I have finally realized how much I use Instant Messaging. It is not a matter that I did not consider IM a viable means of communication, but rather the fact of how often I use it as a means of communication. Since switching jobs recently I have been able to consolidate my email, contact list, and useful files. The one thing that was left was IM. I use AIM, MSN, Yahoo, and Google Talk. It was when google talk was released that I realized how many programs I had to just do IM. I have all these IM accounts because of the diverse people I communicate with. Most of my friends are on MSN, and most a lot of business associates are on AIM and Yahoo.
To make all this easier for me and to consolidate and simplify (I seem to be doing this a lot lately) I moved to using Trillian Pro 3.1. I have used trillian before but that was the basic version. The pro version (cost me 25 bucks) and so far seems to be worth it. One of the major things I did not like about Trillian in the past was the interface. The pro version allows you to try different skins. I am using a minimal skin to let me get the most screen real estate. The reason I chose Trillian was that it was compatible with almost any IM protocol. One nice feature is the ability to use it as an RSS reader. I am still playing with all the settings but it is nice to get a full view of all IM people online and also a quick look at your Email for each IM account.
So in closing, I give it 4 our of 5 stars.