Looking for that great all-in-one instant messaging client? For most people the free Gaim instant messenger is plenty good enough but Trillian gives that extra boost for the instant messenger power users. 
While Trillian Pro may not be free there is a basic version that you can use at no cost. Many Trillian users, however, feel that it is worth the $25 to get the best version available.
Coming up though is a new version called Trillian Astra. It has a completely new look and a ton of new features. Here are some of the ones that I thought were worth highlighting:
- You now have the options of dragging images in, copying them from another source and pasting them in, or inserting them manually via a special menu.
- Think giving out a bunch of URLs is boring? Widgets to the rescue. Use the Flickr widget to show off your photos visually, or let everyone know what you’re listening to with the Now Playing widget. If you’re feeling sad, use the Mood widget to attract some sympathy from your friends.
- When talking to another Trillian Astra user, you have the option of seeing smaller versions of their chosen widgets directly in the chat window. For example, you might export a clock widget so your contacts always know what time it is in your neck of the woods while you’re chatting, or you might just enjoy showing off the music you’re currently listening to to your friends in real-time.
- Trumping about every other feature request we’ve received lately was the constant demand for MySpace IM compatibility. So here it is – basic IM and list management, avatars, emoticons and formatted text are all supported. We’ll continue to adapt this as the MySpace IM network grows. We’ve also created a new plugin specifically for Google Talk, breaking it apart from Jabber.
There are many more new things that are available but I just wanted to point out a few of them. I don’t use Trillian because I don’t really have a need to connect to another messenger network besides for Google Talk. On the rare occasion that I do need to use another network I’ll just hop onto Meebo so that I don’t have to install anything on my machine. Meebo is priceless simply because they help keep my PC clear of unwanted software.
Trillian Astra isn’t available to the public at this point but hopefully they will make a Beta version available soon so that everyone can review it for themselves. This short video that they provide walks you through some of the new features that you should expect to see in the final release which is long overdue. Trillian 3 has been out way too long without many updates.
News Source: Neowin Forums
I found trillian pretty complicated when I first started using it, we use it here at work. Though, eventually I got the hang of it. I much perfer AIM though.
I used to be an AIM user myself but when Google Talk was released they won me over with their simplicity. With all of the “junk” that the new instant messengers have, like “Winks,” I had forgotten what the whole point of the program was. With Google Talk I have come to realize that the whole point of using it is to chat…and not to send a Wink or Nudge.
Gaim is far better than Trillian. It already does the first one, where by dragging any image to the conversation you can choose to set it as your buddy picture or send it (also works with other files). Plus gaim has a lot of features Trillian doesn’t support such as viewing custom MSN smilies.
The only problem with Gaim is its blocking features completely suck.
I would probably start using Gaim if it supported the Google Talk voice chat thing. I don’t use it that much in Google Talk but when I do it is great.
I’m with Sidekick on this one. I couldn’t even figure out how to add a user to my buddy list first time I tried Trillian.
Maybe I downloaded a bad copy or something or I was just overlooking it. But after I removed it, my friend told me it’s right in the file menu:!: I use AIM sometimes (an old version) but mostly I’m on Meebo.
I also like GoogleTalk for its simplicity. Other IM’s, like Windows Live Messenger, are much too bloated.
I tired google talk and the only problem I had was.. all my friends use aim! lol
They just need to make ONE program that can get im’s from every service. Not a program with all the im services in one. just my 2¢
if you want to have fun, try to install and configure miranda. I spent 2 hours to add contacts and protocoles and such… A very fun thing to do
But now it’s working very fine for me and i have all the protocole i need (aim, msn and gtalk).
Miranda is a good multi-protocol IM client. Takes a bit to configure but is lightweight and very efficient.