What instant messenger do you use?
 

I need help looking for something new. I'm using Dead AIM, a 3rd party program that logs onto AIM.

AOL IM itself I'd rather not download. I'm sure there are ads and junk.

I haven't heard of any other good program lately that logs onto AIM.

What do you use or recommend that logs on AIM?

Actually, AIM Classic is pretty good. Easily customizable and, if you set your preferences right, you only ever have to look at one small ad in the buddy list window.

Meebo, if that counts. It has AIM, Google Talk, Yahoo Instant Messanger, and some other IM programs all built into one convenient web chat doohickie. I like using it since I don't have to install those programs onto my computer.

I'm pretty much convinced that iChat is the best AIM client ever made. I also use messenger:mac.

On the off chance I'm on a Windows machine, Pidgin and MSN Messenger.

Also always some variation of IRC.

On Mac I use Adium because, seriously guys, iChat blows dogs for quarters. On Windows I use Miranda IM. I wish the Mac had a one-in-all client like Miranda that supported IRC as well.

Aim 5.9 with Ad Hack.
Windows Live Messenger 8.1 with MessPatch and StuffPlug 3.


I like the old AIM's simplicity. I use Windows Live Messenger for it's video chat. WLM has the best video quality and largest camera window I've seen in an IM client. (I haven't checked other clients for quality in a while, so I'm not sure if it's still the best.)

I only have AIM and WLM friends, so I don't need clients for Yahoo or other services.

I use Digsby, another one of those multi-protocol chat programs. I just use it for AIM, MSN and checking my Gmail account. It can support a lot of other things (like social networking sites), but I've really got no use for all that stuff.

Pidgin, if only for it's ability to check my Hotmail and Yahoo accounts for e-mail. I hardly chat though, so it's useful for what I need it to do.

It's probably a little outdated but I use Miranda IM for all my chat needs that doesn't require msn messenger. After a little tweaking it's the most low profile IM program I've used.
But the one I'm on the most is Windows Live Messenger 8.5. Mostly for the ability to sketch silly things.

I use Pidgin mostly for AIM because my YIM disconnects too much, not to mention the spammers.

Pidgin and Google Talk, basically.

Currently AIM 5.9 and I used Digsby before. Might re-install Digsby though.

iChat + Chax really isn't that bad. I kind of like my desktop being seamlessly integrated graphically, and iChat is since its made and packaged with the OS. I also don't particularly like multiple protocol clients either for some reason, usually because they don't support things that the actual client does (IE: writing in MSN (although Macs don't support it anyway), video chat, etc) The only two things Adium really offers, multiprotocol support & customizability, are bothfairly useless to me.

messenger:mac was really a just because. Colloquy is a given for IRC. And I forgot that I use Skype on occasion.

I use Trillian for my multiple accounts, but that's assuming that I chat... which I don't. I'm rarely online, so I decided I was tired of having multipleIM programs. Basically I only use AIM, but I do have a Yahoo account as well. Every year I say I'm going to be online more, but every year it seems I'm online less :confused:...

At home, I use Adium on my Mac. For my rather limited (MSN, no real file transfers) purposes, it works fine, even on what is by today's standards a rather obsolete computer. I don't really use with IRC, so its absence does not bother me too much.

My Windows laptop runs Pidgin, as it shares most of Adium's strengths, albeit with a clumsier interface.

I use my mouth.

UHAUHauhahua that was a good one, now I'm going to have a sandwich, bbl.

I also use Adium over the failhorse that is iChat.

I like how customizable Adium is over iChat, not to mention I get less random disconnects and errors as well. But then again I only use it for the AOL client side of it.

I used to use Digsby a while back when it first came out, but I found that it was a little too bloated, and used too many system resources.

Now I use Miranda IM, and I really like it for all the customization options it has, and the low resource profile.

Another Adium user here, and I wouldnt have it any other way. I can change almost anything to my preference, and its just more manageable. I've tried using iChat on friend's Macs, only to end up disgusted by it.

Another Adium user. It's pretty much used exclusively for MSN, but I guess it's nice to have AIM available for talking to American friends.

This man speaks truth.

I still use an old copy of AIM 4.7. Best AIM ever made. Simple, streamlined, doesn't use too much memory, and with a simple modification in notepad, you don't have to see any ads at all.

I use Gaim. I don't know why, it's definitely not because of some geekish preference for this feature over that, or whatever. It's probably because I know about it, it works and I've never required a program that does something more. For all I know, I'm the only one who uses it still.

I don't have any program that covers MSN or ICQ because I personally don't use them and most people who do seem to also have an AIM account, so why bother with more than one in the first place?

That is true, if your contact list and circle of friends stick to AOL, there's really no need to use more than one IM network.

The rub comes in when you're in a setting where different people use different networks. For example, I'm from the Philippines - where almost everyone used Yahoo Messenger. I studied in Singapore, where quite a lot of people use MSN Messenger. Most of my contacts from the ZSNES board and GFF are from the US, and that's AIM territory. Different strokes, and you just gotta adapt.

I currently use Digsby for my MSN, Yahoo, and AIM though apparently Yahoo messanger contacts can be added to MSN Live... oh well. Digsby has been great so far even though it is still in beta and updates are released quickly.

only AIM D:

I'd be happy enough to use MSN. It looks clean, I like the interface and how it looks. It comes with Windows. It's got that cool 'show what I'm listening to' feature so you can show off to your friends all the unknown bands you listen to that they've never heard of, which obviously impresses them on some level.

I also downloaded ICQ for the purpose of befriending Russians - it's easily the most popular messenger over there. We discuss the CCCP and how great Stalin was. ICQ also allows cross communication with AIM users, so that's what I'll use too if I ever want to bother one of my american gamingforce buddies.

I've used MSN since I started using IM, merely because everyone at my school used it. I dislike AIM for a reason I haven't been able to put my finger on. I think Yahoo messenger would actually be my favorite if all my friends had it.

I used to use Trillian years ago when I was actively using IM.

Now that it holds little significance in my life - and now that I have a cell - I use Google Talk for those occasional too-tedious-to-text-but-to-short-to-call conversations.

I use Trillian, for the most part. If I'm on campus and I have my laptop with me, it's AIM+.

I've been using Pidgin for years, back when it was named... man I can't remember :P Even though it's not perfect and lacks some features it has grown on me over the time.

Anyways, a question for other Pidgin users: Is it me or the 2.5.1 version lost the feature that showed you if a contact had you in their list (didn't tell you if you were blocked, only if you were on their list)? It wasn't a plugin for sure, because all you had to do was pointing the mouse on your contact and it came with another info like nick and such. Am I missing something here?

Actually Digsby has really trimmed down the memory usage since their new release last month.

I've got it running atm, logged into AIM, MSN, Facebook, Myspace, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo mail...and it's only using 40MB of RAM. Granted that probably goes up with chat windows open, but still.
That's the same amount of RAM that AIM uses on its own. Actually it's probably less.

Yeah, another Digsby user here. It really has been trimmed down. I use it for AIM, MSN, and Facebook chat. It's great to not be on Facebook's new fangled website and talk to those that are online. I used Trillian back in the day, but it used too many resources for my computer (at the time) to handle. I also use Skype, but I use their client for that.

I use Trillian for AIM, Yahoo, and MSN (which I rarely use).

Yeah, I'm on AIM 5.2.3292 (last version before the bloated 5.5 and 5.9 versions) myself. I'd upgrade to the newer version just to have tabbed IM windows and the ability to send offline messages but I modded the hell out of this version of AIM and don't have the patience to do the same for the newer version.

And as with alot of people - I'd much rather use Yahoo! Messenger but no one I know uses it.

I'm using Miranda on Windows. It handles ICQ, MSN, AIM, Jabber, IRC and probably something else. I only use it with MSN though. I like it because it's never in the way, compared to MSN Messenger, and it offers a great deal of customization.

After seeing the comments about the latest Digsby, I decided to give it another go, and well, I'm rather enjoying it. It's a lot more customizable than it used to be, and I like that it uses the same kind of resources [well, most anyway] as Adium. That, and it really has slimmed down quite a bit.

first time I discovered IM I used AIM. Few months after that I stuck with Yahoo and never switched back. I've been told MSN is fancier but I'd rather stick with what I got

I use Trillian, I only have AIM and MSN on it, I don't remember my ICQ number.

Since most people i know have an account on Microsoft Messenger, there i am all the time.

And BB messenger heh :)

Windows Live Messenger. Though I'm hardly ever on there to be honest. I did use Trillian for a while, particularly when I had an AIM account, but I got rid of it some time ago.

I am always using Windows Live Messenger (MSN) and I like it.

My IM client is Adium.

Through this I use AIM, MSN and Facebook Messenger.