Claire’s Random Thoughts

This is post 4/7 in my weekly series of my Top Free Applications

Another free but not open source program I thought was worth mentioning is my favorite IM client, Trillian by Cerulean Studios. It features both a free and pro edition with the free edition only lacking features of video chat and support for jabber. If you frequently use video chat, then this program may not be for you, because the pro edition costs $25.
For all my Instant Messaging needs, I use Trillian rather than the “Native” clients. I’m sure you have seen a pattern in my previous posts this week about all-in-one software/bundles/suites. They are designed to make my life slightly easier by combining multiple features that I frequently use into one program. Trillian is also in this category, because it supports multiple popular Instant Messaging networks all in one program. I only have an account for AIM, MSN, and Yahoo Messenger, but the free edition also supports ICQ. The pro edition that costs a one-time fee of $25 also supports some other less frequently used networks, such as Jabber (i.e. google talk), Novel Groupwise Messenger, and Rendezvous. However, I feel like the free edition offers enough standard features (for those of you who do not use video chat) that the original applications are not even installed on my computer anymore, because I have deemed them obsolete.

Trillian features a beautiful interface, easy integration of multiple networks, plenty of opportunity for user customization, and no advertisements of any type. In my opinion, Trillian’s interface is far more attractive than the default clients for all three of AIM, MSN, and Yahoo, but again, that’s a matter of opinion. If it’s not beautiful enough to suit your aesthetic requirements, there are also downloadable skins that you can use to customize the looks to your liking. Buddies from all three (or four if you use ICQ) networks can all be displayed simultaneously in one window and are color coded by network (yellow for AIM, red for Yahoo, blue for MSN). They are integrated in such a way that it practically feels like you can be down to the simplicity of one Network but still have the opportunity to chat with people in up to four (or more with the pro edition). Customization is on par with, if it does not exceed those of the original applications. Furthermore, there are no advertisements in any form in the free edition making it an ideal replacement for the default clients that do feature ads.

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