillian :thumbsup:

 

[BlueWeasel]

I'm a fan of Miranda myself, but I don't use messaging much and basically just need a simple interface.

 

[MrBossman]

I'm a huge fan of GAIM. I used to use Trillian (and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it), but Gaim seems more friendly towards different fonts and styles than Trillian. Plus, I also use Yahoo, MSN, and ICQ (for friends on those services) and don't really have as much problems with Yahoo conflicts as I did with Trillian (had to get the newest version every time to resolve the problem).

The only thing I don't like about gaim is that I have not found a way to close the window and still have the program running in the system tray like AIM or Trillian. I've grown used to the idea of have the extra window open, but it is kind of annoying in the beginning. My best recommendation is to try it out. Go to gaim.sourceforge.net to download it. Enjoy!

-MrBossman

 

[jjungman]

Originally posted by: MrBossman
I'm a huge fan of GAIM. I used to use Trillian (and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it), but Gaim seems more friendly towards different fonts and styles than Trillian. Plus, I also use Yahoo, MSN, and ICQ (for friends on those services) and don't really have as much problems with Yahoo conflicts as I did with Trillian (had to get the newest version every time to resolve the problem).

The only thing I don't like about gaim is that I have not found a way to close the window and still have the program running in the system tray like AIM or Trillian. I've grown used to the idea of have the extra window open, but it is kind of annoying in the beginning. My best recommendation is to try it out. Go to gaim.sourceforge.net to download it. Enjoy!

-MrBossman

You can get the system tray icon by going to the Plugins section in the Preferences windows. From there you can click on the System Tray Icon option. This causes Gaim to minimize to the system tray when you click the close button. Hope that helps.

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: MetalMat
Whats not to like about trillian? No ads, nos bs, plus it incorporates MSN, Yahoo, AIM, ICQ, and even the chat servie MIRC.

I found it to be too bloated and buggy. I'm not the type to like skins and such - I just want a simple, sleek easy to use program with a small footprint. I found gaim much more to my liking.

 

[duragezic]

Originally posted by: BlueWeasel
I'm a fan of Miranda myself, but I don't use messaging much and basically just need a simple interface.

 

[MrBossman]

Yep. That did the trick. It's funny, but I've been using gaim for almost a year now and completely overlooked the plug-ins. Thanks jjungman. :-D

 

[bil]

OK I've been using GAIM for about 24 hours and it's awesome. I'm still staying away from trillian because all I use is AIM.

 

[Zugzwang152]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
gaim
trillian

I use Gaim. Former Trillian 0.7x user. Like both.