Trillian - Universal Instant Messenger

I’m getting into Instant Messaging (IM) as a means of collaboration with other appraisers on beta-testing and technology issues. We needed a way to share comments “real time”. IM seemed to be the ticket. However, It became immediately apparent many of us did not share the same IM server. What now? My "Web Mistress" Brooke Mitchell http://www.Cataluna.com tried to get me into IM and blogging a couple of years ago and I just didn't "get it". I’m now beginning to see the collaboration possibilities. When I told Brooke that I was going to give IM a try, she immediately suggested that I consider using Trillian™. I said, “Trillian? What's THAT?” Brooke explained that Trillian, developed by Cerulean Studios, is an application that consolidates in a single interface IM, contacts from a variety of IM services, such as America Online's AIM, Yahoo's Yahoo Messenger, and Microsoft's MSN Messenger. Sort of a "Universal Instant Messenger". Because most IM services don't interoperate with each other, it's necessary to log on separately to each IM network to communicate with its members. While Trillian™ doesn’t solve the interoperability problem, it does prevent users from having to keep an IM buddy-list interface open for each network. I’m now using the free Trillian™ Basic 3.1 version. There’s a Pro version ($25.00) but it seems that only adds a video capability and I’m not ready for that. I like the fact that it keeps things simple for me and it comes pre-loaded with tons of those little emoticons and emotisounds for jazzing up the conversation. From the Trillian™ web site:

“Trillian™ is a fully featured, stand-alone, skinnable chat client that supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, and IRC. It provides capabilities not possible with original network clients, while supporting standard features such as audio chat, file transfers, group chats, chat rooms, buddy icons, multiple simultaneous connections to the same network, server-side contact importing, typing notification, direct connection (AIM), proxy support, encrypted messaging (AIM/ICQ), SMS support, and privacy settings.” “Without stealing your home page and with no other included software, pop-ups, or spyware, Trillian provides unique functionality such as contact message history, a powerful skinning language, tabbed messaging, global status changes (set all networks away at once), Instant Lookup (automatic Wikipedia integration), contact alerts, an advanced automation system to trigger events based on anything happening in the client, docking, hundreds of emoticons, emotisounds, shell extensions for file transfers, and systray notifications.”

For a review of Trillian click here.