the IM saga...

i've been IM'ing for over a decade. started out with BBSs, then IRC, went from there to ICQ (whatever happened to them?), then to Yahoo Messenger. i was a devoted Yahoo fan for years. i still use the original yahoo email address i signed up with back when Yahoo first "opened". over the years i have tried out many many other IM apps but none of them had really any chance of toppling Yahoo as the best, IMO.

the last few years have changed this. now there are so many decent IM apps out there, its hard to not try them out. as far as i'm concerned, Yahoo Messenger is still the best at what it does. But now there are so many apps that do what Yahoo Messenger does and MUCH more, that i have a hard time justifying my loyalty anymore lol

my favorite are the apps that combine the services of multiple IM services, as i have friends on various ones. i've tried out a few of the majors, Gaim, Miranda, MSN, Trillian and some others. they all perform as advertised but each one had minor flaws that didn't make them ideal for me. Trillian was the best of that bunch, but i don't really like the design of the program, and it wasn't as easy as it should have been to setup accounts, or make changes to them. i do recommend checking it out though.

my new direction has been in web based IM apps, of which meebo is the hands down favorite! that little app handles IMing for several services with ease and polish. so if you're looking for a web based app, i highly recommend meebo. also give ebuddy a look, they came in a strong second.

what i'm using currently is like a combination of all the above mentioned apps and a bit more. it's called Digsby. it has all the power of a stand alone IM app, plus all of the smoothness and seamless integration of a web app. it works with all of the major IM services, PLUS it can access/monitor your email! you can even send email right from the app without opening an email program (even yahoo/gmail). its also has a social aspect in that it can montitor your pages in Myspace and Facebook and others. no more running a bunch of different apps to keep up with things. just run Digsby. man if they ever add a feed reader, i'll never have to open my browser lol it also monitors Twitter..

so check it out www.digsby.com

sorry Yahoo :)