So you sit down at your computer and tell yourself that you're going to buckle down and finish that paper. Or maybe you just need to send a quick e-mail and then you're off. But wait! Who's online? Did someone IM you? Let's face it: we can't stay away from instant messenger programs.
By far the most popular such service for college students is America Online's Instant Messenger, or AIM as it's more affectionately known. It gives us an easy-to-read list of "buddies" that are online, has easy-to-use personal message windows, and even has a chat feature for multi-person conversations. What more could students ask for?
Well, for one, I like a bit less clutter. AIM's buddy list now comes with a fantastic array of junk including ads and a stock ticker. Plus, who wants to deal with the mess that takes over the taskbar when you talk to more than a couple of friends? Fortunately, there are a few programs that can take care of these and other inconveniences within AIM.
I personally prefer a program called DeadAIM. (Get it? DeadAIM?!) My favorite feature is the tabbed IMs. One window contains a multitude of conversations that are all accessible in a manner similar to FireFox's tabbed browsing. Also, it gives you options about how the buddy list is displayed. Another great aspect of DeadAIM is the option to log all of your conversations. My suitemate thinks that this is a bit shady, but I find myself looking up directions to a party or other such information that would have been lost otherwise when I closed the conversation. Sadly, though, newer versions of DeadAIM aren't available for free, unlike older ones.
Another option that I'm partial to is Gaim. (Wow, these guys love their puns.) Gaim is an open source project, which Bill noted last week as meaning "free" to the average consumer. Furthermore, it provides a build for Linux, unlike DeadAIM. In addition to the features that DeadAIM provides, Gaim also allows users to give their buddies aliases. That is, instead of seeing your pals' screennames in the buddy list or IMs, you can have it display their names.
I have also tried out two other programs called Trillian and AiMutation. Trillian client has all the functionality of Gaim and then some. Users can pick their own skins (styles) to be displayed. Trillian also allows people to simultaneously log onto accounts on other protocols (like MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, etc.). AiMutation is one of the most customizable programs I have ever seen. Sadly, though, I find these programs too user unfriendly to recommend. Some of it is counterintuitive and some is just outright useless.
For those of you out there rockin' a Mac, my roommate swears by Adium. He says it is "highly customizable, and yet retains intuitiveness." That is, it lets users make as many choices as they want, but doesn't make it as confusing as other programs. It also logs conversations, but makes it immediately accessible per buddy.
Now that you've got some options the choice of what instant messenger client to use is yours. I personally stick to an old (read: "free") version of DeadAIM, but that's just me, and I hate change. I recommend trying out a few to see which one works best. Good luck with that paper.
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