Recommend an instant messaging client...

DonkeyStyle \o/

Ok, so ICQ has "upgraded" to version 6 and managed to completely DESTROY the only IM client I've used in about 8 or 9 years.
File transfers don't work, people look online when they aren't, more stupid flashing banners and they somehow managed to screw up ICQ5.1 in the process.
So it's time to jump ship... preferably to an entirely different network.

So, what does everyone else use? What's good?

IRLConor

Anything based on libpurple.

So Pidgin (or Adium on a Mac).

PogMoThoin

Pidgin lacks offline messaging.
I use aMSN which is a clone of MSN.

IRLConor

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Pidgin lacks offline messaging.

What's that when it's at home?

DonkeyStyle \o/

Good stuff guys, I had noticed Pidgin on my Ubuntu install.
While ICQ went completely overkill on the crappy eyecandy interface, this one is on the opposite end of the spectrum... to the point where it reminds me of using Windows 3.1 again.

IRLConor wrote: »

What's that when it's at home?

I assume it's how you can send a message to an offline contact and they'll get it when they come online without you having to be online when they do.
Offline messaging is a deal-breaker now that you mention it... so very handy.

Looking at aMSN at the moment.

kleefarr

From my point of view...

What is the point of an instant message client? Or for that matter, an instant message?

These, including email phone etc will only be INSTANT if someone is there to answer it straight away.

And more often than not, there is not an immediate answer.

Well that's that.

Oh... and anyway. If you email someone and they are there you get answer pretty quickly.

IRLConor

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote: »

Good stuff guys, I had noticed Pidgin on my Ubuntu install.
While ICQ went completely overkill on the crappy eyecandy interface, this one is on the opposite end of the spectrum... to the point where it reminds me of using Windows 3.1 again.

Odd. Last time I used it (on some version of Gnome) it just looked like any other Gnome app. On Windows it should just look like any other plain Windows app.

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote: »

I assume it's how you can send a message to an offline contact and they'll get it when they come online without you having to be online when they do.
Offline messaging is a deal-breaker now that you mention it... so very handy.

Ah right. Adium does that, I just presumed Pidgin would (they both use libpurple).

IRLConor

kleefarr wrote: »

What is the point of an instant message client? Or for that matter, an instant message?

Talking to people when you can't use your mouth to do it (in an office or in bed with a laptop while the other half is asleep beside you ) or where the person you're talking to is in a similar position. Or talking to someone who you don't have a phone number for. Or talking to someone (like a colleague) where you'd like to have an audit trail of what they said.

Yeah, you get the same effect with many people with e-mail but there's usually less latency on an IM conversation.

kleefarr

IRLConor wrote: »

Talking to people when you can't use your mouth to do it (in an office or in bed with a laptop while the other half is asleep beside you ) or where the person you're talking to is in a similar position. Or talking to someone who you don't have a phone number for. Or talking to someone (like a colleague) where you'd like to have an audit trail of what they said.

Yeah, you get the same effect with many people with e-mail but there's usually less latency on an IM conversation.

Must have a lot of communication via the WWW where you need to talk to many people per second. 8)

IRLConor

kleefarr wrote: »

Must have a lot of communication via the WWW where you need to talk to many people per second. 8)

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that use case:

Talking to multiple people at the same time while keeping all conversations separate. Again, doable by e-mail but sometimes IM is a bit nicer.

kleefarr

lol. Night.

dulpit

I use Google talk for people in college... I also use XChat as an irc client...

Overheal

I installed Digsby last week and its going pretty well: its basically most of the major chat apps under one application. Ive been using it to follow my msn/google/yahoo/AIM accounts.