I use Gaim
One of the tragedys of the modern internet it how poorly connected the world is through instant messaging.
It seems like everyone in the US uses AIM, everyone in europe and Canada uses MSN, and everyone else uses Yahoo! Messenger. How are we all supposed to communicate?
Most of us solve this problem by getting accounts on several of the different networks - I’ve got an account on MSN, AIM (which I use mostly), Yahoo! (which I never use), and now Skype as well. It annoys me that I can’t simply talk to everyone from one client.
So I went hunting for various solutions, since I know there are options out there. If you’ve got a mac, the answer is pretty simple: iChat works with most things. If you’re on a PC, there are a few more options, but in the end it really comes down to two choices:
I use Gaim, but it’s probably just a matter of preference. Gaim is entirely free and open-source, with a simplicity that Trillian doesn’t have. Trillian does have a free option, but the interface was strange and a little hard to get the feel of - so I tossed it aside.
If you’re looking to collect all your IM accounts (except Skype) in one window - Gaim is what I’d recommend.