Someone reviewed v on Jul 5, 2022

Pros: 555

Cons: 555

Bottom Line: 555

Sven123456789 reviewed v2.11.0 on Jun 21, 2016

Its ok. But somewhat obsolete. Yahoo and MSN msgr are kaput. Nobody uses aim or icq. But if for some reason you have some msgr services that this includes, its not bad.

-Lord- reviewed v2.10.5 on Jul 6, 2012

Pretty good. No adware here, simple interface, easy to use.
-1 because when I give anyone in my contact list nicknames, then next time I run the program, those names weren't saved... it reverts back to whatever it picks up.

Music4Ever reviewed v2.10.3 on Mar 27, 2012

Great messenger, the amounts of ads on MSN Live is getting stupid, using this is so much better. I also use the Unix version which works well.

exit reviewed v2.10.0 on Aug 22, 2011

Great IM no adds used it for years Is there a updated toaster that works with later builds

krakokainer reviewed v2.7.5 on Nov 2, 2010

Totally legit yo. Installed this and I was achatting it up with my homies and hos and it was all funk. Try it out and get it on muchachos

johnk119 reviewed v2.7.4 on Oct 22, 2010

I'm not so sure not compared to trillian astra it lacks in all ways

johnk119 reviewed v2.7.3 on Aug 23, 2010

this is the only instant messaging software that I use. Unless I require video chat at least... it's a shame it doesn't yet include video features, unless i'm missing something... It's still the ultimate as it doesn't include any adware

AutoBot reviewed v2.7.3 on Aug 11, 2010

Back to five stars. I wish they had an automated update routine that would only update the necessary components.

GadgetPig reviewed v2.7.3 on Aug 11, 2010

What can I say? I love pidgin! Some nifty plugins already included.

[Must have plugin for pidgin]

http://www.cypherpunks.ca/otr/

"Off-the-Record (OTR) Messaging allows you to have private conversations over instant messaging by providing:

Encryption
No one else can read your instant messages.
Authentication
You are assured the correspondent is who you think it is.
Deniability
The messages you send do not have digital signatures that are checkable by a third party. Anyone can forge messages after a conversation to make them look like they came from you. However, during a conversation, your correspondent is assured the messages he sees are authentic and unmodified.
Perfect forward secrecy
If you lose control of your private keys, no previous conversation is compromised."

AutoBot reviewed v2.6.6 on Apr 16, 2010

Pidgin is great, it's feature rich, spell checks, nice amount of plugins, opensource, and crashes every single time my tethered PC loses connection.

Had to switch to something else until this issue is resolved. I suppose a bug report is in order.

Four stars until usable again.

some guy reviewed v2.6.6 on Feb 18, 2010

a very nice non bloat chat application good stuff so dump that bloat AOL and MSN Live Messenger and install this

anonymouscowturd reviewed v2.6.3 on Oct 20, 2009

Apart from Miranda which is windows only, nothing else comes close to this. It's simply awesome. The IM to rule them all.
It's a little on the large side, mainly due to GTK, but it runs off of a USB stick. So no complaints at all really.

plasticpig72 reviewed v2.6.1 on Aug 20, 2009

Excellent program, been using this for some time now - never had any real issues except that some buddies don't show as being online when they are. But it's clean low on resources and simple to use.

univofky reviewed v2.5.7 on Jun 22, 2009

I use Pidgin on Windows and Linux without any problem.

sn0wy82 reviewed v2.5.6 on Jun 9, 2009

Excellent! Does exactly what it is supposed to do, been using it for a long time.

mccall reviewed v2.5.6 on May 31, 2009

The initiative taken for the concern is very serious and needs an attention of everyone. This is the concern which exists in the society and needs to be eliminated from the society as soon as possible.

camper trailers

johnk119 reviewed v2.5.5 on Mar 3, 2009

Great program... Does what it's supposed to do perfectly.!!

johnk119 reviewed v2.5.4 on Feb 15, 2009

does what it's supposed to.... Well!

The MAZZTer reviewed v2.5.4 on Jan 12, 2009

Testing has nothing to do with it. Did you even read what you quoted there? All previous versions of Pidgin. Do you think that if EVERY SINGLE VERSION of Pidgin since the first release did not work, they would have fixed it at some point?

No, what probably happened is Microsoft changed the protocol, breaking Pidgin. This happens fairly often, Cerulean Studios has issued 10 or so mini-patches for the latest Trillian 3 to fix such problems in all the different protocols they support.

... Huh, the file hasn't even been uploaded to SourceForge... where the hell did the link come from, then?

Use this link to check to see if the windows port has been uploaded: http://sourceforge.net/p...4&release_id=653293

roj reviewed v2.5.4 on Jan 12, 2009

Posted on the site regarding 2.5.3:

"We are aware of the problems connecting to MSN with Pidgin 2.5.3 and older. We hope to have a new release and packages out soon to fix this."

YA THINK? The funny thing is that 2.5.2 didn't crash. Not even once. The problem started with 2.5.3 and I can verify this on FIVE computers. At the very least, any errors should definitely be handled FAR more elegantly than a full crash - that's just SLOPPY programming.

A little testing goes a long way, guys. I'll wait until the team officially releases 2.5.4.

A neutral THREE stars until less sloppy coding and more comprehensive testing are implemented. A change in protocol should NOT result in an application crash..

marcp1216 reviewed v2.5.3 on Dec 22, 2008

Roj, I'm using 2.5.2 and it quits no problems via the interface!

This is the BEST...

roj reviewed v2.5.3 on Dec 22, 2008

Complete rewrite of review:

This thing crashes on startup consistently on XP and XP64. Reverting to the previous point release cures the problem.

Thanks for the VERY fine QA guys - well done.

ONE star for unusable garbage - fix it and it'll be back up to a FIVE.

mentallo666 reviewed v2.5.2 on Nov 26, 2008

The BEST ! This is the best IM client I have ever used. Straight and to the point, light-weight and does what it says. EXCELLENCE !

Voox reviewed v2.5.2 on Nov 7, 2008

This is my favorite multi-messenger. It's light, works with a large number of networks, and hasn't failed me yet.

Darkk reviewed v2.5.2 on Oct 20, 2008

Good and keeps getting better. Can't use Miranda as there is no SILC support.

ZenoLabs reviewed v2.5.2 on Oct 20, 2008

Quite good product, but Miranda is better than this.

twood reviewed v2.5.1 on Sep 17, 2008

Its perfect, has cross platform compatibility, (Like most Open Source Projects), Looks great (You just have to use the GTK theme selector and use MS_Windows, what a concept) Supports sooo many IM Protocols, its not even funny, runs smooth, stable, and has an extensive plugin pack. Find any Commercial Software with this functionality for even a decent price. If not for Digsby's interesting change in IM Clients, this one would be the only one running circles around the rest. Though, Miranda is good for the protocols it supports. (I need MySpace IM, hence Pidgin) 5/5 for being the best.

roj reviewed v2.5.1 on Sep 1, 2008

I don't give a ratz azz about the looks. This is stable, configurable and reliable. The folks who dev it put a lot into it and the interface is simple and very easy to use.

THIS is a model open source app.

FIVE stars.

anomoly reviewed v2.5.1 on Sep 1, 2008

IF I im'd; I don't, I would use this with the free encryption plugin.
http://pidgin-encrypt.sourceforge.net/
Works with 16 different account protocols at once & is also completely portable.
The encryption apparently only works with windows I believe.
Overwrite portable folder & simply rename the exe to pidgin-portable.exe.
With gtk and aspell, has theme support with full transparency as well as spell checking etc.

skapig reviewed v2.5.0 on Aug 25, 2008

For some reason this release crashes regularly while just idling.

Nekobibu reviewed v2.5.0 on Aug 20, 2008

Miranda is fully skinnable, and thus, can look very beautiful. ;)

hhallian reviewed v2.5.0 on Aug 20, 2008

diablos! removieron el "Has you: Yes/No" que aparecía en el pop up de extra info cuando pasabas el mouse encima de un contacto

Developers removed the line "Has you: Yes/No" that appeared in the extra info pop up when you hovered the mouse on a buddy in your contact list
(sorry for my English)

that was a nice feature, bring it back please

Jammerdelray reviewed v2.5.0 on Aug 19, 2008

Pidgin offers lots of features, nice gui, lots of options, lightweight on system resources and a pleasure to use.

Cons: No webcam support yet.

Miranda is not bad but the gui is very outdated and makes it look like a ugly duckling.

thezelda reviewed v2.5.0 on Aug 19, 2008

Cant resize chat window. Arrogant rude unprofessional criminal developers who should undergo physical attack refuse to simply add a checkbox.

shdwstar reviewed v2.4.3 on Jul 29, 2008

Awesome program!
I also have found another evolution of this program called Carrier.
You can see my review at http://mzk.gofreeserve.c...es.php?lng=en&pg=71

stefano.marzorati reviewed v2.4.3 on Jul 3, 2008

Horrible GUI! Miranda rules!

aruprc reviewed v2.4.3 on Jul 2, 2008

Excellent and stable with lots of feature without bloat or issues, spell check is a boon so is txt replacement plugin. Digsby is quite promising but the interface is not for all. Also the huge memory leak issue needs to be fixed ASAP. I mean c'mon, 60mb at start and 150mb within 3 hours, thats preposterous in every sense.

tylerhw reviewed v2.4.2 on Jun 24, 2008

I think pidgin looks just fine. I have the Vista Inspirat Bricopack installed on my computer and it skins my apps automatically overlaying the GTK interface with a nice Vistaish look (on an XP comp.) Also the large amount of protocol support and low memory use is very nice. There are also more Gnome skins to pick from than the plain jane one with GTK. 5 Stars.

echohead reviewed v2.4.2 on May 19, 2008

actually one of pidgin's upcoming "summer of code" projects involves making a custom UI so that GTK will no longer be needed. expect a major UI overhaul from pidgin in the coming months.

and as for digsby, be warned that it is literally the most inefficient IM client out there: 60+ MB memory requirement...completely bloated garbage.

Tarun. reviewed v2.4.2 on May 19, 2008

Been using this for a good while now. I would like to see a Windows only version that doesn't require the GTK. GTK just doesn't look very good to me and others I've spoken with. Even QT would look better than the GTK looks.

I have heard that Digsby will rival this, though I do not like how you need an account to access your IM accounts.

comeoffit reviewed v2.4.1 on Apr 4, 2008

Pidgin is a nice IM program.

I wish it was lighter like Miranda though.

Banquo reviewed v2.4.1 on Apr 1, 2008

Unfortunately it requires GTK and I'm not installing that just for a messenger program, especially when there are so many other free choices. If they can't be bothered to do a native Windows version they should just stop trying.

the artist reviewed v2.4.1 on Apr 1, 2008

Works for the basic stuff and no more...

Camera? Voice? a lot of other mini functions of the major chat soft are lacking...

meh... just as most open source projects. Nice, just to do the basics.

UniversityofKentucky reviewed v2.4.1 on Apr 1, 2008

To xyzcb1:
Right click on task bar icon and left click on mute. I don't receive any sounds on empty backspace.

Also, this URL will explain IM encryption with Pidgin: http://www.randyjensenonline.com/blog/?p=150

KRome reviewed v2.4.1 on Apr 1, 2008

@echohead

yeah, i'm more worried about a virus or something easily being able to target the file. I rate it low because I install this on my little sisters and girlfriends computers as well and dont want to go through that hassle for everyone I reccommend it to.

I have found happiness with Trillian.

Trillian is a bit more "bloated" but I have 8 gigs of ram (8gb is like $110 now) and quite frankly dont care.

echohead reviewed v2.4.1 on Apr 1, 2008

pidgin is progressing quite nicely. and unless im mistaken, the vast majority of complaints towards it have been GUI disagreements. still waiting for Oscar-XMPP support though.

@KRome: if youre that concerned about password security, just encrypt the folder where your passwords are stored (you can add "encrypt" to windows' right-click context menu...google it to find out how). type %appdata% into the address bar in "my computer", and the folder youre looking for is ".purple". or just disable the auto-login feature. but if youre concerned about people physically getting on your computer and stealing your password, i suggest password-protecting your computer and logging off when youre done.

KRome reviewed v2.4.0 on Mar 17, 2008

basically, pidgin stores your passwords unencrypted on your hard drive. their explanation is that because it is open source, encryption is worthless.

I understand this explanation and now feel that open source is not feesible for software that stores passwords.

xyzcb1 reviewed v2.4.0 on Mar 8, 2008

Great program. But there is no way to mute all the sounds, ex: backspace on an empty message, it beeps.

Some please enlighten on how to fix it.

DataBitz reviewed v2.4.0 on Mar 1, 2008

Like similar programs, saved passwords are stored in a cleartext file. This password file is readable by anyone who uses the same user account on that computer, or to anyone who has access to the administrative account. (The developers' stated reason for this is that saved passwords must be stored in a way that is readily accessible to the program. If they were encrypted by the application, decryption by third parties would require only access to the application's source code, including any encryption key. The developers believe that saving the passwords in a cleartext format avoids a false illusion of security.[14])

anomoly reviewed v2.4.0 on Mar 1, 2008

Don't listen to the 2 guys below. First one can't read and the second is just clueless (pidgin-encryption 3.0 AND Pidgin-OTR 3.1). It's also multi platform capable and has even been said to work with encryption from an iPAQ.
Too bad, I NEVER im. I do have a google chat account but don't use it.
2,709,000 downloads (and that's the portable version). not too shabby

radiomaffia reviewed v2.4.0 on Feb 29, 2008

No trojan, no hacker, simply as that! If you still use built-in xp firewall with only pre-rules created for only incoming connections, yes, then you allready spread your bed for hackers because you are not allerted for outgoiing connections and can not block!
I'm not charmed with programs that are storing your password in plaintext, everyone can find your password, it should be encrypted offcourse.
Using Trillian and does the same job with many skins available

Jorpheus reviewed v2.3.1 on Feb 27, 2008

Rather amusing the the person below has been using gmail since 1995, some nine years before it was offered to the public by Google. We greet you, oh time-traveller! Please don't become your own grandmother.

As for Pidgin (a name which fits a IM client perfectly, even if it does remind one of a certain irksome bird), yes, it does store passwords in plain text, and yes, that is not really an issue. If your computer is infected with spyware/trojans, then you have bigger problems than unencrypted passwords. It would be interesting to look into how it's main competitors (Miranda and Trillian) store passwords, and see if that encryption (if present) could brush off that evil "Russian hacker".

lotherius reviewed v2.3.1 on Feb 22, 2008

Known Exploits Exist

Pidgin stores your passwords in plain text in the user directory. This is extremely risky, and in fact is being targeted by hackers. Any kind of Directory Traversal that allows read access to files on your system can steal your password - no need for them to actually put anything on your system or do any decryption.

My GMail password was stolen this way, as I used Pidgin as a Google Talk client. Now thanks to clear text passwords in Pidgin, I have a serious financial situation to clean up and have lost the gmail address that I've used as a primary email since 1995. I know it was Pidgin because my ICQ password was also stolen, and it exists nowhere else on my system.

Do not use Pidgin with any accounts you can't afford to lose on a whim to a Russian Hacker.

Nikkie reviewed v2.3.1 on Jan 18, 2008

Works great on xp but gets stuck on vista.I had to upgrade due to videocard drivers :(

l3m0n reviewed v2.3.0 on Dec 4, 2007

I'm experiencing no errors, so I'm guessing it's a case by case basis. Check the support forums and try to support a bug report if nothing else (http://developer.pidgin....WhattodoifPidgincrashes).

To someone below, can you expand on why you have a problem with installing GTK runtimes?

eProfitsMaster.com reviewed v2.3.0 on Nov 29, 2007

I also experience errors: Application error & crashed.
Waiting for next update...

BNut83 reviewed v2.3.0 on Nov 28, 2007

2.3 crashes constantly for me. However, its a good product, if you can get it working.

Banquo reviewed v2.3.0 on Nov 27, 2007

I'd use it if not for having to install GTK. No excuse for that with a Windows app, either port it properly and make a native version or don't do it at all.

BklynKid reviewed v2.3.0 on Nov 26, 2007

Probably the best free, lightweight IM client around right now. I use it at home, I use it at work and I even got my girlfriend using it.

It's the best if you ask me.

binarykult reviewed v2.2.2 on Oct 27, 2007

Mmm, Pidgin is nice, but it's a true memory hugger... (22 to 30Mo) Compare to miranda (8 to12Mo), it's a bit more.
This is the only drawback i can find.

sparskter reviewed v2.2.2 on Oct 25, 2007

Fantastic IM! Clean, fast, light... etc
there is a portable version: http://portableapps.com

raphaugusto reviewed v2.2.2 on Oct 24, 2007

Poor interface. When you choose to save the password of the account, the password was save in plain text, this is really a secure fail since gaim project.

KRome reviewed v2.2.2 on Oct 24, 2007

Best IM client. open source, fast, pretty, full of features, no ads, multiple screen name support, great away system. A++++++

improvelence reviewed v2.2.0 on Sep 25, 2007

Nice, free....horrible name. Even though it has a horrible name, I cant give it anything lower than a 5.

GrantTLC reviewed v2.2.0 on Sep 25, 2007

Pidgin has just supplanted Live Messenger on XP as my default chat client, primarily for its simplicity, clean look and multi-protocol agility. (It became the default on my Linux drive some time ago)

Congrats to the Pidgin team for their excellent work, and long may it continue!

nms04 reviewed v2.2.0 on Sep 25, 2007

i can't connect to msn on win vista :(

acorange2027 reviewed v2.2.0 on Sep 24, 2007

The one essential thing that Pidgin is missing is a decent, up-to-date RSS reader plug-in like the one that Trillian has. I prefer to have my RSS feeds integrated into my IM app (as opposed to running a separate, standalone RSS reader), and Trillian is the only one I know of that does that decently. The one RSS plug-in I know of for Pidgin hasn't been updated in over 2 years and it doesn't have nearly enough functionality to make it even close to usable.

roj reviewed v2.2.0 on Sep 24, 2007

Fixes the MSN over HTTP problem. Well done.

As an aside, people seem to forget that this is an Instant Messaging Client. It's not a newsreader, a browser or a RSS feed reader.

It's for talking via text with other people.

Get a grip.

FIVE Stars for excellence.

Stingray57 reviewed v2.1.1 on Aug 21, 2007

Absolutely love this app! Although I use the portable version (portableapps.com), it presents it's self very well and does it's job nicely. I wouldn't use anything else.

aruprc reviewed v2.1.1 on Aug 21, 2007

For all it does, GAIM is the lightest app, show me a chat client with spell check and low footprint, its stable, runs whole day without crashing, nothing more to ask from a chat client except maybe cam support if possible.

netean reviewed v2.1.1 on Aug 21, 2007

PIdgin is OK. I use it (as a portable app) but I have to also agree that a gtk less version would be great. I mean it's a chat application and it's 11mb... To me, that seems very bloated.
Sure miranda is a fraction of that (under 1mb I think) but it's fiddly, looks awful and needs lots of messing about to get it working in what I consider a reasonable way.

Trillian - i really like, but needs an update (to the existing version, the new version is still effectively vapourware).

Pidgin is perhaps the best of the bunch, easy to set up and easy to use. But the cost is bloated download size and a fairly unattractive application that belies it's ugly linux heritage.

Standa.Holecek reviewed v2.1.0 on Aug 16, 2007

No. 1 Multiprotoll and Multiplatform IM

Fr@nKy reviewed v2.1.0 on Aug 2, 2007

The best multi-protocol client ever!! The best on Linux and my choice on Windows.

Better than Trillian (that has stopped in time, yeah I know about Astra!) and Miranda IM (that you need too many plugins to get a decent program overall).

Pidgin will be almost perfect once they Merge the MSNP14 branch (due in 1 month) and then I'll finaly be able to send files properly trough MSN protocol without taking forever ;)

Pidgin FTW!!

notcho reviewed v2.1.0 on Jul 31, 2007

I'm with AntiochMedia, would be nice to have a GTK-less version.. but I'm sure that's almost like an overhaul of the software..

AntiochMedia reviewed v2.1.0 on Jul 31, 2007

Would love to see a GTK-free version, similar to how Mozilla maintain Camino and Firefox for Macs.

fredlkrue reviewed v2.1.0 on Jul 30, 2007

@maxkit
let Pidgin staff know about that issue, so it can get solved in the next update/version...

best all-in-one IM client....

maxkit reviewed v2.1.0 on Jul 30, 2007

Great piece of software. I tried it under FreeBSD 6.2, but I don't use it because of one problem. When I try to "unblock" buddies (include them to visible list) I get error message, which says it cannot be done, due my contact list is overloaded. But I can do it using another IMs with the same accounts.

If it were fixed, I would use Pidgin without hesitation, because it has great "look and feel" which reminds me om Mac OS X's Adium and supports all the protocols I need.

echohead reviewed v2.1.0 on Jul 30, 2007

the holy grail of instant messengers, and one of the few "all-in-one" apps that is actually well-coded.

if youve ever used an instant messenger program before, try switching to pidgin...you wont be disappointed.

notcho reviewed v2.0.2 on Jul 2, 2007

Generally well done, however, just one slight complaint.. Resizing the message window often times results in the formatting bar being cluttered or cutoff, refreshing the window seems to "fix" the UI glitch (a GTK issue??).

Also I feel the message window takes up too much screen space (border spacing could be minimized I think..), and I'm not sure if this is user adjustable.

Tene reviewed v2.0.2 on Jun 20, 2007

Quite simply, the most usable instant messenger out there. I used it briefly during the 1.x series on Windows before moving to Miranda, and now use it again now I exclusively use GNU/Linux.

While Gaim struggled to be both easy to use and bug-free, Pidgin 2.0.0 fixed the usability issues and 2.0.2 has resolved the bug issues. Absolutely solid and intuitive release.

2.1.0 (due in 3 weeks) will increase usability even more, and 3.0.0 will add the latest MSNP version support.

For a solid messenger that works intuitively, one cannot go wrong by choosing Pidgin.

the artist reviewed v2.0.2 on Jun 15, 2007

"I want:
New theme, new icons, simplicity.
New extra things and ideas.
Not only command but a button for nudges.
New logs (history, debug etc.)
Voice features."

I perfectly agree with those claims, tsimpoukis. The program is a bit lacking of INSPIRATION, and i don't mean 'bloat features'.

STOP qualifying programs for minimalistic memory usage, lame idiots!

tsimpoukis reviewed v2.0.2 on Jun 15, 2007

I agree. Gaim was somehow better??? Or not???

I want:
New theme, new icons, simplicity.
New extra things and ideas.
Not only command but a button for nudges.
New logs (history, debug etc.)
Voice features.

runningfool reviewed v2.0.2 on Jun 15, 2007

wonderful little program, and by far the best instant messenger program out there.

using a "bare-bones" no plugins miranda, miranda does use less memory than pidgin. but after installing all the plugins to get it to do what you want, miranda definitely ends up using more. pidgin does everything right from the start.

i remove some of the default plugins, and add 1 or 2 from the "pidgin plugin pack" (google it), and memory usage is under 17 MB.

AntiochMedia reviewed v2.0.2 on Jun 15, 2007

Pidgin is getting nice and polished. However - with the exception of its voice chat, I see absolutely no advantages over Miranda. I expect more from Gaim, because as I see it, it's a more organized and established project that now has funding from Google as the main author is on staff there.

I'd like to see Gaim/Pidgin do something amazing. Trillian and Miranda are better depending on what OS you are using and what you need it to do.

JoeTheZombie reviewed v2.0.2 on Jun 15, 2007

Pidgin tried to simplify the contact list by eliminating the protocol icons and as a result has severely impacted the usefulness of the application. I have to stick with Gaim (Rating 5) because Pidgin no longer allows the freedom and notifications Gaim provided.

I sure hope Pidgin listens to their users and offers an option to not simplify the contact list, because it is far to limiting.

http://sourceforge.net/f...725709&forum_id=665

bigmama reviewed v2.0.2 on Jun 15, 2007

I don't like the new skin.

Gaim skin was better.

that's why 4

Stephen Bungert reviewed v2.0.2 on Jun 15, 2007

Great if you can do without the 50+ megs it needs to run

cricri_pingouin reviewed v2.0.1 on May 30, 2007

Somewhat good, if it wasn't for the use of GTK. GTK is quite bad in its Windows flavour. I stopped using The GIMP and formerly Gaim since GTK versions would often conflict. I also use TiLP which I can only get working with an older GTK version, adding to the conflicts nightmare. I also switched to Miranda.

PhrostByte reviewed v2.0.1 on May 30, 2007

The best client for Windows.

Dystopia. reviewed v2.0.1 on May 29, 2007

It may be good under Linux, but it's not for Windows :
Very high Memory usage, GTK, ... definitively not for Windows ...
I prefer Trillian and Miranda.

Ain Soph Aur reviewed v2.0.1 on May 29, 2007

i think MIRANDA is mutch better for windows! but under linux i use it.

Ian C. reviewed v2.0.1 on May 28, 2007

Well this version fixed a few of the problems I was having with 2.0, so I'll give it a little bit higher score. Mainly I couldn't use the scroll wheel without the bar shooting all the way to the top or bottom and freezing the app for about 30 seconds. Hopefully the other freeze up problems are gone too, I'll have to wait and see.

Maybe they when 2.1 comes out they'll finally make some improvements, rather than just trying to keep up with critical changes with the networks that totally break the program. If not, by then there should be a couple of new options available.

Yes, as much as I complain, I still use it cause it's the best of it's kind available for windows.

djurbino reviewed v2.0.1 on May 28, 2007

bl0mmel, you are a moron.

Rate the software on its merits based on your experience using it. I doubt you have even looked at a screenshot, let alone used it.

The rating system is a platform for people to decide which IM client is best, not a platform for you to disseminate your stupidity.

joltdude reviewed v2.0.1 on May 28, 2007

Needs improvement but all and all a well-rounded IM application..

To people that want ALL their messengers under one app, this is a great solution, when you *need* the features of others, you can always install that app, but for most messaging needs Pidgin does the job admirably well..

To the guy who suggested Meemo.. Gee how nice of them to keep YOUR CHAT LOGS... Dunno, seems like a privacy concern to me. I rather run it local not on some third party server to do with as they wish..

My only gripe is how the icons no longer tell what service the user is on.. like in previous versions of GAIM. I hope this is not one of the AOL concessions...

Mandeep reviewed v2.0.1 on May 28, 2007

Apart from how ugly it looks, it's still missing some functionality like seeing what others on iChat are listening too, etc. Also, to the guy below. Bommel was talking about installing things LOCALLY, and it seems you totally missed his point.

ostrakon reviewed v2.0.1 on May 28, 2007

Reliable, extensible, good-looking, no ads, all major protocols, small install and fast. 'Nuff said. Now...

I'm going to have to reference b0mmel's statement from below, just to provide a opposing opinion for those who may care for it: the purpose of alternative messengers, not to point out the obvious, is to provide a user with
1) a free, adwareless client,
2) a method by which to connect to multiple chat protocols should one wish and
3) a lightweight client without all the bloatware.

I get all of that in Pidgin.

I mean, my God, MSN AOL and Yahoo messengers are freakin HUGE! And please don't tell me that the ads are necessary, because if I can use Pidgin that has no ads, well then... you have no argument. And about the only thing I don't get with Pidgin is video. Since I don't care for it anyway, psh.

And why would I use a multi-messenger website for IMing, when I have a perfectly good client? That supports all major protocols? This is akin to saying "I want an alternative messenger, but I don't." What?! Pick one.

Having said that, honestly, there is no more need for these branded, ad- and bloatware-laden crappy messengers when one simple one will allow me to communicate with just about everyone. Technology and the user have moved forward since the days of AOHell.

Meh, I don't mind sayin' it there b0mmel, but there is no longer any reason to use the major clients. The time for those pieces of bloat has, most definitively, come to an end.

bigmama reviewed v2.0.1 on May 28, 2007

offline messages
nudge button

for MSN protocol plz

however good and stable

b0mmel reviewed v2.0.1 on May 28, 2007

I don't see the point in alternative multi-messengers that have to be installed locally.

Either I go to meebo.com and have the exact same functionality (+extras like online saved chat protocol) without having to install something, or I use the full blown original IM (e.g. Live Messenger) and get file transfer, voice, video etc.

The time for these alternative messengers is over.

Ian C. reviewed v2.0.0 on May 22, 2007

Great visual improvement, but that's really the only good thing I've got to say about it. It is buggier and crashes more than any previous version. Not to mention the IRC support is still terrible, and the support for any of the features added to IM networks in the last seven years or so is still non-existant.

I can't wait until Kopete is available for windows. Its feature support only lags behind months, not years (or decades?), and it has a history of rock solid stability.

gnoshi reviewed v2.0.0 on May 6, 2007

This release is a great step forward from the Gaim 1.5 series. It is reasonably friendly to use, makes it easy to merge multiple contacts which is essential to me in any IM software. The only thing lacking is VoIP features, which perhaps not as many users want as I imagine.
Having used WengoPhoneNG recently for IM/SIP, the stability of Pidgin is very welcome, as is the ease of adding a given user to a specific account when you have multiple accounts on each network.
The breadth of networks supported is great - you couldn't ask for more - but I really do want my SIP goodness.

CronicHazel reviewed v2.0.0 on May 6, 2007

I must say, Pidgin 2.0 is a pleasure to use. D: It uses a reasonable amount of resources, and is extremely usable. Good stuff. Good job, Gaim team. :3

Mandeep reviewed v2.0.0 on May 5, 2007

Was looking forward to this release as something to try. Honestly, it works half as well as I expected. When I was using Gaim on Ubuntu, it looked amazing and even had some awesome features. I think they took some features out for this final version compared to the early beta, and also this version looks like utter s*** on Windows.

AlbinoAsian reviewed v2.0.0 on May 4, 2007

I've been using Trillian forever as well, but just have got sick of it ... Miranda a bit complicated for me, but this is awesome only have had it loaded 30 minutes and I'm already converted. GREAT STUFF

Sovarek reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 7 on May 1, 2007

After using Trillian for a couple of yrs now and seeing how they added third party software (although installation is optional) i decided to try Gaim (now Pidgin) again and found it quite pleasing and easy to set up and use. No third party, no adware, no spyware, this IM client is one of the best!

screamin_jesus reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 7 on Apr 30, 2007

Had been using trillian for years. I've tried Gaim a couple of times but I could never get file transfers to work, with the nwest beta they finally work. Gaim starts up much faster than trillian and takes on the native look of windows which I like, it's alsao updated more often. I like the new facelift with tango icons, now it matches the rest of my desktop :)

ModderXManiac reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 7 on Apr 30, 2007

--Betanews--Upgrade screenshot.
I must say, the new name is awkward, but anything to keep this fantastic project out of legal issues is worth it, so long as it doesn't go the way of Trillian.

A tad on the bloated side, but it's understandable with use of the GTK environment, and Miranda isn't a menace in that way at all, but the plugins I use for this that aren't available for Miranda keep me hooked. The new interface is a bit silly, but it fits the name perfectly, and is very useful.

At least it still uses less memory(far less) than the official craptacular AIM and MSN clients.

runningfool reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 7 on Apr 30, 2007

ATTENTION: unless you plan on providing feedback to the pidgin developers, dont download this version. Pidgin 2.0.0 FINAL is supposed to be released later this week.

and as for the actual review...
for anyone trying to decide which all-in-one IM program to use, Pidgin is definitely the one to go with. Gaim is faster and less bloated than Trillian, tons easier to piece together than Miranda, simpler yet more effective and aesthetically pleasing than kopete, FREE, has an extensive community that provides 3rd party plugins, is open source (because as we all know, everyone who uses open-source programs actually takes time to audit the source code, right?), and even has several popular IRC channels in case you have a question/comment about it!

gaim was originally a linux-only client for the GNOME desktop environment, and reflects the GNOME philosophy of one-app-per-task philosophy, along with being very user-friendly. the new GUI for Beta7 and beyond was designed by one of the people who worked on the Tango Project (the graphics in the new version of Ubuntu), which means for windows users that this is a linux program for windows that actually looks "pretty" :)

as stated earlier, Pidgin supports all chat protocols (the only exception being the Italian-only C6 protocol) either natively or by 3rd party plugins. accounts can be turned off/on individually, and your availability status can be changed with the click of a mouse...instead of an away window, the "away button" is integrated into the buddy list! tabbed browsing, minimize-to-system tray, etc etc.

and for all the IRC junkies out there, look for the "IRC helper" plugin, and enjoy a polished IRC client where you dont have to type slashes every 2 seconds ^_^

jeromy reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 6 on Apr 26, 2007

Excellent alternative to the many IM software titles available.
The new name, Pidgin, is a horrible replacement name. I am aware of the words meaning, however I think something that doesn't bring to mind the word Pigpen should have been more appropriate.

Why not gaim backwards: miag = mirage messenger?

Regardless Pidgin is definitely not memorable, and I think that's the point of having good software.

M a t t L e e reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 6 on Apr 10, 2007

this is the best instant messenger client out there, it combines the best of all world. its more stable for me than trillian, plus it has what i missed in aim and thats an option for a full black screen. i love the fact i dont have to use quicktime to use this, seeing as quicktime is just bloatwear now

CronicHazel reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 6 on Feb 14, 2007

I'd have to say Beta 6 is a HUGE improvement over Beta 5. After using 6, I have no idea how i managed to live with Beta 5 >_>

But yes. It's still far from perfect.

Like someone else who stated before me, i'm still waiting for something that can disable chat windows so that we can be unbothered while watching videos or playing games full screen. :3

roj reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 6 on Jan 29, 2007

This is late. VERY late. "Hopefully Beta 2 will be the last one" droned on into winter and now we're headed for spring.

The interface is rough and unfinsihed compared to aMSN and nowhere near as configurable. The protocol stack however is much more stable. Given the choice between Trillian Basic and GAIM, I'll take GAIM for functionality and stability. However these geeks need to learn a thing or two about interface design. They should go talk to Alvaro over at aMSN.

THREE stars for a hideously late project that inches towards completion, perhaps by the summer of 2008...

Umapathy reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 6 on Jan 25, 2007

I have been using Gaim on Windows and Linux and is pretty impressive. Instead of having many IM having gaim is sufficient. Those who like to test the Gaim with out installing can have a look at http://portableapps.com/.../internet/gaim_portable

I have tested Gaim on various network what I have found is the Gaim is not cabable on connecting though various firewalls but Skype managed through various tough firewalls. I have seen in my office network Windows Live Messenger communicates but this could not at home it works fine.

solitaryexplorer reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 6 on Jan 19, 2007

There are not relevant changes, but it is among the best!

polysius reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 5 on Jan 8, 2007

I have been using this for over a year on both Linux and Windows. It is instant messaging without the bloat, ads, annoyances, flashing popups, ugly GUIs, horrible interfaces, etc.

The coolest part is the docking features, which many Windows users will enjoy (as they rarely get to see this feature). Drag and drop chat windows into tabbed groups, dock your buddy list to the corner of your screen while you browse the internet in the other half, etc.

I have been laughing at people who use MSN and other ugly disgusting IM programs for many months now.

joekavi reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 5 on Jan 3, 2007

Been using this client for Windows since 1.5.
Quite a stable release with a lot plugins available.
However, don't expect native protocol enhancements like customs smileys. Great for serious users.
Need some tweaking on the Fonts settings though..

Overall, 4.5/10

castiglione reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 5 on Dec 6, 2006

Installer hangs, which is why I give this a one, which shouldn't even happen.. all other programs on my computer that I downloaded and installed never hang for more than 10 or 20 minutes, unlike Gaim. I will not recommend this to anyone.

roj reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 5 on Nov 19, 2006

Very pleased with this software. I was forced to upgrade when MS changed their protool and 1.5 no longer worked. This gets better with each subsequent release.

Are we getting close to a final and what's the ballpark estimate for when that is?

FOUR stars.

Kylde reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 4 on Oct 19, 2006

the username partially obscures the first letter of an msn user's responses in a msg window, I'm rolling back :)

tp reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 4 on Oct 19, 2006

this release is an improvement

Meth reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 4 on Oct 19, 2006

This is my IM client of choice on Linux but it's not so great on Windows. If you want a much better Open Source alternative for Windows use Miranda. GAIM is king on Linux though.

digiturtle reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 4 on Oct 18, 2006

Jabber? Check!
AIM? Check!
IRC? Check!

Does everything I need it to do and do it well without all of the bloat and advertising of the other clients.

Skype and GAIM are my one two punch that allows me to stay in contact anywhere in the world I might me.

Wes reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3.1 on Aug 22, 2006

Changes:

* Fixed a crash when signing onto MSN on systems where printf("%s", NULL) crashes (Windows, Solaris, etc.)
* Fixed a crash when using the debug window on x86_64 architectures
* Fix the MSN HTTP connect method
* Show timestamps in the correct timezone when viewing logs

Gaim is okay, but Trillian is for me the most elegant and stable multi-protocol IM client for Windows.

Kylde reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3.1 on Aug 22, 2006

it's gone backwards! They've removed the "logon at startup" option from accounts, back to 1.5 for me

phiber0ptik reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3.1 on Aug 21, 2006

okey, bad ratings lately eh? ;P Well here comes a four, atleast. My story is that im kinda new to GAIM (win32 that is, gaim is my choose on linux) I used to have MSN Messenger since thats the only IM I use. But with the realese of MSN Live Messenger I had to take actions... my comp is an old Athlon 750Mhz and that aint cool with Live Messenger :) I had Miranda for some time but it just crashed when it felt for it and thats not cool, right? ;P So GAIM was my choose on my win-comp. Why not Trillian? Well, I like opensoruce :D

I had to get a special file to stop it from crashing when connecting to MSN, so I wont give it a 5.

AntiochMedia reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3.1 on Aug 21, 2006

I'm no longer impressed by Gaim. I was originally thrilled with the idea of taking part in another open source project - using the application, following it's development, and perhaps even contributing.

Gaim HAS slowed in Development and while I understand the merits of GTK for portability, GTK (Gaim's interface) is slow, clunky, and ugly. Beyond cosmetics, Gaim is hardly streamlined and will easily use > 24MB of RAM for two protocols.

Trillian is excellent, and I've used both their free and pro versions for long periods of time. Their new version is on the horizon, which I am excited to try when it's finished. I do, however, have the same issue with Trillian when it comes to resources. The new version promises to focus on reducing memory consumption. Me = Happy.

Right now, I'm using Miranda after being initially prejudiced and seeing Miranda as being a very rudimentary and limited. v0.5 is brilliant, uses 1/2 as much RAM as Trillian/Gaim and has the most intuitive and detailed configuration screen. I literally felt like I was piecing together a custom chat client to look and feel exactly like I wanted. Trillian's skins are better than Miranda's and Miranda's initial setup is anything but impressive - however, I'm in love with my new setup.

So back onto Gaim ... I'm giving it a solid 3 because it IS an excellent program. I feel justified in saying that it's inferior in features and overall experience to Trillian, features some capabilities (voice chat) not found in Miranda (to my knowledge), but is developing too slowly. Miranda is to Gaim as Opera is to Firefox (only open source) if that makes any sense. And yes, I'm using Firefox not Opera =) -- Opera doesn't render all pages properly. Firefox does.

CyberDog reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3.1 on Aug 21, 2006

Wow did they fall off the planet for a few months or what?

An IM that does a lot of things somewhat well and nothing really well.

Don Juan reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3.1 on Aug 21, 2006

I used to be a firm supporter of GAIM. But it seems that the development is getting slower and slower, and many of the great features they had planned are seeing no progress. I've switched back to Trillian on windows. As far as *nix goes, the Qt counterpart of this program, Kopete, is as usual, far far superior.

jpmccord reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3.1 on Aug 21, 2006

I'm still waiting on a final release that works as well as 1.5.0 used to, but the betas look promising. I only have one complaint about the new version, but it's cosmetic and it's already been decided (against my desire) -- but they handled it promptly and told me why it wouldn't be altered, which was more than enough for me.

All I really want is a basic chat client that accesses all three of the major networks, and this goes above and beyond what I was looking for, and the plugins take care of every function I use that isn't available by default.

Excellent chat client. I recommend it if you're tired of using several bloated proprietary clients like I was.

Nikkie reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3 on Aug 15, 2006

I love gaim but all i get are crashes.V 1.5 crashes lots with msn.

Please fix gaim up.It is almost alpha for me.

linkdup reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3 on Jul 14, 2006

Adrian79: only tools use that crap. go download aim and quit being such a damn fruit basket.

i personally love this program. it does everything I need an instant messenger to do. The only reason I didnt give it a 5 is because it lacks skin support. the default one isnt too bad though.

Oufti reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3 on Apr 18, 2006

Moving to Jabber but still want to keep a bridge to MSN and ICQ friends...
Been using JAJC but it is likely abandonned... Dunno why 'cuz it is a great IM client.
Looking for alternative.
Gaim ? very very disappointed.
Seems like few russians can do much more and better software than occidentals.
Gaim offers poor support for all the tree IM mentionned above. I guess this IM is just an 'enhanced' AIM client which I'm not insterrested with.
I've seen screenshoot of Gaim 2 b3 I can't find in my install and I can't figure out why. This is not intuitive interface that is missing a lot of prefs features (such as buddy icon size, just to start with).
I would expect these basic functions available as standard and not plugins... which also is THE difference between Opera and Firefox.
I will probably keep it only for the sametime support.

ccc1005 reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3 on Mar 30, 2006

I like all the features, but I can't get the font sizes working right in Windows (this is the same with 1.5 as well). Until this can be fixed ill stick with Deadaim. I also dont like the logging of each convo, not just 1 per day. I would rather have just 1 file than one for each time i open/close a IM window.

Adrian79 reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3 on Mar 30, 2006

no aim "direct connet" ..worthless

Broken Haiku reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3 on Mar 30, 2006

GAIM is a very nice multiclient, but until they support ICQ better I'm staying away from it. I don't want to feel that I'm back in the stoneages, being limited to 450 characters per message et.c.

magusg reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3 on Mar 30, 2006

@roj

One word, two syllables dumba**: BETA

Gaim has been coming along nicely, I've been following the CVS builds and while it is still not without bugs the features and fixes added should make for an excellent FINAL release.

roj reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 3 on Mar 30, 2006

You know, there's an old tech adage:

"If it works, don't **** with it".

This app is living proof that the adage should be adhered to. Gaim 1.50 worked quite well, even across firewalls where HTTP was required to access MSN. It was relatively bare bones (thankfully!) but It Worked. So of course, there has to be a new and improved version with bells and whistles.

You know what? This one doesn't work. I spent a good long time tweaking it and it just refused to connect. I uninstalled it and reinstalled 1.50. Bingo! All is sweetness and light.

TWO stars for an "improvement" on the original that wasn't.

To those who scream BETA, do be aware that the devs had high hopes of BETA *2* being the final one, which would imply that they had high confidence in their code readiness. That would also imply that the protocols (apart from the one omitted) would actually work. No doubt that salient point escaped "the faithful".

CraXyOW3 reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 2 on Mar 25, 2006

The best multimessenger out there still.
It got a bit more than only the essentials wich makes it a worty competitor!

It is fast and slick. Tho this is a beta version it has atleast for me worked like a charm.
No problems with anything, perhaps just my luck.

If you really are interested in Gaim you got to try it out, if these so called bugs appears for you as mentioned earlier, id suggest you try and older version.

gawd21 reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 2 on Feb 12, 2006

@.0 doesn't work at all and gets stuck in loops where it will scroll hello to it's self and never login. Poor job on this, not even ready for an alpha release yet.

RoSmecher reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 2 on Feb 12, 2006

naaaaaaahhh not very good at all. trillian is even better then this one.

SamppaX reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 2 on Feb 6, 2006

"What happened to the Gaim systray icon? - As of 0.65 systray functionality has moved into the docklet plugin, labeled "System Tray Icon" in Gaim's plugins section (under Preferences). You will need to load this plugin for the systray features to work."

Master- reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 2 on Feb 2, 2006

System Tray??

Patriots reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 2 on Jan 30, 2006

I gave this a low rating because of a few features that I have found difficult to implant.
First, I'd have to say I still can't figure out how to get the font bigger. I found out how to do it in tools under preferences, but the only way is if you set it to user interface, which changes the whole thing bigger. I just want the font that I type and read to be a tad bigger.

It's a good program with lots of potiential (sp) I would change the way you can interact with it.

Plug ins do not seem to work. As far as theme's plug in's they do not work. Also, the smilies work per application but does not bring in the emotes you have added to your collection for a spec messenger service, ex MSN messenger. I have added emotes to my MSN messenger and the program did not include them.

Maybe I'm missing somewhere...but, as I said it is rather non user friendly for the person that does not too much about computers.

ggvrsn reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 2 on Jan 27, 2006

This version looks good. The only problem I have is that, once i installed meanwhile plugin, it does not show up in the plugins dialogue box. Wonder if they got this plugin to work with the linux version. Right now I am using windows-gaim over WINE, not fun. -GGR

Somnambulator reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 2 on Jan 26, 2006

~~much much much better~~

i'm getting used to the status menu, and beta2 makes it perfect. if you can get past not having an external away popup, beta2 is aimed to please. they listened to us and they delivered. status can be changed from tray icon once again, they removed the per-account status menu, and shrunk the remaining over-all status menu.

only bug i still see after a quick 10 mins of use is setting your acct info. enter (break) still does nothing in "set user info" but is easily worked around by making your profile in Word or similiar and pasting it in. creating links still works in 'set user info' so the full range of creating a profile is available, just not through GAIM atm.

utomo reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 2 on Jan 25, 2006

I hope they improve the resources used. so it become lighter too.

crashoverride reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 2 on Jan 25, 2006

Much better than beta1. Has better memory usage than AIM, Yahoo, and MSN at only about 16,000k with 4 messenger windows open. The others use more than that with no windows open at all.

Tokar reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 2 on Jan 24, 2006

I want my Away Message queue window back!

It WAS in version 1.5.0 but they removed it in favor of that stupid status changer at the bottom of the buddy list!

ModderXManiac reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 2 on Jan 24, 2006

Beta 1 was pretty buggy and the interface sucked, but with this release, they took the word of their users, they listened to the feedback and put the ideas to action. Indeed that is the largest changelog I've ever seen for this app.

Version 2.0 beholds a very bright future, the preferences are very clean and comprehensible now, the plugins have been updated for the most part. It starts faster too!

Now to get it on my mac and linux systems.

darthbeads reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 2 on Jan 24, 2006

Beta 2 seems to be a major improvement over Beta 1. They took nearly all of the user feedback and integrated it into the new design of the software. Easily one of the longest changelogs I've ever seen!
I was less than thrilled with Beta 1, but I love Beta 2.

YmerejO42 reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 31, 2005

Sorry for the low rating, I use 1.5.0, I tried the new beta and uninstalled it after about 10 minutes... Sorry, but the away buttons *really* need to be removed, 1.5.0 has status options for each protocol in the menus, I just wish that I could access them when I right-click on the tray icon. Other than that, love 1.5.0, didn't like 2.0.0 Beta at all.

UTAKER reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 30, 2005

Mediocre release, giving a sense that the UI wasn't given much of a thought, especially the main contact list window
For those wanting a multi instant messenger support all in one, this is okay but then trillian seems better if its for windows, otherwise its an okay release for linux
Tried this release and was not impressed at all, lots of woek needs to be done

xdeimox reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 29, 2005

In response to revillusion00, I haven't had any stability problems on either windows xp or 2000. Remember this is an early beta, so instability is to be expected.

revillusion00 reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 28, 2005

I really like Gaim, but with this version when I run it, it opens and loads, then crashes when I click on a contact... I like Gaim, but I've had to uninstall. I'm running XP Home SP2, anyone else have this issue?

the way reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 19, 2005

The new away system isn't so bad. It's an interesting concept, but the way they implement it is a bit awkward; how can one possibly be expected to make there buddy list so damn tall and wide, just to fit a couple buddys, and the away system's new text formatting controls? This will especially be a problem for those using laptops. I recommend minimalizing the buddy list a bit, or at least offering options for those wishing to do so (I definitely searched for those).

No Beer For You reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 19, 2005

It's difficult to use. If I was going to combine my MSN and Yahoo Messengers, it would have to be a lot simpler than this.

Everything is a chore, from changing my status and sorting my friends lists to enabling a "plug-in" (who needs 13 plugins anyway? They should be options in an options menu)

The interface gives me a headache and everything takes that much longer to do, it's just not worth the bother. The annoying more-info pop-ups when I move the cursor over a contacts name are the last straw.
This has great potential but it is a long way from achieving anything useable in the long-run.
I'm sticking with seperate messengers for now.
It is better than Trillian though (and for the record - I didn't like that either)

Tokar reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 19, 2005

I am in complete agreement with the previous reviewers on their opinion about the way they chose to implement the away status crap in the buddy list window.

One thing I always liked about GAIM as an alternative to AIM was that it was meant to mimic AIM in a lot of ways, most importantly in that you had a window popup with the away message...something trillian and miranda dont sport. I dont like that they have remoed it!!!

Outside of that the new beta is very nice. I really like what they have done with the plugins (having its own preferences window) and the preferences window.
I like the smooth scroll of the chat history of the IM windows.

They still need some work on Direct IM on the AIM protocol, but other than that, its much better than trillian.

Kramy reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 19, 2005

I really like trillian, but it starts extremely slow and nearly freezes my computer for half a minute. This starts up in about 1 second without affecting other programs.

Trillian is really easy to manage because of how windows dock. This is not. It does have a couple perks though, and I overall find it easier than 1.5.0.

I've never had a problem with transfering files to people, though many can not send to me unless they disable their own firewalls. I attribute it to closed ports on their end. I'm actually behind 3 hardware firewalls and 1 software firewall, but ironically I'm still called on in many games since I'm one of the few people that can host and has an extremely low ping connection.

I haven't had time to check for this beta, but have they implemented a fullscreen check yet? Gaim 1.5.0 used to blitz me out of some games when a new message came in.

NinjaOfLove reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 19, 2005

It took some tweaking to get it usuable for me, which is nothing new for Gaim for me. I found it to be very clumsy and awkward to use, which somewhat nullifies my reasons for preferring Gaim over many native windows multi-protocol clients. I've always liked how much it resembled a bloat-free AIM-client, but with the multiple protocols.

The new away system is kind of cool, but clumsily done. It can be dragged down to br completey removed from view, which some people I've talked to don't know.

I've been using CVS builds for almost a month now, and at this point I am used to the quirks, but I hope some simplicity makes it's way back into the final. I still prefer Gaim over Trillian and Miranda, however, which I do not like at all.

Somnambulator reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 19, 2005

messed with it for 1/2 an hr and got it usable. some nice additions but IMO most of the new features are things so simple i dont miss them at all going back to 1.5. the new away messages are plain stupid and you cant change your away status via tray icon anymore. this beta is very disapointing even disregarding the bugs.

try the beta if youre curious about all the negative reviews, but hold off until the final is out otherwise. hopefully they head devs will have come to their senses or worked out better methods for the new features by then.

wincement reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 18, 2005

I don't like what they did with the away messages. Other than that, the new version is a lot better in my opinion.

I found this excerpt from their website pretty funny:

"We're looking for lots of feedback on this release--especially what you love about it and what you hate about it.

Again, this is a beta release and should not be used by those with a heart condition, if you are pregnant, or if you are under the age of 8. Side-effects include awesomeness, dumbfoundedness, dry mouth and lava. Consult your doctor to find out if Gaim 2.0.0beta1 is right for you."

sanawar reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 18, 2005

I cannot make file transfer behind NAT/firewall despite the fact that UPnP/NAT traversal has been implemented in this version as shown in the change log. No information is available as to how to make it work either though. File transfer behind NAT/firewall was the only thing I was looking for but I was disappointed.

I would suggest others who need file transfer behind NAT to use Bitwise. It works for me the first time around where even the heavyweights have failed.

I would hold off until they fully support file transfer behind NAT/firewall or may be until version 3.0

danilloOc reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 18, 2005

I tried it and i have to say i'm very dissapointed with the new interface too, as the other people said, the new tabs look very bad look and the GIGANTIC protocols buttons are horrible too, also the user pics in the im windows don't support per pixel alpha blending and i saw a friend's user pic that is a PNG with a drop shadow with transparent background all pixelated.

WeR4saken reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 18, 2005

Take note that this is a beta build, and it is buggy. I've personally encountered at several bugs, and while most were minor, they were pretty annoying. I like the direction of the application for the most part. New prefs are well designed, options menus are better, etc. However, the new account/status stuff at the bottom of the buddy list window is absolutely horrible. It is about 10 times too big, looks stupid, and it is impossible to get rid of (as far as I could tell).

I'll hold off until for a few more betas before trying again.

Kylde reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 18, 2005

bloody horrible, the new chat window and the dropdown status bar take up a full third of the list window, looks like the interface was designed by a 10 year old :(

GeneralLeoFF reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 18, 2005

Gaim 2.0 looks like ass. The new buddy list layout is crappy. The buttons on it are massive and if you have a lot of accounts the away buttons take up most of the real estate. The new IM window is total crap with the new layout. The way the tab fills the whole width of the window is annoying and the way the text scrolls upwards rather then just popping in is even worse. If this is the direction 2.0 is going to go I'm sticking with 1.5 or will be picking another client. Gaim 2.0 just sucks.

CyberDog reviewed v2.0.0 Beta 1 on Dec 18, 2005

Gaim is a classic case of a program that does a lot of things fairly well, but nothing extremely well.

The focus of the program is very much to cater to people using multiple protocols. When using a single protocol only (as I do), the interface is rather bulky. For example the protocol status icons on the buddy list that can't be disabled...useful if you need to see what protocol a buddy is using, but a useless waste of space if you're only connected to one network.

I regularly test Gaim as I really want to be able to like it more, but the little issues always build until I leave it again. It's not that it does one thing wrong, it's more the little details that are missing and don't feel right.

For AIM users on Windows, I still recommend AIM 5.9 + MessengerMate.

ye110mann reviewed v1.5.0 on Oct 28, 2005

I only use it for AIM. GAIM has a much smaller footprint and aliasing which is a must. But it doesn't have all the features of the official AIM and you need to do some port forwarding and manual IP setting in order to transfer files behind a firewall which means that only one computer is capable of doing that. If you don't care for aliasing and don't mind a little bloat, you'll want Aim Ad Hack.

spiffyjeff reviewed v1.5.0 on Oct 24, 2005

Great program, I prefere this over trillian simply because it works on windows and linux, that and it's open source. It would be nice if it had webcam and voice chat support, but until then, it still beats having 1 buddy list open for each protocol (which i use aim, yahoo, msn, irc, and jabber)

TheLedFloyd reviewed v1.5.0 on Sep 27, 2005

Great IM Program, stable, many plugins.

And also with this plugin i'm able to set my Now Playing song into my Available Message from iTunes/Winamp/WMP/File, and Insert my Album Art as my buddy icon from iTunes
http://software.johnroark.net/

Dricon reviewed v1.5.0 on Sep 20, 2005

Was a bit worried at first since I didnt see a system tray icon.
Once I browsed the prefs a bit I found that it was a plugin.
So Im not in love with this instant messager, I moved from Trillian Pro.
It was never updated and was a tad buggy.
This is being updated pretty often so it seems so I think Ill stick with this until I find a problem with it.

Good work!

Tom Pix1 reviewed v1.5.0 on Sep 10, 2005

the icq offline encoding works well now

still there are some tiny problems, but it realy better now
1.5

DiGiTaLFX reviewed v1.5.0 on Aug 13, 2005

To be honest I think for unix its the best by far. But the windows port left me quite unimpressed.

zridling reviewed v1.5.0 on Aug 13, 2005

Modder, it is skinnable, but only upon installation and not in the Gaim Options.

nDray reviewed v1.5.0 on Aug 12, 2005

Avatars still missing... Such as full compatibility with MSN nicks...

sn0wflake, check out the configs menu... Older versions already had options to prevent that:
Plugins > Automatic Reconnect > Hide "blablabla"...
I'm not sure that's the translation, i'm using a portuguese version right know... My language...

PLUR

sn0wflake reviewed v1.5.0 on Aug 12, 2005

Does it still pop up every time it has to reconnect a lost connection? I want it to be totally quiet like MSN.

nDray: I've known those features for more than a year now and they simply don't work. It's especially annoying with many protocols activated (MSN/Yahoo/ICQ). Maybe it's me that don't understand what hidden means but it's damn annoying, for example, to read a webpage and all of the sudden Gaim pops up with that annoying connection status window. I don't care what the status is. Simply reconnect without popping anything up for gods sake! I started with Gaim 0.40 or something like that and the problem has always existed. I don't know if it's a limitation in GTK+ but it's frankly pissing me off.

ModderXManiac reviewed v1.5.0 on Aug 12, 2005

Best "!!!free!!!" multiprotocol istant messaging app on the 'net.

The fixes were really needed, one of which was buffering issues on all protocols, the fix increased the sending and recieving speed, and slightly sped up filetransfers.

I love this program, it'll forever keep me from using AIM MSN and YM, since its not bloated and it saves bandwidth. The other great part is the flexibility to run in on many operating systems. It works on win, linux, and mac altogether! Which trillian, IM2, and miranda totally strike out.

The support team is great, I just wish they would make it skinnable. And perhaps give it a cleaner gui, but that would probably require recompiling/programming GTK.

Primis reviewed v1.4.0 on Aug 1, 2005

Maayyybbbe the best all-around IM client. Although the initial interface is plenty U-G-L-Y.

I hate to say this but Gaim has one large drawback.

For some godforsaken reason I can't resize the contact list windows to as narrow as I want/need. And unfortunately that's just a dealbreaker for me, because if I can't resize it to fit captured in my Desktop Sidebar so it's always on top, it's useless to me.

Until they fix this, it's Miranda and Trillian for me still. If they ever do fix it, maybe I'll revisit it...

Adrian79 reviewed v1.4.0 on Jul 10, 2005

diff, but i think i'll stick to Trillian :)

xyzzyman reviewed v1.4.0 on Jul 9, 2005

Scriptee:

Just have to uncheck 'Raise IM Window On Events'

scriptee reviewed v1.4.0 on Jul 9, 2005

GAIM makes an excellent alternative to MSN Messenger (its the only protocol I use atm)! Only complaint I have is that when I'm playing a game... likw World of Warcraft and someone sends me a message it will pop on top of any other screen which is very annoying. If anyone knows how to get around this I would be most appreciative :-)

I seriously hope no large company tries to buy out GAIM! Best IM Client!

Somnambulator reviewed v1.4.0 on Jul 9, 2005

not as feature-filled as other clients, but it's simplicity makes for an excellent choice for those looking for a 'no nonsense' IM.

if you want a good GUI with an awesome mix of customizability and simpilicity, whether you run multiple IM protcals or only 1, this is the best on the web.

while i havent noticed a difference with this latest build compared to the previous 1.3.1 (the latter was virtually bug-free for me), each release is a definite improvement, which is more than we can say about many other programs.

karlo reviewed v1.4.0 on Jul 8, 2005

Wonderful! I love it!

smillo reviewed v1.4.0 on Jul 8, 2005

Tried it on Linux and Windows today. First time that I could actually start file transfers through ICQ. Congratulations! Keep up the good work.

kmleow reviewed v1.4.0 on Jul 8, 2005

Pros:
Good concept; all-in-one messaging client.
The best open source messaging client.
No adware crap.

Cons:
Lacks features offered by original clients.
A little unstable; weird crashes.

jennel reviewed v1.3.1 on Jul 7, 2005

I've switched to GAIM from using Trillian. I feel that Trillian has started to become bloatware. I like the simple and small size of GAIM.

The only thing that I would like to see is skins. The odd thing is that whenever I see a screenshot of GAIM posted it appears to be skinned, yet I do not know how this is possible.

Does anyone know how to skin GAIM? (Just looking at the screenshot for this build you can see this isn't what the 3 themes that come with GAIM look like)

Jen

Mehtuus reviewed v1.3.1 on Jun 22, 2005

Gaim v1.3.1
This is a fantastic IM program, I just wish that it would merge the phone "pheatures" like you will find here [ http://www.phonegaim.com ] or here [ http://sipphone.com/phonegaim/ ].

spiffyjeff reviewed v1.3.1 on Jun 17, 2005

Love this program! Been using it for about 1.5 years, it has frequent updates, sometimes too frequent lol.

Anyway, The only feature I need that I can't seem to find is a way to export/import buddy list, for those protocols that don't keep your list on the server - aol does, irc doesn't, i don't think yahoo or msn does either.

Metshrine reviewed v1.3.1 on Jun 11, 2005

Great program, I usually give it a 5, but this one fails to load giving me a crash on startup. Back to 1.30 until this is resolved. Other than that, great program!

Nikkie reviewed v1.3.1 on Jun 11, 2005

I have been a fan for a long time . This program does everything i need it to do .

ta1kradio reviewed v1.3.1 on Jun 10, 2005

No video chat capabilities whatsoever. Ugly user interface. Price is right, seems to work well.

ogman reviewed v1.3.0 on May 18, 2005

The only IM you will ever need!

sn0wflake reviewed v1.3.0 on May 12, 2005

No doubt a good app but has a very annoying usability problem. It simply can't be quiet. Every time it has to reconnect due to lost connection it pops up. Damn annoying! So I'll only give it a rating of 3.

MikeEx reviewed v1.3.0 on May 11, 2005

I switched from Trillian to Gaim and I can't go back. The multi-OS support is great!

Metshrine reviewed v1.3.0 on May 11, 2005

Simply the best, cant say enough good things about this program.

PicAFlic reviewed v1.2.1 on Apr 6, 2005

This is the BEST! It is not only FREE, it also saves you memory on your computer by having only one IM program instead of like 50! The only problem I see with it is that you have to "turn on" the system trey icon and to show your buddies that are offline. Other than those two things, I thonk it is the BEST IM program yet!

utomo reviewed v1.2.1 on Apr 6, 2005

Does GAIM Support ?
- Voice Chat.
- WebCam

Tokar reviewed v1.2.1 on Apr 5, 2005

when will there be some major AIM updates?

Direct Conection'ing needs some serious work!

Somnambulator reviewed v1.1.4 on Feb 28, 2005

great app but could be better. file transfers have never worked for me, even to other GAIM users, and new windows always open at coordinate 1,1 which to me is underneath my taskbar.

what about "alt-tabbing"? alt-tab = windows multitask manager. whats that got to do with GAIM? are you refering to tab switchng? that can be done via ctrl-tab and shift-ctrl-tab, same as mozilla.

still has some oldschool bugs that need fixing (guess theyre in the GTK library itself and not GAIM) and i assume file transfering still needs work, but its a stable and very capable IM, whether you sue it for 5 protocals or just 1 (like me). replaces AIM very nicely, retaining the old school AIM 4.x feel.

UniversityofKentucky reviewed v1.1.4 on Feb 27, 2005

Client that provides wide range of IM services for multiple OS's; Linux, BSD, MacOS X, and Windows. Stable - newer versions of GAIM have never crashed on me. Easy to configure. Easy to communicate. In short, it works and it's free. Thank you to the developers!

LordNikon reviewed v1.1.3 on Feb 20, 2005

I switched from Trillian 3.0 Pro to Gaim and I do not have a single regret. :)

SaCo reviewed v1.1.3 on Feb 20, 2005

i love gaim its Way better than tril i mean cmon look how long it took tril to get tabs and even then they not as good as the gaim ones where gaim covers all the im's in 1 box tril dosent and tril tries to go for ease of use but ends up makeing it confuseing
and wants yer cash$ oh and i have oodles of Gmail invites tell me whrere ya saw the post mrfrostbite@gmail.com

Bookwyrm reviewed v1.1.2 on Jan 24, 2005

After being extremely disappointed with Trillian 3.0 Pro, I decided to give GAIM another try.

I'll have to say, it's a slick little client, but doesn't support ALT-TAB switching, and I'm not much of a mouser.

When that's fixed, I'll use it full time.

dazed reviewed v1.1.2 on Jan 22, 2005

Setup (localised) displayed mumbo-jumbo. Not a good start to my relation to GAIM.

Gaim is fine if you secretly have been running Linux, the GUI is somewhat awkward measured to normal Windows apps.

If you want it all right away (multiproto), GAIM is for you, if you might think of spending some time I'd go with Miranda instead.

ckasprzak reviewed v1.1.2 on Jan 21, 2005

Nothing competes with FREE. =) Does all that I need, even auto spell check with Aspell.

BroughApps reviewed v1.1.2 on Jan 21, 2005

sucks. nothing compared to trillian. youv done bad grass-hopper

bugmenot reviewed v1.1.1 on Jan 9, 2005

Great! Although due to the fact that the toolkit gaim is using (GTK+ 2.4), gaim for windows is not as stable as its unix counterpart (which is rock-solid). It also contains UI quirks (the wimp theme emulation could be improved and the menu behaviour is rather strange) and IME intergration problems, which are all GTK+ 2.4 for windows bugs.

However, the newest release of GTK+ (v. 2.6) has made great strides in its windows version. So stay tuned for major improvement in gaim for win.

Compared to other IM clients, gaim is much lighter and comes with everything working (esp. compared to trillian, which has now grown into a piece of bloatware). It is supports the most important features on all the supported networks, including file-transfer for Yahoo, MSN, AIM/ICQ, IRC, Jabber etc. Lastly, it includes a spellchecker and many useful plugins (more can be found here: http://sourceforge.net/t..._id=235&func=browse)

Also, the screenshot shown here is ages old. Go to: http://gaim.sourceforge.net/screenshots.php for a few more up-to-date screenshots (~ v0.80)

rustymonkey reviewed v1.1.1 on Dec 30, 2004

I've been a miranda user for the longest time but have found that it's a bit buggy. In comparison, GAIM is easy to install, doesn't require you to install 10 different plugins to get a basic working client, and is rock solid.

I'm now a GAIM convert.

ModderXManiac reviewed v1.1.1 on Dec 30, 2004

GAIM is a joke.
Crappy GUI.
Setup is a P.I.A.
Connection speeds are slooooow.
With the crappy GUI it has, the least I'd expect is a color changer, which it doesnt have.

Get Miranda IM or Trillian.

brotherS reviewed v1.1.1 on Dec 30, 2004

It's ok, but I prefer Miranda IM:
http://fileforum.betanew.../Miranda_IM/957048618/1 Even more customizable and ultra-lightweight, no wonder it has a great rating.

war593122 reviewed v1.1.1 on Dec 29, 2004

Nice product.

Just wish Beta News would stop trying to link directly to downloads and link to the correct download page. :(

Mystiqq reviewed v1.1.1 on Dec 29, 2004

Good but for Windows users that like it extra light i definetly suggest taking a look at Miranda IM.

gawd21 reviewed v1.1.1 on Dec 29, 2004

I have been using GAIM for several months now. I love it. I would like to have a talk a feature. I don't use my ICQ with it.

matt2971 reviewed v1.1.0 on Dec 4, 2004

Does anyone know of any multi protocol messenger that allows you to use the video-chat features of MSN and Yahoo? As far as I can see neither Trillian or GAIM do this :-(

sn0wflake reviewed v1.1.0 on Dec 4, 2004

Blackhole8746: I don't know what OS you're running but it looks almost the same in Windows. Only noticeable thing that has changed is the MSN icon. Should say that I use the Wimp theme.
Only thing that really bothers me is that the only plug-in I use is http://gaim-encryption.sourceforge.net and it isn't included in Gaim. Why not? What's wrong with security? I've emailed the developers and received this answer; "we do not tend to accept 3rd party plugins. doing so requires that we either give the developer commit access to our cvs repository, or that we closely monitor any patches he/she/they might make". Dammit :P

alexmat reviewed v1.0.3 on Nov 13, 2004

I used to switch between IM clients non-stop for a long time, but now I'm happy to say I've decided to stick with GAIM.

It's matured to the point where it's stable, feature rich and provides a nice plugin-interface. The UI is simple and effective. Above all, it's free and cross-platform!

ArKay74 reviewed v1.0.3 on Nov 13, 2004

Nothing wrong with the GUI, I doubt the person who said it's ugly didn't even bother to download since this is an old screenshot. Newer versions can use the default Windows look and feel and look like a standard windows application for most parts.

Please update the screenshot.

tony1l reviewed v1.0.3 on Nov 13, 2004

This is so nice, much more functionality than Trillian and runs with slightly lower memory footprint. It's quite polished. I've been using Trillian for over a month and haven't been able to send files over Y! messenger but now can with Gaim.
I've made the switch.

fourte3n reviewed v1.0.3 on Nov 12, 2004

when they give the GUI a facelift i may be interested.... dam its ugly.

kmleow reviewed v1.0.2 on Oct 25, 2004

It does not support ICQ file transfer behind router yet. When it does, it will be the day I dump ICQ client.

Besides, I am having problems starting Gaim version 1.0.2. Nothing appears but the gaim process is running in the background. I then found out that having Cygwin in the Path variable of the system conflicts with Gaim. Removing Cygwin from the Path variable solves the problem.

adamdawg reviewed v1.0.2 on Oct 21, 2004

I love it. It could be a little more configurable, but I'm not going to knock off points for that.
:)

AntiochMedia reviewed v1.0.2 on Oct 21, 2004

I've been using Gaim for several months now. It's a free alternative to Trillian, and it's a flagship open source product. That being said, using Gaim comes with it's downsides -- Gaim is a asthetically clean, lightweight, no-nonsense AIM/Y!/MSN/etc. client. It logs chats, is stable, is easy to configure, and fits the way that I believe instant messenging should be.

ptolemy reviewed v1.0.2 on Oct 21, 2004

I read on NeoWin.net that Microsoft was planning to charge for certain features in the next version of MSN Messenger. Although using IM is an essential part of my job, I've never been a big fan of MSN Messenger. I've used Trillian (which took a few days to get configured the way I liked it) and Miranda (mmm, looks nice, but didn't like it for some reason), but neither was a decent replacement. I downloaded GAIM since a friend uses it as a alternative to MSN Messenger on Linux...and I have to say I'm very impressed. It does everything MSN Messenger does and then some. Supporting other networks (AIM/ICQ, Jabber, etc) isn't important to me right now, but I'm sure in the future it will be. Oh, if you decide to try it, make sure you turn on some of the plugins - allows you to customize it perfectly.

OCedHrt reviewed v1.0.1 on Oct 9, 2004

Rafiiru: Gaim supports unicode even on AIM, you don't need any kind of default language set in Win2K or XP as you can input whatever you want.

acascianelli reviewed v1.0.1 on Oct 9, 2004

this program is great, its small, compact, easy to use, and cross platform. ill never use AIM or MSN messenger ever again.

Rafiiru reviewed v1.0.1 on Oct 9, 2004

Overall a good program but they really need to get asian language support going ...
I know my setup isn't what the average people would have, running English win2k sp4 => default language = Japanese and using Chinese to chat with people. But if MSN can do it, and ICQ can do it, I don't see why GAIM can't do it ...

deadmonkey reviewed v1.0.1 on Oct 9, 2004

@Computek: If you installed it on "every computer in my large business-enterprise" without first doing a full compatibility test (which obviously you did not as you couldn't even get it working on a system in the first place so it sounds like you just rolled it out) then I don't think you should be in the kind of position where you are able to rollout software to such a "large" base. Also could the lack of internet connectivity be a corporate proxy server? If it is such a "large business enterprise" I would assume they would have some kind of internal proxy server.

As for Gaim. Good program but not really for me :) It does work though ;)

Computek reviewed v1.0.1 on Oct 9, 2004

I did not like this program. It would not connect to the internet even though all my internet was working. I installed it on every computer in my large business-enterprise and nobody was listed as "online". I think this program is a waist of time.

zellofellow reviewed v1.0.0 on Sep 20, 2004

Seems like a very good converged chat client...but I still think Trillian is a bit smoother. Only problem with Trillian is that every now and again one of the chat services (usually AIM or YAHOO!) will block Trillian from connecting to their service. Trillian always releases a work-around patch within a couple of days, but it is nice to know there is another client of this quality to use during those "down times".

Saad_alshawwa reviewed v1.0.0 on Sep 19, 2004

anyway , it is the best alternative for IM systems (msn,yahoo,aim,icq,others) on linux , so it had to be great for windows , alittle buggy on my "system" but i still prefer using it as my default IM.

SFAMonkey reviewed v1.0.0 on Sep 19, 2004

Gaim just Rocks. It has a few bugs like you can't warn in AIM, but I think some of the bugs are tough to overcome not because of the program but because of the AIM Service, MSN,etc.. I used miranda for about a weeked and it failed me with aim. Some buddies where on for like an hour and miranda tells about 50 later they just signed on. Plus I can't warn in miranda either. I tried messanger yesterday. I looked kinda of good, but it was confusing to use. I couldn't type in a message and the the UI was very clutered. So if messanger or mirinda could get things together then I might swicth but untill then it Gaim for me.

tacc reviewed v1.0.0 on Sep 19, 2004

An excellent multiplatform & multiprotocol IM. Tons of plugins, huge feature list, a nice interface and continued development.
Gaim rocks. Dump AIM/MSN/ICQ/Yahoo and download this fabulous piece of opensource software !

Metshrine reviewed v0.82.1 on Sep 14, 2004

The only real bug I have is that when you highlight a screenname in the list, or use a right click menu, and then change focus to another app, those menu's or popup windows still remain on screen even after the application has lost focus. This was a bug a while back when I tested in march, and still appears to be there, if they can fix this I will give it a 5 as it does all I need it to do :) Top notch in every other aspect

westonc reviewed v0.82.1 on Sep 3, 2004

It is the chat program I use, but it does have its problems. I have trouble sending and receiving files. The software is also somewhat buggy; if you try to remove an account without first logging out in that account the whole program crashes.

GeneralLeoFF reviewed v0.82 on Aug 28, 2004

The interface is almost always the weak spot to open sourced programs. It olds true for just about everything. Mostly cuz they use other open sourced UI projects such as GTK. Mush like linux the core of GAIM is very advanced and very stable yet the second you put a graphical UI on it it seems to go down hill. Much like KDE and Gnome, GAIMs UI has quirks and glitches in it that can be kinda annoying. For example if you have tabed IMs and you set the tabs to show to the left ot right of the IM window you can get a pretty annoying glitch. If you are talking with a buffy who has a tiny short name say like 2 letters it shows normal. But then while talking to him you end up geting an IM from a buddy that has a huge name like 20 letters. This will cause the tabs to move into the IM causing it to squeeze inward. This will make all text you sent to the 2 letter name scroll off the left of the IM resulting in a slider bar below all the text. Thats just one of the programs UI quirks. Some would say this is minor and it's the core that counts (especily you linux users will say that) but unfortinitly the UI is the part the user gets to interact with all the time not the core. So the UI to me needs to work just as well as everything else. If the movie the matrix didnt have all it;s flash no one would have gave a damn about it. Apperances matter and we all know it. Witht hat said yes GAIM is a great program and it is going in the right direction. I just tend to feel it still has a long way to go in that direction at this time.

UniversityofKentucky reviewed v0.82 on Aug 27, 2004

One guy says he likes his im. Fine, but please review the beta with more than that. Another says it's too complicated and bloated. Well, the error exists between your seat and the keyboard. This Gaim im is solid, functional, easy to use, is NOT bloated (see AOL), will run on Windows, Linux, UNIX, accepts plug-ins and is free. I've never had a problem with it, including this version. Uh, what more were you looking for?

darkpepe reviewed v0.82 on Aug 27, 2004

I'm sticking to Miranda, best all in one messenger, no gtk hassle and pretty ui, tons of plugins.

DarthVeda reviewed v0.82 on Aug 27, 2004

They have released a patch for Gaim 0.82.
Gaim 0.82.1 is available.

I use GAIM for icq, and yahoo. I still prefer msn messenger to GAIM though.

Dreimanis reviewed v0.82 on Aug 27, 2004

crappy inteface. looks and feels bloated. very hard to manage. very complicated program.

SFAMonkey reviewed v0.82 on Aug 26, 2004

Great!
Add some need plugins in the installer
fixed bug when looking @ buddy info.
Can't bet miranda
miranda has some major things to add/fix
Great program
Great!

madk0w reviewed v0.81 on Aug 25, 2004

it's very good and for me too a trillian replacements..

but like always it's buggy (wich i consider kinda normal at this stage) like with sends and cancelled sends it just crashes and closes.

the only big bug i have now (wich was fine on my first use when i installed it freshly after a new windows install a week ago) is dat msn members have no online state anymore, i can't see whos online or whatever, they're all offline, though i can talk to them and i appear online to them..

it's a bit tricky but i can manage.. i would give it a 5 if it wouldn't crash and close all the time when i'm doing some sending and cancels.. so a 4

cricri_pingouin reviewed v0.81 on Aug 18, 2004

Well, it's not perfect, but for a free open source messenger, it's really good. I left Trillian for this one. A good point is that I can log in with several MSN accounts simultaneously. A down is having to install GTK+, which is not really a downside for me since I use The GIMP anyway. I'm sure there's still space for improvements, hence the 4, but as it stands, it's already a solid alternative IMHO.

ogman reviewed v0.81 on Aug 9, 2004

Excellent replacement for the major IM services. Very solid without the bloat.

CPC464 reviewed v0.81 on Aug 8, 2004

I Like this Program

Simple, Easy to use, nice interface and some good Quality touches.

This gets a MASSIVE thunbs up from me

GeneralLeoFF reviewed v0.81 on Aug 8, 2004

Latest version feels a bit more solid then other versions for some reasion. Also IRC buddy lists greater then 8-10 users is working as it did on 0.79 again. Still can use some work but it's got better.

UniversityofKentucky reviewed v0.81 on Aug 8, 2004

I use GAIM for Windows and Linux as my sole IM without problem.

prophet05 reviewed v0.81 on Aug 7, 2004

Great alternative to trillian or just a switch from AIM. I love it. And no spyware or adaware like that guy said...

the.unforgiven reviewed v0.81 on Aug 7, 2004

Execellant software. Whoever said there was spyware needs to lay off the cocaine.

VikingBlade reviewed v0.81 on Aug 7, 2004

(Absolutely no spyware, this is an open source program folks, check the source code yourself if you think there's something that crazy in there.)
GAIM needs some better plug-ins and perhaps some more skinning capabilities, but is a good barebones multi-IM product. Trillian Pro is still better however.

lumaan reviewed v0.8 on Jul 20, 2004

-Lord- there is no spyware in this program... I did run 2 spyware programs("Ad-aware" and "Spybot - Search & Destroy") before I installed the program and then after and no spyware after I installed it, so u may have had the spyware before u installed Gaim

-Lord- reviewed v0.8 on Jul 19, 2004

Spyware. Don't believe me? Install it, then run a spybot check.

GeneralLeoFF reviewed v0.8 on Jul 19, 2004

Back on 0.78 this program was great. As of 0.79 they made some tweaks to the IRC code and broke GAIMS ability you have more then a few IRC users in a buddy list. The devs offical responce is it;s an IRC problem and not there and nothing they can do about it. Worked fine in 0.78 (and still does) yet it;s not anything they can fix and it;s an IRC problem. Poor support and the common "it's good enough" (seems all linux born projects have this attitude including most main linux distros) attitude from a primarely linix dev team have hurt this program and knocked it way down. Moved back to Trillian and mIRC.

SFAMonkey reviewed v0.8 on Jul 19, 2004

Great. I like the program 100%. I think Miranda will be neat but it needs a lot of features add. Gaim has everything you want. The filesharing in gaim has been fixed. Gaim rocks!

Zulithe reviewed v0.8 on Jul 19, 2004

Finally! Starting with version 0.80 the Windows Gaim now uses GTK+ 2.4.3, so you don't need two GTK versions installed if you want to run both The GIMP 2.x and Gaim on Windows! Gaim is excellent but I still prefer Miranda (and await the upcoming Miranda 1.0!)

Tokar reviewed v0.79 on Jul 17, 2004

I think this is the best all-in-one IM client.

True, it lacks some of the smaller networks that some other all-in-one's have, but who uses those anyway?

It is a little feature lacking in comparison to Trillian, but all the big features for IM clients that everyone wants are there, or are available as plugins...like:
Notifications (Plugin)
Tabbed IM's
Chat/IM Logging
Transparency (Plugin)
Incoming Font Override

Too many to list, but Im sure you get the point.

I love the Mac OSX iChat feel with the Buddy Icons, status and away/idle time showing below the buddies names both appearing in the buddy list (note: they can be removed in the options).

The best part about this client is that there is an update every 3 to 4 weeks. Go try and see if Trillian and AOL are willing to upgrade their client that often...good luck!

KDE reviewed v0.79 on Jul 4, 2004

this proggy works so well. Im using it now.

It may not be as good looking or have huge amounts of features as other programs (trillian and messenger 2) but it does the job for me.

cricri_pingouin reviewed v0.79 on Jun 29, 2004

I was looking forward to try this as an alternative to Trillian. I have some friends using it, thus I know it works, and they are happy with it.
Unfortunately for me, I have the latest version of The Gimp installed. It's using the same GTK+ library. The Gimp project is the originator of GTK+, and having the latest version installed, I also have the latest GTK (2.4.3). When I try to install Gaim, it complains that GTK+ is an older version (when it's actually a newer one). If I don't agree to "upgrade", or rather downgrade, Gaim refuses to start. So I "upgrade", allowing Gaim to run, but then The Gimp is broken. Oh well, I gave Gaim a shot anyway. Here at uni, I'm behind a proxy, but Trillian, MSN and others just work fine... well, Gaim doesn't, for some reason, it can't connect :(
So for now, it's 3 stars from me, and that's very generous. Hope the GTK+ issue is sorted soon, I'll be willing to spend more time figuring out why Gaim doesn't connect.
For now, I'll stick to Trillian.

Somnambulator reviewed v0.79 on Jun 27, 2004

excellent Im program. if you want an all-in-one job and dont like trillian, this is definitely up your alley. the GTK+ code base had some annoying windows bugs (mainly related to copy/paste) a while back but have since been fixed. best IM even if you use only one protocal. i'd have to agree with oomingmak and judas though, as it isnt perfect. i still use a mIRC script for IRC (and probably will never switch) but file transfer is horrid.

oomingmak reviewed v0.79 on Jun 27, 2004

Gaim has really great potential, but at the moment it's still somewhat limited. There are also some hideously ugly UI elements in there (e.g. the dialog for recieving file transfers is one of the most revolting and unfriendly that I have ever seen). What's wrong with using a standard api call to call the native dialog of the OS that it's being run on?

Judas_Iscariot reviewed v0.78 on Jun 7, 2004

Great IM client in the main. Horrid for IRC though.

SFAMonkey reviewed v0.78 on Jun 6, 2004

This is the best Iming program. The program if free. It is very stable if you used the program with an older build and it was not stable know it is. There are no ads in this program like there is in aim. This is better the Trillian because it loads faster. They also realse updates often. There a smiley faces you could download and a bunch of plugins. If you have not tried this program or have tried an older version what do you have loose the only thing for the most part this lacks is live video support.

xtool reviewed v0.77 on Apr 25, 2004

slipkbomb. This is another alternative of multi instant messanger. PLUS, it is free. Now it may lacks of features and options you might wish to have, but it is functional? If there is or are bugs, report them so they can improve Gaim or add more features. Comparing to other multi clients is ok, I guess. But don't come here and bash. Remember, this is FREE IM. Trillian IS NOT, unless you want the less optioned trial one.

NinjaOfLove reviewed v0.77 on Apr 25, 2004

Gaim makes me giggle inside.

Gets better with every release.

chaos945 reviewed v0.77 on Apr 25, 2004

Simple, FREE, and can do almost everything I want it to. Loss of a star for lack of IRC controls.

BonnieD reviewed v0.76 on Apr 2, 2004

Great Program + Free Program = 5 stars!

Adidas1532 reviewed v0.75 on Mar 16, 2004

they REALLY need an updated screenshot. it looks nothing like that anymore.

DigitalSin reviewed v0.75 on Mar 4, 2004

Getting better and better!

inurface reviewed v0.75 on Jan 11, 2004

Very clean app and many extras for AIM (logs, idle maker, etc..). I use this in place of aim and msn msgr.

Lower mem utilization then aim on XP currently:
gaim.exe 8,452K vs.

msmsgs.exe 6,572K
aim.exe 12,356K

finalcut reviewed v0.75 on Jan 11, 2004

I really dont like this app + installing GTK sucks

Moparx reviewed v0.75 on Jan 11, 2004

yet another good release :D

animeusa reviewed v0.75 on Jan 11, 2004

This is another great release of GAIM. The only downside is Yahoo is the one playing games with third party clients now. But still a solid release!

L06@N reviewed v0.75 on Jan 10, 2004

I can't agree more. It does keep getting better and better, plus it's total GNU Freeware!
Wish it supported File Transfers via YIM or MSN (if it does I take this wish back)...

nloki reviewed v0.75 on Jan 10, 2004

it just gets better and better!

keegan reviewed v0.74 on Dec 3, 2003

nice, clean interface. sadly, there is no way to save user account info.

Havohej reviewed v0.74 on Nov 29, 2003

I like this program a lot. I recommend it to friends over any other multi-protocol IMer.

franco2 reviewed v0.74 on Nov 28, 2003

ezh: please try the program options before posting a review like that. I like my extension next to the filename like you, and TotalCmd is able to do that, just go to the preferences...

spiderz reviewed v0.74 on Nov 28, 2003

Spin another tasty program into my web!

geekz reviewed v0.74 on Nov 28, 2003

Great program, does what it says and does it well. 5 stars!

ogman reviewed v0.74 on Nov 28, 2003

Excellent program...and free!

bottjena reviewed v0.73 on Nov 23, 2003

To the guy below me.. .this is not a new program this one has been a round for a while

tannman1 reviewed v0.72 on Nov 2, 2003

Well just what the wrld needs, another IM claiminf to be the only one nheeded. I for one have the IM market turn into a dog eat dog industry and I doubrtr another entry will be benifecial if even noticed. I wish them luck.

FailedCRC reviewed v0.72 on Nov 2, 2003

not a bad client, but rather too slow on windows, and quite resource hungry, there's also still the problem of tooltips popping up over other windows and not being removed - which is annoying. Also quite prone to crashes, closing a window too fast just after you've typed a message isn't a good idea :)

guti reviewed v0.72 on Nov 2, 2003

If you need a multi IM client that is multi plattform and is free, then your option is GAIM.
But if you run Windows, better get Miranda, which eats fewer system resources and is faster. If you can pay for, then get Trillian.

Somnambulator reviewed v0.71 on Oct 15, 2003

Program itself is great. very simple and basic, which is their intention. good support for multiple services, feels more like AIM than any other, which is what i was looking for. very low on resources. all around great EXCEPT:

a GTK+ bug that corrupts windows clipboard and disallows you to copy/paste in windows. to fix you have to copy text in a Gaim chat window and paste it in chat. this reenables windows clipboard. this bug is extremely annoying and prevents me from continuing my use of Gaim. how ever annoying the bug is, it isnt a Gaim bug but a bug in the library Gaim uses. until it is fixed in GTK+ it's gonna be around in gaim =(

BillBraskey reviewed v0.71 on Oct 12, 2003

Still slow, still ugly, still boring, still featureless. If you are too cheap to get trillian pro, stick with miranda. GAIM SUCKS A$$, especially on Windows. I still personaly reccomend getting a good jabber client.

icemaker reviewed v0.71 on Oct 11, 2003

I've tried several version of this Gaim problem and everytime I install it and try to launch the program is crashes on me. It will be rated bad until I can find why it's crashing on me.

JolinFire reviewed v0.71 on Oct 11, 2003

I use Gaim for more than 6 monthes, win or linux version. And it is one of the best.

You can choose if you want a windows native gui or not. And screenshot is rather old :)

The best to me :)

Scorched Earth reviewed v0.71 on Oct 10, 2003

This is a very nice application. I'm using it right now. I had been using the original applications and Trillian Pro. I'm really impressed at how far this program has come. Don't let the BetaNews screen shot fool you as it's terribly outdated. This latest version has a wonderful-looking GUI.

nemrtvy reviewed v0.70 on Oct 1, 2003

Nice one, best IM on linux but not on windows. Miranda is still bettera and has more plugins. But good work, keep going.

edjose17 reviewed v0.70 on Sep 30, 2003

Add to the last post that it lacks file sharing.

BillBraskey reviewed v0.70 on Sep 30, 2003

Ugly, slow, boring, featureless. There are other multi OS alternatives to gaim that at least do something besides just cross text communication. You can also just get a good jabber client and use a server supporting transports. GAIM sucks

whatever_-_ reviewed v0.68 on Sep 3, 2003

If anyone ever wants to understand just how big (and therefore ugly) GNOME is compared to the Windows GUI, install this program. See those huge, ugly tabs in the screen shot? Just one example.

zonk3r reviewed v0.65 on Jul 17, 2003

Good program with an 'okay' UI. I prefer Trillian instead.

randal2k reviewed v0.64 on Jun 2, 2003

It's good... I prefer Miranda IM. But, in *Nix this one rocks. keep up the good work though, i know allot of people are enjoying it.

SeanR561 reviewed v0.64 on Jun 1, 2003

Best decision the authors made to also make a Windows version. I always loved the *nix version and now its on Windows. Gets better each release.

Apollos reviewed v0.64 on Jun 1, 2003

looks ok, I'm sure it will get better as the version numbers go up. It's still a little too simplistic for my liking though.

trapanator reviewed v0.63 on May 21, 2003

Free and Better than trillian!

tvaccari reviewed v0.62 on Apr 26, 2003

Program gets better and better with every release ... Yeah its still beta but it still rocks.

kription reviewed v0.62 on Apr 26, 2003

"GTK is themable, which means that you can change colors, fonts and how the actual widgets are drawn"

GTK is what GAIM 0.6x uses for its interface. Check out the following page for more info:

http://gaim.sourceforge.net/win32/index.php

My only complaint.. When you are set as away there is always an item on your tackbar or on your screen. It would be nice if you could only make the away item disappear.

crowbar reviewed v0.61 on Apr 11, 2003

Can you change skins in this program ???

adamdawg reviewed v0.61 on Apr 10, 2003

It's simple, its clean, and it's cut and dry. I like that much. Although it lacks certain features such as yahoo's ability to broadcast webcams, the prime reason I use yahoo in the first place. It also needs an option to make the buddy names smaller, because when i have 50 buddies online, I have to scroll a long time just to find the one im looking for. So far I like it more than trillian though. Uses much less memory, and it doesn't seem to have all the useless crap that comes with trillian, like the 60some emoticons that dont even get seen by other users. One more thing, is the sounds are horrible. Poor quality, and rather annoying.

I'm going to hang on to this program and keep checking for updates as i understand it's still in beta mode. Good work overall, nice program. :)

tvaccari reviewed v0.60 on Apr 7, 2003

GAIM rocks, plus it's free and open source.

alienvenom reviewed v0.60 on Apr 6, 2003

Wow, unless you are really dumb, if you had read that message you would have seen there be a URL for you to go to which has GTK+ 2.0 for Windows. Gaim is really great, however in it's young age (Windows version), it's still quite buggy. I'll stick with Trillian for now. But it's really nice, clean and smooth.

OrlandoTommy reviewed v0.60 on Apr 6, 2003

Tried installing on WinXP Pro got this message..

"Could not find GTK runtime environment..." This should be bundled with the installer if you ask me, dont really have time to be looking for runtime downloads all over the Internet. Couldnt install it, so its junk in my book..

Prey521 reviewed v0.60 on Apr 6, 2003

It's alright, it's not Trillian...but it's alright

Slinky reviewed v0.60 on Apr 6, 2003

USED to be good, running Win2k. Same crashing problem here =\

scots reviewed v0.60 Alpha 5 on Feb 25, 2003

Wow...I dunno what the problem was, but I couldn't even get my accounts setup. It would crash a few seconds after I would start it up EVERY time I started it up. After about 10 tries I gave up and uninstalled it.

xtool reviewed v0.60 Alpha 5 on Feb 17, 2003

I LOVE Gaim!!! A 5 stars.

I have lists of frinds on ICQ and AIM. Gaim really works well for me. I love the tab IMs and very small windows and also NO ADS! It's a large download but it's awesome! Great work guys. Thanks you.

mikejd1 reviewed v0.60 Alpha 5 on Feb 17, 2003

great program, interface sucks. I give it a 4

xippon reviewed v0.60 Alpha 4.1 on Jan 24, 2003

Gadu-Gadu support i like it..

improvelence reviewed v0.60 Alpha 4.1 on Jan 24, 2003

Those 2 postings should not be 5 stars im just a moron who cant pay attention.

azildex reviewed v0.60 Alpha 4.1 on Jan 24, 2003

As a first time user of this I thought it pretty much sucked. . . if anyone sends you a message in an odd font it crashes. . . even when you tell it to ignore all fonts. . .anyone have a suggestion?

espectro reviewed v0.60 Alpha 4.1 on Jan 24, 2003

The reason gaim is 7mb on windows it's because it must include the gtk port to windows. If gaim used the win api it would be the same size as trillian.

This version fixes the letter showing bug when using smilies.

It also has file send/receive for aim and file receive for msn. The ui needs to be reworked, though, as there is no progress indicator when receiving a file.

gabito reviewed v0.60 Alpha 4.1 on Jan 24, 2003

ok, a IM is too send messages.. what's this trillian, better than.. odigo better than.. they're all the same, please. They do what they say, send IMs! what else do you want from these apps? make pancakes for you too? come on. I give this a 4 for being open source.

holapaco88 reviewed v0.60 Alpha 4.1 on Jan 24, 2003

I don't know about you all but I use Gaim Exclusively on Linux and since they released the windows beta I've been using it exclusively on windows. Yes it's had it's small and MAJOR problems here and there but I am a hardcore Gaim fan and I'll stick with them through thick and thin. I suppose adding a virus transfer "ack" File transfer would be nice for some people but I rarely use it so that don't bug me much. Yes I agree with most of you that the GUI needs a major overhaul, and god forbid the new icon they are using on the Gui... Rid of that ugly thing would ya. All in all I will still give it a 4 because of the Gui issue, but as far as functionality goes I love it and it probably deserves a 4.5 but I obviously cannot do that so let this be my official rating lol!! Keep it up guys you're doing a great job with this thing... Hopefully you will listen to the end users on windows as much as you listen to the end users on Linux. Gaim has the potential of being the best interoperable messenger on both platforms.

AndrewJC reviewed v0.60 Alpha 4 on Dec 30, 2002

This program is alright. Has lots of glitches for new user registration. Also the buddylist needs to have a better GUI. Overal its ok. I would perfer AIM over this though.

netean reviewed v0.60 Alpha 4 on Dec 30, 2002

I love the idea of gaim, it has all the features of Trillian and easymessenger, but fully open sourced code.
However, I don't personally think it's there yet:
For a start it's a huge download for an IM client (the last time I downloaded it was 7MB+) It's also quite slow to use and uses quite a lot of system resources.
It will get there, but it's just not there yet!

port8001 reviewed v0.60.0 Alpha 3 on Nov 8, 2002

I don't see where anyone said it was affiliated with AOL and just because it's not dosent mean its bad it just means that aol refuses to allow others to talk on its system. this client is great.and the fact it uses the jabber system means it very reliable...

powaking reviewed v0.60.0 Alpha 3 on Nov 8, 2002

Actually its NOT endorsed or affiliated with AOL. That needs to be fixed.

Gaim is NOT endorsed by or affiliated with AOL.

guti reviewed v0.60.0 Alpha 3 on Nov 8, 2002

Refer to Trillian or Trillian Pro to a good Instant Message client...

TheTester reviewed v0.60.0 Alpha 2 on Oct 19, 2002

When I first saw this I was rather excited. Finally, I thought to myself, the tabbed windows and other great features GAIM offers are being brought over to Windows. When first testing the program seemed rather stable for being alpha. I noticed lot of the preferences don't seem to be completely functional as of yet. GAIM introduces a lot of neat new features to the world of instant messenging but seems to be thrown together kind of sloppily. The only major problem I encountered with GAIM was that occasionally during mid-conversation I would get multiple (25 or so) pop-up windows telling me i had surpassed the rate limit. With a little work, and the implimentation of a file transfer feature, GAIM will definitely become king of the slew of instant messageing programs out right now.

espectro reviewed v0.60.0 Alpha 2 on Oct 18, 2002

gaim's core is so much advanced than trillian's , but until gaim has file transfer (which it probably won't) i am stuck on trillian

Targaff reviewed v0.60.0 Alpha 2 on Oct 18, 2002

Pretty good, pretty good... it has "Potential", as the Gremlin said. The GUI really does need work, though - as do some of the options: when I disable sounds in the preferences and change the font size and style, it'd be nice if the font actually changed and the sounds stopped playing without my having to disable it individually in the chat window. Will be great - eventually.

KNK reviewed v0.60 Alpha on Sep 15, 2002

Their located in --> C:\Program Files\Gaim0.60\plugins . I didn't download anything all I did was click on Tools > Plug-Ins > Load > *find the directory* and that was it. Simple as that again Gaim is a great program just needs a little work especially in the GUI. Like I said to bluky.

whatever_-_ reviewed v0.60 Alpha on Sep 15, 2002

And where are the plugins for download? Not in the installer you download, nowhere to be found on the website. Where are the plugins? Still gets a 2 from me.

abwolf reviewed v0.60 Alpha on Sep 15, 2002

Convinced with the reviewers before me I thought I'd give it a shot. On my first run it crashed on me, second time it worked but I can only seem to set up AIM or ICQ accounts. The user interface needs some work and simple keyboard shortcuts such as CTRL+S for sending messages (which i'm used to) are not implemented. Wont be downloading it again. Don't like it as a whole.

KAMiKAZOW reviewed v0.60 Alpha on Sep 15, 2002

Very cool and suprisingly stable for the first alpha release (I did not have a single crash while testing it). For now I'll continiue to use Trillian, but maybe I'll switch later. BTW: Zephyr and Gadu-Gadu plugin have not been ported to Windows (yet).

DigitalSin reviewed v0.60 Alpha on Sep 15, 2002

I use GAIM on my linux machines, its the best out there for Linux. For windows though, I think right now Trillian is the one to stick with. This version is a bit fussy

tvaccari reviewed v0.60 Alpha on Sep 15, 2002

This program ROCKS! It's open source and will always continue to get better.