I recently got rid of the multiple IM clients for windows and the mac and started using those über clients which handle all the common protocols (MSN, Yahoo!, AIM, Jabber, etc.). Couldn’t handle all the multiple windows opening at the same time—just plain annoying.

For Mac OS X, I am using Adium, it’s based on the gaimLib (see below). While it’s default dock icon and system sounds leave much to be desired, it is infinitely skinnable throug it’s extras site. I used to use Fire.app back in the days of yore, but it seems to have lost it’s steam. There is also Proteus, now free (as in beer and freedom), but last I checked, it ran horribly slow on betsy (my iBook G3 600MHz—going on 6 years).

For my Windows XP PC at work, I’v started using Gaim. Gaim is the grand-daddy of the multi-protocol IM clients. Many plug-ins exist; moreover, it works with SimpLite. Its visual design lacks the oomph of say Trillian, but it is good enough and free.

SimpLite is a free encryption program that allows for seemless Public-Key Encryption over the IM clients. There are versions for Windows and Unix available. SimpLite is their free, single protocol trial version. SimpPro will encrypt all IM traffic. It’s quite nice and well worth the money.

Definitely worth checking out if you are tired of opening 4 to 5 separate IM applications at a time. For those windows users out there, get rid of all those system tray icons and download Gaim.

Tai