Ideal instant messenger

[celloandy]

My roommate and I are both computer science majors, and we were talking, the other day, about instant messaging clients. I use Gaim, and at the moment, he's using Kopete, and we were talking about what we liked and disliked about each. Both have good things, but neither is perfect, and we got to talking about what our ideal IM client would look like. I don't think either of us have the time, or, for that matter, the technical ability, at this point, to be able to implement this hypothetical client, but I figured I'd ask the community at large for their opinions on the subject. So, a few questions:
What IM client do you use? Why? What features does it have that encourage you to choose it over the alternatives?
What are its problems?
While the idea of skinnable apps (Winamp, etc.) seems to be mostly dead, the idea is still alive and kicking in Windows IM clients (Trillian, MSN, etc.). How important is visual appearance, both in terms of skins and eye candy, in general, in an IM program?
Are there any features that you think IM clients ought to have that are currently not available in Linux clients? What features would your ideal client have?Again, this is mainly to satisfy my own curiosity, but if anyone has ideas to contribute, I'm very much interested.

Andrew

[prizrak]

I use Gaim since it's the best thing on Linux.
I'd want a pretty basic client all I want it to be is lightweight, have tabs, support HTML (esp in profiles since Trillian still don't do that) and send recieve files. It doesn't have to have much eye candy at all.

[Derek Djons]

I use GAIM. It's a very transparant program with a simple interface. I'm all about minimalistic.
For me the biggest problems are actually that it doesn't has one window. It uses two to three windows for different things. Quite irritating.

What concerns skins and extra features I'm not getting hot by it. Like I said, an IM should be good in IM'ing and be minimalistic (looking).

[kenweill]

I use GAIM in Linux. Yahoo Messenger in Windows. But I used to chat in Windows because of the Webcam support. I can't make it work in Linux. GAIM wiht Webcam support is not yet released. I'm waiting for it. If it comes out, then my Windows will be useless.

I don't care about the skins. Whats important is its easy to use. And that it works.

[ubuntu27]

I use aMSN cuz of the webcam support :D so far it seem that it is the only OPenSource IM that supports Webcam.
On a negative note, aMSN can only be used with Hotmail or MSN account :(

[raublekick]

well, i've never gotten Kopete to work. on FC2 or Suse it just wouldn't connect, and on (K)Ubuntu it crashes on me.

i like gaim just fine

[purdy hate machine]

I use Kopete and Gyach Enhanced (Yahoo chat client), both support webcam in Linux and have all the features I need in an IM client.

[briancurtin]

gaim is just fine. does what i want it to.


if i was to ask for anything, it would be that trillian pro runs natively in linux. i refuse to use wine/cedega/etc., please do not recommend i try anything like that.

[beercz]

In Linux:
Gaim is what I use, looking forward to having webcam support though.

Also use skype for VOIP and instant messaging. Again looking forward to getting webcam support in skype as well.

In ******* (rarely now):
MSN Instant Messenger
Yahoo
ICQ
Jabber
and Skype

[Bragador]

I use gaim.

I like how organized and simple it is.

[GeneralZod]

Kopete here - it works fine for me, and it's the only client besides MSN 6 that I've actually gotten Auto-Away working flawlessly with(!). Plus, excellent integration with KDE and Kontact is a plus :)

[Master Shake]

Gaim, and Skype in UBuntu, Trillian and Skype in Win.

[Deaf_Head]

I want the Direct connect to work with people using aim, trillian etc.

[Arktis]

Skinning is way less important than having good features, usability, etc. I think skinning basicly gained massive popularity on windows because the themes were so boring, and basicly died when everyone got the ability to completely change their UI with themes that weren't just different variations of the old windows 95 look.

My ideal messenger would have voice and camera capabilities. That's pretty much it. I don't care about anything else since gaim basicly is everything I want except for those two things.

[Rotarychainsaw]

I use Gaim on linux and windows, but my ideal client is probably adium. Linux port of adium, I'd be all over it.

[alfonz]

if you only want to use it for msn then aMsn is what you want, the rest use GAIM

[Brunellus]

I want the Direct connect to work with people using aim, trillian etc.
to make it work, you must open the right ports. Usually it's your router that's the problem. I understand, however, that this will somehow not be an issue with GAIM 2, but I could be very wrong.

[celloandy]

I want the Direct connect to work with people using aim, trillian etc.

I think Gaim CVS supports UPnP NAT traversal, so lots of these issues should be resolved.

On another note, thanks so much for the quick responses! Looks like there are lots of Gaim fans, here. It's interesting to see where people's priorities lie.

Andrew

[Kvark]

Ok, here is my take on the ideal chat program...

The ideal client should use the same widget set as the rest of the apps so that it can be themed/skinned together with all the other apps. I wouldn't use it on Gnome if it doesn't have a GTK2 version. A skinable client that has to be themed separately would just be unwanted extra hassle. If the normal theme all other apps use is too ugly then thats either the theme's or the widget set's fault. It is never the chat client's job to work around the flaws of the general widget set by being skinnable.

As for features. Everything that is relevant to holding a conversation over the net is good to have. It should be able to send text messages, images, real time whiteboard-style drawings, voice, video etc.

Most importantly it should be able to focus either on WHO you want to talk to or on WHAT you want to talk about. If I want to talk to a couple specific friends about anything then it's perfect to invite them to an IM-style conversation. If I on the other hand want to talk about a specific topic with anyone then it's perfect to join an IRC-style chatroom and idle along to check every now and then if anything interesting is said.

It is an absolute turnoff if the client has any features that are not related to conversations such as weather reports, online shopping, music player, web browser, remote admin or games. There are other apps that are specialized in those other things and does them much better then a chat program would.

But it is ok if the client can occationally work together with other programs. For example start the web browser when a link is clicked. Paste the local weather or currently playing song into the conversation from a weather app or music player. Start and connect a remote computing program if a friend asked for help. Or launch a game and auto join a multiplayer session if a friend invited you clicked accept.

[equal]

I only use msn for chatting anyways, so aMSN works quite well. They've got the display pictures working properly, and now webcam support is there too. The only thing that bugs me about aMSN is that you can't close the main window without it disconnecting you. I don't like leaving any windows open that I don't absolutely need, so not being able to have that program just run in the task bar annoys me to no end. But overall, it's buch better than Gaim or Kopete, for MSN chatting at least.

[matid]

I use cvs Gajim since it covers more XMPP protocol than Gaim does (at least AFAIK) and is not a multiprotocol client, which is not necessary for me.
Oh, and I also use GTalk embedded in GMail, it's great.

[majikstreet]

I use gajim now... transports can be really screwy, so sometimes I have to go to my semi-old copy of gaim 2 cvs... (i probably should get gajim cvs, it seems to be gajim that makes the transports screwy)

majikstreet

[YourSurrogateGod]

Kopete has _always_ crashed on me for some ungoddly reason from start up.

Gaim is pretty good, the only problem that I haven't been able to resolve (if anyone knows how to resolve it you'll be a god among men in my book) was that whenever someone comes online or goes offline on my list the main window shows up in my panel of windows and starts blinking. This aspect is the most annoying one, I'd love to disable it, but no matter what I've tried and tinkered it hasn't worked :( .

[simon_is_learning]

I have an little-sister (12 years old) that thinks that linux is crap.

- Can you send vibes?
- no

- Can you have smilies everywhere
- no

- Can you send animated-pictures (don't even know what it's called)
- no

See, linux is crap. Someday I wish that you could give me XP so i can write with the mouse, and then send. (becouse on 98ME it isn't possible). Thats what all my friens do.

so..

for the kids maybe...
a little more fun..

just a thought, if we want our sisters to someday switch..


btw. I use gaim, becouse its fine-didely-fine

[Gandalf]

I use aMSN for 3 reasons
1) All contacts logs are since 2 years and I dont want to break logging
2) Webcam support as well as nice MSN7 animated smilies
3) and most important, Connect in Appear Offline mode!! and not Online!

I have tried once or twice Gaim, never tried kopete

[Bragador]

Are you sure you can't use vibes with Gaim ? I'm sure you can but it's named differently.

Oh and you should ask your sister if she can tell if she's on her friend's list and if they are blocking her hehe...

Focus on what msn doesn't have.

[kassetra]

I use Gaim on linux and windows, but my ideal client is probably adium. Linux port of adium, I'd be all over it.

I'd have to agree - I use gaim on linux and adium on the mac, and adium seems to be closer to my ideal IM situation, especially when I compare it to the new 'light' version of gaim2 (which does not fit my needs and requirements, sadly.)

your gaimmage may vary. :KS

[YourSurrogateGod]

I use Trillian in Windows. I wish Trill was ported to Linux :( .

[Bragador]

I feel like Trillian is bloated. It's slow on my computer. (thinkpad R31)

[Brunellus]

I have an little-sister (12 years old) that thinks that linux is crap.

- Can you send vibes?
- no

- Can you have smilies everywhere
- no

- Can you send animated-pictures (don't even know what it's called)
- no

See, linux is crap. Someday I wish that you could give me XP so i can write with the mouse, and then send. (becouse on 98ME it isn't possible). Thats what all my friens do.

so..

for the kids maybe...
a little more fun..

just a thought, if we want our sisters to someday switch..


btw. I use gaim, becouse its fine-didely-fine
what on *earth* is a vibe?

seems all very wasteful, anyway.

[Bragador]

It's that annoying thing that makes your screen shake so you know someone wants to talk to you. A virtual way to "knock" on another person's virtual domain.

Very annoying.

[majikstreet]

It's that annoying thing that makes your screen shake so you know someone wants to talk to you. A virtual way to "knock" on another person's virtual domain.

Very annoying.
yeah VERY annoying..

I actually have gaim open right now because gajim was acting up, even after I got the svn version and compiled.... it's the transports that work sometimes, other times don't... but in gaim they are working fine.

[YourSurrogateGod]

I feel like Trillian is bloated. It's slow on my computer. (thinkpad R31)
Actually I've found it to be relatively slim. I've never compared it directly to gaim, but I note sometimes how much memory it eats compared to other apps and it seems to be rather small.

[ipendragon99]

i HATE gaim

for some reason, it doesn't like to give me a message when someone logs on/off/away/idle/back and whatnot

if it did that i would be okay with it

and that 12 year old, omg who actually spends the time to do all that stuff, i only do it when im talking to one person, and im bored outta my mind. btw im 14

but is there anyone out there that can help me with installing aim/YIM/msn (i don't use icq anymore -_-) because i can't figure out because im an idiot when it comes to linux :\

but.. the thing i want on this computer of mine is trillian, i love trillian.. but i can't figure out any of this stuff on linux :'(

thanks if you can

[PsychoTrauma]

My ideal client would be one that uses the systems theme, has avatar support, and doesn't have a bunch of junk that I don't need. A client that has plugin support is nice so I can remove everything I don't use.

The only client that I really see like that is miranda im for windows but even that has some problems.

I like the older versions of gaim since they were pretty simple but theres something about gaim2 I don't like. The contact list has that big status list on the bottom which drives me crazy since I never change my status. There is also a strange animated scroll thing that bothers me when I'm chatting.

[IYY]

I use GAIM. I chose it because it's fairly fast and stable, and the interface looks good enough.

My problems with it:

- Sometimes there are display picture issues, and other small and annoying bugs.
- It has some problems with contact list management (though that problem might be on MSN's side)
- Many features aren't included because they may "scare away" novice users, or clutter the GUI. But I'd prefer to have them, and some other features too.
- Many other small problems.

I think that eye candy is quite important, considering that the IM client is almost always visible, and has several open windows. It has to be easy on the eyes.

I hate to admit it, but I think Microsoft's MSN client is better than GAIM/Kopete/aMSN (although it also has its share of bugs and problems).

[Bragador]

i HATE gaim

for some reason, it doesn't like to give me a message when someone logs on/off/away/idle/back and whatnot

if it did that i would be okay with it

Mine does. Just enable those things in your options.

I'm on 2.0 beta 2

[BWF89]

I'm currently useing Windows XP but am going to be installing Ubuntu w/Window Maker on an iMac G3 I'm getting next Thursday.

I use Gaim for all my IMing needs. The only thing that I really hate about Gaim is that you can't transfer files.

When one of my buddies wants to direct connect and send me a file I have to say "Sorry, I'm useing Gaim. Send it to my email account".

EDIT: Oh, and I use the AIM protocall on Gaim most of the time.

[YourSurrogateGod]

I'm currently useing Windows XP but am going to be installing Ubuntu w/Window Maker on an iMac G3 I'm getting next Thursday.

I use Gaim for all my IMing needs. The only thing that I really hate about Gaim is that you can't transfer files.

When one of my buddies wants to direct connect and send me a file I have to say "Sorry, I'm useing Gaim. Send it to my email account".

EDIT: Oh, and I use the AIM protocall on Gaim most of the time.
Really? I send files fine. I have the latest 1.something version.

My biggest beef is making sure that the main window doesn't pop and start flashing whenever someone logs in or out on my list. You're doing something on your PC useful and all of a sudden the bloody thing starts flashing. I wouldn't mind if the chat windows (where I talk to my friends) would notify me if a new message came (hell, I'd want that), but not the main window. This part is woefully unreliable.

This other really annoying feature is that sometimes the window that has a list of all of my buddies would appear on the left side of the desktop (instead of the right) whenever I either try to have it pop by clicking on the system icon or when it pops up automatically.

Trill doesn't have any of these problems that I've just described, which is why I'm hoping that maybe someone in that company will make a Linux version...

[Bragador]

I send files with gaim without any problem too.

Yoursurrogategod: Not sure what you mean by the flashing screen. Do you mean when you have your bar hidden, it will appear to show you the flashing box of gaim ? Also you might want to try version 2.0 Beta 2 . It rocks.

[Stealth]

My ideal messenger:


Must be quick, GAIM loads FAST compared to Trillian (especially if you have all the plugins enabled, slow startup)
Themeable, I want my IM to look cool and slick, not just a box all the time, GAIM can't, Kopete has some nice IM color theming, I need more eyecandy, or atleast, the ability to be able to.
Basic Cool Feature Support, Webcams and Voice are nice. Also, I like the support for Yahoo's drawpad. Other features are either annoying or can wait.
Pluginable, like GAIM, adding plugins is easy.


Some things that I don't like about GAIM:
-No default notification, who logged on? I don't know, I have to look at my buddy list to find out.
-Avatars, why are they on the RIGHT side of the name? Those punk MSNers with long screenames push em so I have to SCROLL to look at em. They need to swap positions of the network icon (using AIM or MSN) with the actual avatar (Trillian, AIM, I'm sure MSN all do this)
-Advanced History feature, none that I know of, I love Trillian's. Though I think Beagle can now do something with GAIM logs.

Unfortunately I think a new IM app must be developed (for themability) since GAIM is built on GTK and makes that impossible :(

[Rita]

I use Kopete, and that works fine for me, does all I want it to do.

[YourSurrogateGod]

I send files with gaim without any problem too.

Yoursurrogategod: Not sure what you mean by the flashing screen. Do you mean when you have your bar hidden, it will appear to show you the flashing box of gaim ?
Yeh, that's it.

Also you might want to try version 2.0 Beta 2 . It rocks.
I'll probably try that today.

[Bragador]

Yoursurrogategod : Well the "problem" is also in version 2.0 but I actually see it as a strong point since otherwise I would never know someone wants to chat :neutral:

[YourSurrogateGod]

Yoursurrogategod : Well the "problem" is also in version 2.0 but I actually see it as a strong point since otherwise I would never know someone wants to chat :neutral:
*shrug* If someone wants to chat to me then they can IM me, otherwise I'll check the list on my own when I feel like it. The problem for me is that sometimes I'm doing something that requires my concentration and I don't like to be disturbed and when out of the blue, the damn thing starts flashing.

[Bragador]

*shrug* If someone wants to chat to me then they can IM me, otherwise I'll check the list on my own when I feel like it. The problem for me is that sometimes I'm doing something that requires my concentration and I don't like to be disturbed and when out of the blue, the damn thing starts flashing.

Oh yeah I know that feeling it definitely sucks. It happens when I forget to put myself invisible. But then your friends can't leave you mesages for later so I get your point. Perhaps they should add something like in ICQ where even when you are offline, you can receive messages for the next time you log in. On the other hand I mostly use gaim for msn messenger so it probably is more of a microsoft problem...

[YourSurrogateGod]

Oh yeah I know that feeling it definitely sucks. It happens when I forget to put myself invisible. But then your friends can't leave you mesages for later so I get your point. Perhaps they should add something like in ICQ where even when you are offline, you can receive messages for the next time you log in. On the other hand I mostly use gaim for msn messenger so it probably is more of a microsoft problem...
I think that's a feature in the protocol. I know that yahoo has that as well. It's an AOL thing.

[ipendragon99]

Mine does. Just enable those things in your options.

I'm on 2.0 beta 2

erm, im useing the gaim that linux came with, because.. im stupid and can't figure out anything XD

and i have looked, for hours for that option and i couldn't find it

[vbmaster]

Well, right now I use aMSN, but i'm not totally satisfied.

First i used gaim, but I would love something like MSN Messenger, and unfortunattely aMSN still has some things to improve. The design is one of them, the mac theme is cool, but in the chat window all looks a bit odd, and not like the appearence of the rest of the desktop.

Mercury messenger seems to be the best of all. It has compatibily with messenger plus which is great, and shows the two avatars in it (ours and other person's avatar) in big size.

They all have things to improve, i mean, I know that it's all unuseful stuff like design, plugins, etc, etc... but that is what a person wants in a IM.

Stay co0l ;)

[Bragador]

erm, im useing the gaim that linux came with, because.. im stupid and can't figure out anything XD

and i have looked, for hours for that option and i couldn't find it

You must enable the "buddy state notification" plugin. Well, I think that's what I did...

[hizaguchi]

My ideal messenger blends in well with the rest of my tasks, is easy on memory, has a simple but functional interface, and most importantly can chat/direct connect/file transfer with any chat protocol without me having to sign up for 500 different chat accounts.

I mean, I have accounts on Jabber, AIM, MSN, Yahoo, Google, and ICQ just so I can chat with a small group of friends who for whatever reason can't just all pick one protocol.

If somebody could make one protocol that was compatible with all the rest, I wouldn't care what the client program was like.

[Lovechild]

I don't want an instant messager seperate from my DE, it should be part of my DE deeply integrated. Some of the GNOME 3 mockup showed a contact list applet which is plain awesome.

[Stormy Eyes]

What IM client do you use? Why? What features does it have that encourage you to choose it over the alternatives?

I used to use GAIM to keep in contact with my wife before she came to the US.


What are its problems?

Haven't noticed any. My wife says that MSN support is a bit clunky, but that's what she gets for having relatives who use MSN.


How important is visual appearance, both in terms of skins and eye candy, in general, in an IM program?

If it doesn't use GTK, I won't touch it. Skins suck. I didn't like 'em on Winamp or XMMS, and I don't like 'em on IM programs.


Are there any features that you think IM clients ought to have that are currently not available in Linux clients? What features would your ideal client have?

The ability to punch morons in the face via TCP/IP. Then again, Windows clients don't implement remote LART either.

[jamyskis]

What IM client do you use? Why? What features does it have that encourage you to choose it over the alternatives?

I use GAIM because it's the most flexible IM app I've seen in terms of logging onto several accounts in several protocols at once. I like the plugin-based structure.



What are its problems?
It doesn't inform you of people who come online or write you a message particularly well - in the former case it's signified simply by a sound effect and in the latter you end up surprised by your whole window suddenly taken up by a chat window. I know there are plugins for this, but they don't seem to work very well.



While the idea of skinnable apps (Winamp, etc.) seems to be mostly dead, the idea is still alive and kicking in Windows IM clients (Trillian, MSN, etc.). How important is visual appearance, both in terms of skins and eye candy, in general, in an IM program?

As long as it's clear and concise I couldn't give a monkeys. I can't stand over flowery interfaces in IM apps (*cough* *cough* MSN Messenger)


Are there any features that you think IM clients ought to have that are currently not available in Linux clients? What features would your ideal client have?

WEBCAM!!!!!

[fuscia]

i used to use gaim when i still had windows, but i haven't tried it since installing linux. i, basically, hate im'ing, phones and anything similar. i guess i'm just too spacey to respond in time.

[ipendragon99]

You must enable the "buddy state notification" plugin. Well, I think that's what I did...


why, it is enabled... yet the stupid thing still won't give me messages when someone does anything

[Bragador]

why, it is enabled... yet the stupid thing still won't give me messages when someone does anything

Mmmm...

Just to be sure...

The info will be placed in the discussion, there wont be any pop up screen warning you. But if you chat with someone and he goes away, or logs off, it will say so in the discussion window.

If you want more, well, you might want to suggest it to the team in case nobody suggested it.

:-k

[Koobi]

i use GAIM sometimes...but lately it's been Kopete...frankly, i don't use the usual chat protocols so much anymore, i use Skype most of the time.

and..is it me, or does GAIM not send an IM over to the person at the other end, if your message contains this string:


www.scriptlance.com


i've noticed that quite a lot lately...because a friend and i are members there and everytime i send him a link to that site, he doesn't get the message. very strange...

[Bragador]

i use GAIM sometimes...but lately it's been Kopete...frankly, i don't use the usual chat protocols so much anymore, i use Skype most of the time.

and..is it me, or does GAIM not send an IM over to the person at the other end, if your message contains this string:


www.scriptlance.com


i've noticed that quite a lot lately...because a friend and i are members there and everytime i send him a link to that site, he doesn't get the message. very strange...

"Bug" reproduced 10 out of 10 times with 10 different msn people. The msn network does block certain things so maybe it's not Gaim but MSN. Did you try it with other networks ?

[ipendragon99]

Mmmm...

Just to be sure...

The info will be placed in the discussion, there wont be any pop up screen warning you. But if you chat with someone and he goes away, or logs off, it will say so in the discussion window.

If you want more, well, you might want to suggest it to the team in case nobody suggested it.

:-k


thats what im looking for is that popup
because sometimes im waiting for someone because i need to talk to someone about somthing
and i dont know when they come on unless im always moving up and down on my messenger lists (i have a LOT of friends and i have to scroll all the time to see everyone T_T)

[Henry Rayker]

Ideally, I would use Miranda. I have used Miranda for a couple years now on a windows box and I just love it. It is like firefox, IMO, in that it starts out pretty bare and you add plugins to suit your needs. The main thing that I really like about it, though, is the ability to display only the buddy names along with an icon (for which client they're using). The rest of the window is completely transparent. If I could get this on Linux, along with just a couple other things, I would remove the windows xp install on my laptop all together. (and I just installed ubuntu two days ago).

[Koobi]

"Bug" reproduced 10 out of 10 times with 10 different msn people. The msn network does block certain things so maybe it's not Gaim but MSN. Did you try it with other networks ?


looks like it's an MSN protocol bug :/
because i tried the same thing on gtalk and it seemed to work.

[stanz]

When i do use an instant messanger- i want to see & talk, with the person.
I bought and have 'gear', with my pc, so I should be able to use it..!
I want some security with that, & with file transfer stuff also.
Leaving m$ cold turkey...Left me hanging & wanting~ until i learned 'how' to use
& set-up gaim, ayttm, etc...& dealing with webcam stuff, is hell for a newbie.
In this day and age...even if most don't use mic & cam...& 'vibes'... it should ALL be there~
...or as an easy to " get-install..plug-in".
We see some neat sh*t, a pc can do- on tv....the FOSS & GNU/Linux community , should be able to do any & ALL of that and more....easily..!
Reguardless of users "personnal prefs"....it's not a 'direction', it's an option.

[GarethMB]

Small footprint.
All of features available through msn messenger
Access to a range of networks.
No adds.

[AndyCooll]

I use Gaim. I'd really like it to have Webcam and voice support but apart from that I think it's an excellent IM app.

As for eye candy that would be fine too (as plugins), not because I particularly want any of it but simply because folks can install it if they choose. And "choice" is after all one of the biggest pluses of Linux!

:cool:

[NoTiG]

I use gaim on linux, yahoo on windows. Some things i miss when i use gaim are the ability to sign in as invisible... under yahoo...

When i change my status.. to away or available or whatever.... i do not see any kind of indicator showing that it is changed.

and also the ability to send messages to another user when they are offline... so that they get them when they come on... i am not sure how that works.. but works in yahoo under windows.

[RAV TUX]

I use GAIM on both Ubuntu Dapper Drake and Windows XPsp2, I have yet to find anything else as nice.









http://elevagemo.free.fr/emoticones/animaux/animo21.gif

[nalmeth]

AMSN

Gives me some of the extra feature's I can use (like webcam support, no voice yet though), and when not looking thru menu's (*vomiting*) look's quite nice. And skinnable!!

Only problem is that there are small GUI bug's, and like I said, the menu's and login dialogue are butt ugly.

[mrgnash]

I use Gaim 1.5... great program but the only thing it's lacking is an invisibility mode. Gaim 2.0 has invisibility, but you can't install that in Dapper without either a lot of screwing around, or removing Ubuntu-Desktop, which aint gonna happen.

[purdy hate machine]

I use gaim on linux, yahoo on windows. Some things i miss when i use gaim are the ability to sign in as invisible... under yahoo...

When i change my status.. to away or available or whatever.... i do not see any kind of indicator showing that it is changed.

and also the ability to send messages to another user when they are offline... so that they get them when they come on... i am not sure how that works.. but works in yahoo under windows.

You can do those things in Kopete.. if you don’t mind using a KDE app.

[RAV TUX]

I use Gaim 1.5... great program but the only thing it's lacking is an invisibility mode. Gaim 2.0 has invisibility, but you can't install that in Dapper without either a lot of screwing around, or removing Ubuntu-Desktop, which aint gonna happen.
just use automatix it's included, couldn't be any easier.

[yorick]

thats what im looking for is that popup
because sometimes im waiting for someone because i need to talk to someone about somthing
and i dont know when they come on unless im always moving up and down on my messenger lists (i have a LOT of friends and i have to scroll all the time to see everyone T_T)

You can see popups of buddies signing in and out in Gaim 2 with Buddy Pounces. Basically you define with them when you want to be alerted and how...

[yorick]

and also the ability to send messages to another user when they are offline... so that they get them when they come on... i am not sure how that works.. but works in yahoo under windows.

You can do this in Gaim 2. I'm not on Linux now and am not sure exactly where and how exactly it is called, but you have an option somewhere in the main menu window (I think it is called "Send offline message" or smth like that). You the have to type in the yahoo id of the person you want to send the offline message to.

OR

You could could enable from the menu the option "Show offline buddies" and then send them a message the usual way ;-)

[NESFreak]

dude why not ad a poll to this thread

(using mercury messenger)

[LatinDragonXJC]

I use Gaim like most of you, its easy to deal with, nice extras like being able to talk while maintaining your away status, setting your idle, and just the consolidation of messengers is nice.

Negative: I can't get file transfer to work on some accounts (AIM, yahoo..)

But what I wanna know, how did you guys get Yahoo webcam working on any of the messengers? I installed Kopete but cant find webcam support (for viewing). I really dont care much for sending video through webcam, just recieving.

[Johnsie]

I'm sorry if this offend people... I think Gaim is a piece of crap and has too few features. GAIM reminds me of early versions of ICQ and AIM and is pretty ugly.

I've been playing around with the bleeding edge version of Wengophone (Version 2BETA1)which has all the major IM networks and voice/video capabilities. It looks a lot nicer than gaim too. You can download their latest nightly build at http://wengofiles.wengo.fr/nightlybuilds/binary/NG/GNULinux/

Or check their website if you want a stable release version. I'm not sure that the release version has the major IM networks and I havent had any problems with any of the nightly builds though.

I found the people in #gaim (the gaim irc channel) quite rude.... that's the reason why I went on a search for better software and by the look of things Wengophone 2.x is heading that way.

(PLEASE NOTE.... THE VERSION OF WENGOPHONE IN THE UBUNTU REPOSITORIES IS 0.99 AND DOESN'T HAVE MAJOR NETWORKS)

[copey02]

I installed Gyach Improved and was playing around with Enhanced earlier and got my webcam working fine, except i can't broadcast it. as soon as i hit connect/broadcast i instally get an error saying broken pipe, ive been disconnected from the yahoo server or whatever. i tried changing the servers at log-in but same thing every time. has anyone been able to broad cast thier webcam?



i just tried it again now and i was able to broadcast without the error now except it installs freezes up and goes gray nad i have to force kill the webcam window.

[zugu]

I like Google talk. It's lightweight, fast and not bloated. Unfortunately, it is not (yet?!) ported to Linux.
GAIM and Trillian seem too bloated for my taste.

[rpaller]

I use GAIM when using Ubunutu and Adium on OS/X.

I am in the camp that would love to see a port of Adium. I used Trillian in Windows. It was OK. The only thing that I am still attached to about trillian are the silly emoticon set that is available with Trillian Pro. (Thanks for the Trillian-smileys GAIM theme!)

[ELD]

If gaim had slightly better msn support it would be great, is currently my defualt messenger though.

By this i mean be able to set your own display picture, and have proper msn name support (no more going to set friendly name).

I love google talk on windows, and i hope one day it gets ported to linux, you can use your google name in gaim, but it's not the same....

[Kimm]

[quote]
(1) By this i mean be able to set your own display picture, and have proper msn name support (no more going to set friendly name).

(2) I love google talk on windows, and i hope one day it gets ported to linux, you can use your google name in gaim, but it's not the same....
[quote]

1. You can set your display picture in Gaim. Accounts -> <account> -> Edit Account -> User Options -> Buddy Icon

2. You should try Tapioca. The latest version has full Google talk support (Voice :D)

^^

[ELD]

I have tried tapioca but it does not appeal to me.

[fuscia]

give me old school...

http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/6401/homeryell.jpg

[loell]

hi, for those who are using gyach enhanced, who can't broadcast thier webcam because Y! has changed their protocol coul try GYachI

GYachI for Dapper (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=190900)

:)

[frodon]

I mainly use IRC and my favorite IRC client is xchat, i was a little bit dispointed to see how useless is gnome-xchat however.
For the rest i use gaim and skype, but when amsn will have sound support i'll use it intead of gaim for msn.

[ChrisNTR]

I have tried aMSN but when I log in, it opens up convo windows for everyone who is off or online. So I never opened it up again.

Kopete I tried but it never showed me as online and never had any online contacts..but people could see me online and talk to me and I could talk back.

GAIM 2 is what I'm using now and I really like it. Webcam and Voice would be awesome as well as press the up should bring up the last message/s that you typed. Like in IRC. Useful when you send a message but it doesn't get through etc.

The ability to hide the client icon would be quite good and have the buddy icons on the left would be better.

[yorick]

I've just tried GyachI (thanks to Loell) but unfortunately I don't like the interface.

I'm used to Yahoo Messenger ana Gaim, which both have a window with contacts, and spawn new smaller windows for conversations. I like this sort of minimalistic look.

I GyachI however, everything is in just one very big window... And it doesn't have the option to hide offline contacts (at least I didn't find it), which is a must for me because I have many contacts and the list is huge when they are not hidden.

Otherwise, it's great. I really miss the Buzz!! in Gaim...

[purdy hate machine]

I've just tried GyachI (thanks to Loell) but unfortunately I don't like the interface.

I'm used to Yahoo Messenger ana Gaim, which both have a window with contacts, and spawn new smaller windows for conversations. I like this sort of minimalistic look.

That's intentional, Gyach is designed to be a chat client similar to Yahelite as opposed to an IM program such as AIM.

[benplaut]

i used to use gaim, but ran into alot of problems with seemingly random segfaults.

I now use kopete (no prefence on gtk/qt, i could care less), and it works fine.

i don't need much from an IM client

[WishMaster]

I started by using gaim.
Now I use primarly aMSN 0.96b and sometimes gaim.

Gaim *really* sucks. 1 year ago, they launched v1.5.
Since then, they have only released 3 beta's (which are all 3 the same). The v2.0 brings relativly nothing new to v1.5. They still don't have cam/voice support (although they said they would merge gaim-vv into gaim2.0). The 'google summer of code' from 2005 still isn't merged into gaim.
Etc....

aMSN has really improved (espacially with the Chameleon plugin). They have skins, webcam playback, sending and receiving custom emoticons, ...
(one of their) next version will have voice support.
aMSN actually has a forum where users can get help (or give help). Usersuggestions get merged into the cvs (svn now) version.

[neal_nak]

I use aMSN cuz of the webcam support :D so far it seem that it is the only OPenSource IM that supports Webcam.
On a negative note, aMSN can only be used with Hotmail or MSN account :(


You may want to look at Wengophone. It supports , VOIP, all the popular IM's like Yahoo and MSN, plus Webcams. Seems to just about do it all.

[dresnu]

I use kopete for msn and icq protocols. Webcam works alright and I can even send sms messages to my contacts. All in all I think kopete is great, especially if you use KDE.
I'm looking forward for the skype plugin to be stable enough.

[Christmas]

Under Linux I use currently Kopete and I use only Yahoo!. The ideal client for me? I think Yahoo! Messenger, the version under Windows was almost ideal. They have a UNIX version but it's far from beeing equal with the one under Win.

[H.E. Pennypacker]

I use Gaim since it's the best thing on Linux.
I'd want a pretty basic client all I want it to be is lightweight, have tabs, support HTML (esp in profiles since Trillian still don't do that) and send recieve files. It doesn't have to have much eye candy at all.

What if you could have tabs, each tab signed into a different network (MSN Messenger, Yahoo, AIM, etc.). That would be unbelievably cool!!! You could go from one contact list to another by selecting a different tab. That means you could sign in once to chat with all your contacts from multiple networks.

I really don't think this feature will be implemented any time soon, if ever.

[drfalkor]

To "nudge" other people in gaim, just type this in the chat window: /nudge .. and in aMSN, just download the plugin, and just press the nudge button.
-Happy nudge'ing:-\"

[Compucore]

I like Gaim because most of the people that I speak with use Yahoo IM. The only problem with it is that it's not web cam able for it. Which is a bummer since I have to swotch over to my windows machine in order to do that.It would be a nice feature to able to use gaim with my web cam and microphone that I have here. But that is just me. Some others might not agree with me on that though.

Compucore

[seshomaru samma]

I think MSN is the best. None of the applications i tried in linux even comes close. I know Gaim is lighter and open source and all but... I do care about the way it looks and I like to send those stupid flash things to my friends so....

[kpolice]

I use aMSN and kopete. aMSN because I need some features like custom emoticons, webcam, inkdraw, nudges, dp and is the only one I've found that support all of them.

I use kopete too and the most important feature I like is that I can customize the message window to get a nice look, just download some message windows styles from kde-look or even from adiumxtras (now it use the same format as adium x) .

In Windows I used miranda and msn.

For me the GUI and eye candy are important.

My ideal IM would be a mix between the features aMSN have, the customization provided by Miranda IM and/or Adium.

[GuitarHero]

I love trillian, oh how I wish I could use it in ubuntu. Gaim looks to much like aim which reminds me of the buggy ad-filled experiances ive had with aim and aol. Trillian looks so nice and its skinnable. Plus it tabs conversations. I dig it. Gaim, not so much. It's just a bit better than Kopete.

[odzx]

i use gaim and skype
what i really miss is the ability to send sms (outside the us) for free (like icq). i know it was possible before with kopete but for some reason it not any more.
i think skins could be helpfull to. its not very important but it can help finding what you want to find faster.
the ultimate would be a combination of skinable im that allows multiaccounts + free smsing + voip that actually lets you talk to people (not like ekiga that nobody i know seems to have)

[Sandman[cz]]

I use centericq. It's lite, full in textmode and has easy keyshortcuts. That's everything I need.

[ComplexNumber]

What if you could have tabs, each tab signed into a different network (MSN Messenger, Yahoo, AIM, etc.). That would be unbelievably cool!!! You could go from one contact list to another by selecting a different tab. That means you could sign in once to chat with all your contacts from multiple networks.

I really don't think this feature will be implemented any time soon, if ever.
kopete in KDE 4 will have tabs. i read it in a preview article of KDE 4 in Linux Format(pp 49 issue 88 ). they were mentioning whats necxt on the agenda for k3b, digikam, kopete, and kate.

[Anonii]

What IM client do you use? Why? What features does it have that encourage you to choose it over the alternatives?
What are its problems?
While the idea of skinnable apps (Winamp, etc.) seems to be mostly dead, the idea is still alive and kicking in Windows IM clients (Trillian, MSN, etc.). How important is visual appearance, both in terms of skins and eye candy, in general, in an IM program?
Are there any features that you think IM clients ought to have that are currently not available in Linux clients? What features would your ideal client have?

Gaim. Because it has a nice interface, its fast and does what I want. I use it only for MSN.
Actually, the only problem I have is the low-speed transfers, which afaik cant be fixed.
I want it to be simple, GTK-ish, and with a nice handy interface. Nothing more.
AFAIK, the "Show playing song" for MSN is not supported in Linux clients. And afaik, status titles (like in MSN messenger, where you can have 2 names.) are not supported, too.


Good luck with whatever you do!

EDIT: Just noticed that this thread is 9months old, and someone gravedug it. Nevermind :P

[ericesque]

perhaps it's just me, but /nudge doesn't seem to 'work for this protocol'

I tried it with several people-- some of which were also using gaim.

[RAV TUX]

I used to use GAIM...but lately I like Kopete better overall

(honestly they both are nice)

[charish2k1]

if I had to pick one it'd have to be Kopete... GAIM is too minimalistic for my tastes, to be honest. Sounds weird, but it has the webcam support and everything else that I used in Windows (and still do from time to time; dual-boot baby!). Only thing is, the last time I checked, it didn't support file transfers for the AIM protocol... if that gets fixed, I'll switch to Kopete entirely.... or if GAIM gets the webcam support beforehand, I'll switch to that.

So scratch that first bit... I'm pretty much split ><

[icechen1]

I use GAIM(But they called it Pidgin now) and aMSN for its webcam support.I use aMSN like MSN messenger and Pidgin for other IMs.
They will call GAIM:Pidgin in next version see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaim

[davtaine]

Kopete. Because It does what it's supposed to do, send and receive messages.

[LookTJ]

I use Gaim.


Simple to use
simple to use plugins
organized and tabs
I don't care about themes or smileys.

[karellen]

I use gaim almost exclusively (I've also tried kopete, but gave up). I think that for text instant messaging it is perfect. fast and lightweight. but I really appreciate yahoo mess in windows for all its features, besides a very nice interface. I wish I could view webcams in gaim or transfer large files withe ease as I can in yahoo mess. And I forgot photo sharing, which is also very important to me, as I like to show quickly to my friends a lot of pics. if these 3 features could/would be implemented in gaim it will be the ideal instant messenger for me :D

[awakatanka]

Need a IM that works on every OS and gives VOICE and WEBCAM on all the OS's it's installed. So i have voice/webcam on windows that works with a linux user.

This is the only future i'm missing.

[loell]

Need a IM that works on every OS and gives VOICE and WEBCAM on all the OS's it's installed. So i have voice/webcam on windows that works with a linux user.

This is the only future i'm missing.

Ekiga, its on ubuntu by default

http://ekiga.org/index.php?rub=5

and also availabe for windows

and openwengo too

[RAV TUX]

My roommate and I are both computer science majors, and we were talking, the other day, about instant messaging clients. I use Gaim, and at the moment, he's using Kopete, and we were talking about what we liked and disliked about each. Both have good things, but neither is perfect, and we got to talking about what our ideal IM client would look like. I don't think either of us have the time, or, for that matter, the technical ability, at this point, to be able to implement this hypothetical client, but I figured I'd ask the community at large for their opinions on the subject. So, a few questions:
What IM client do you use? Why? What features does it have that encourage you to choose it over the alternatives?
What are its problems?
While the idea of skinnable apps (Winamp, etc.) seems to be mostly dead, the idea is still alive and kicking in Windows IM clients (Trillian, MSN, etc.). How important is visual appearance, both in terms of skins and eye candy, in general, in an IM program?
Are there any features that you think IM clients ought to have that are currently not available in Linux clients? What features would your ideal client have?Again, this is mainly to satisfy my own curiosity, but if anyone has ideas to contribute, I'm very much interested.

AndrewI primarily use Kopete,....I wish Opera had a built in Instant message client

[awakatanka]

Ekiga, its on ubuntu by default

http://ekiga.org/index.php?rub=5

and also availabe for windows

and openwengo tooThanks will retry them again, had some bad experince with openwengo but maybe the problems are solved.

But still there is another problem, if i go to another country and go to an internetcafe it mostly only use MSN messenger and my wife athome is on linux, and we never could do a voice/webcam chat. Webcam is working in some IM on linux but its not stable it often just doesn't work.

[RAV TUX]

I haven't tried it and I don't know if it works in Linux?....I don't see why not, but you could try Meebo-a browser based instant message client.

http://wwwm.meebo.com/index-en.html

[RAV TUX]

I haven't tried it and I don't know if it works in Linux?....I don't see why not, but you could try Meebo-a browser based instant message client.

http://wwwm.meebo.com/index-en.html

Well meebo works great in Linux, it even has Jabber....I like meebo alot so far....give it a try...meebo works great in Firefox.

I will have to give it a try in Opera

[STREETURCHINE]

i just use gaim'it does what i want it to ,dont need all the fancy stuff

[loell]

Thanks will retry them again, had some bad experince with openwengo but maybe the problems are solved.

But still there is another problem, if i go to another country and go to an internetcafe it mostly only use MSN messenger and my wife athome is on linux, and we never could do a voice/webcam chat. Webcam is working in some IM on linux but its not stable it often just doesn't work.

i never had problems with AMSN displaying msn webcam, for msn voice, good news - rather good old news :)

use ekiga to do voice call to msn using gtalk2voip service

in ekiga: the convetion call should be like this


sip:user_at_domain.com@msn.gtalk2voip.com

in msn add this as buddy or contact
service@gtalk2voip.com.

eh viola. voice calling to msn is now possible

more info at http://www.gtalk2voip.com/msn_service_outcalls.shtml

[RAV TUX]

Well meebo works great in Linux, it even has Jabber....I like meebo alot so far....give it a try...meebo works great in Firefox.

I will have to give it a try in OperaThe cool thing about meebo is you can install meebo widgets on webpages, see it here:


http://cafelinux.org/forum/index.php/topic,305.msg1441.html#new

[LookTJ]

The cool thing about meebo is you can install meebo widgets on webpages, see it here:


http://cafelinux.org/forum/index.php/topic,305.msg1441.html#new
I have put a widget on myspace

it's awesome.

simple and easy to use.

[Ateo]

Skinning is way less important than having good features, usability, etc. I think skinning basicly gained massive popularity on windows because the themes were so boring, and basicly died when everyone got the ability to completely change their UI with themes that weren't just different variations of the old windows 95 look.

My ideal messenger would have voice and camera capabilities. That's pretty much it. I don't care about anything else since gaim basicly is everything I want except for those two things.

I feel the exact same way. Skinning is nice but my least important 'need' in any application.

I am a fan of both Gnome and KDE. However, I am a Pidgin user. I have used it since 1997, verion 0.48 was my first installation. Seeing it now, the only thing it needs, for me, is voice and video support. Once it has that, all other messengers should just give up. =P

[diskotek]

i use
gaim (simple & supports multi-protocol)
aMsn (just for webcam support - i don't the user-interface)
skype (you know, it's using wide, waiting for web-ca msupport for linux)
ekiga (i loved it but it's not functional because i don't have any friends using it)

if gaim would have web-cam support like aMsn i would love it much more. ekiga can also integrated with gaim as well...wow that would make a big GAIM. and it would be also nice if gaim have skype support. i'm wishing so many things?

[ivesjd]

I use Adium in OS X, I really like the newer autohide feature (like the dock).
And Ive used kopete, and gaim, but am trying to figure out what I want to use now.
I would like adium for linux... maybe I should look into that....

[awakatanka]

i never had problems with AMSN displaying msn webcam, for msn voice, good news - rather good old news :)

use ekiga to do voice call to msn using gtalk2voip service

in ekiga: the convetion call should be like this


sip:user_at_domain.com@msn.gtalk2voip.com

in msn add this as buddy or contact
service@gtalk2voip.com.

eh viola. voice calling to msn is now possible

more info at http://www.gtalk2voip.com/msn_service_outcalls.shtml

Thxs already using it on gizmo, but have troubles to get it working. On msn i only see that some has tryed to call but never get a call, and the otherway around doesn't work if i'm correct. If i'm abroad i call from a msn machine and that isn't possible. And you still need 2 prg's, i want one ;).

Does google messenger have Cam support already?

[CarpKing]

if gaim would have web-cam support like aMsn i would love it much more. ekiga can also integrated with gaim as well...wow that would make a big GAIM. and it would be also nice if gaim have skype support. i'm wishing so many things?

No, you aren't wishing too many things. It may take a long time and a lot of effort, but ideally all instant messenger-type functions should be integrated seamlessly together. There's a long way to go, though.

[Znupi]

Well, I'm a GAIM user, but because I haven't yet found something better. It's really annoying because: I can't receive files and I can't have an avatar (at least on Yahoo!). I tried pidgin, but it's even worse. At least GAIM has the Yahoo! emoticons.....

[loell]

Thxs already using it on gizmo, but have troubles to get it working. On msn i only see that some has tryed to call but never get a call, and the otherway around doesn't work if i'm correct. If i'm abroad i call from a msn machine and that isn't possible. And you still need 2 prg's, i want one ;).

Does google messenger have Cam support already?

oh well, you'll just gonna have to consiladate 2 apps for now ;) for instance amsn project has no interest on exploring sip voice atm, and if ever pidgin will start to support voice, i doubt sip voice for msn will be integrated that easily same thing with yahoo sip voice, you might ask , "why"?

because every now and then these proprietary IM can change thier complex sip voice protocol authentication in a :KS
twinkling of an eye. thus impairing the voice capabilities of these projects if ever.

that also happened to gtalk2voip service several months ago but they got around with it , a bit scary, ehhh :D

oh and no webcam yet for gtalk protocol.

edit...

it does work the other way around, just a cumbersome from the other users point.

in msn / wlm , they'll have to IM the gtalk2voipxxx contact,
and invoke the command


CALL sip:username@provider.com

[awakatanka]

Wengophone is the onlyone that supports both on different OS's. Will try to sneak that into some internetcafe's and will install it on every family and friends pc when i visit them. Will force them to use it ;)

[loell]

:lolflag: that's what i did too with my family, only gizmo though.

[sasanmaleki]

I often use Gaim, they have introduced very useful features like tabs in instant messaging but still lacks a lot of basic considerations. File transfer does not work properly(in Yahoo!), there is no webcam support originally, IMVironments and lots of other features that help to form a good Instant Messnger are still unavailable. However I have to mention that it really sucks to transfer files in Yahoo! Messenger anyway.

[justusthane]

I use Gaim on linux and windows, but my ideal client is probably adium. Linux port of adium, I'd be all over it.

I was just about to post this exact same thing when I saw this. Adium is amazing, if you could build a messenger for Linux with those same features, you'd be set.

[hanzomon4]

I was just about to post this exact same thing when I saw this. Adium is amazing, if you could build a messenger for Linux with those same features, you'd be set.

You just raised this old as dirt thread from the dead... shame on you.

But seriously Adium just uses libpurple... i.e pidgin. I think it's theming abilities set it apart. That may e due to Cocca on OSX... I'm not really sure

[Sef]

Locked. Old threads should remain buried.