Gaim is a multi-protocol instant messaging client for Linux, BSD, MacOS X, and Windows. It is compatible with AIM (Oscar and TOC protocols), ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo, IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, and Zephyr networks.

There are a lot of instant messenging programs out there. They all have their share of problems, and this one is no exception. However, it's still the best I've found. Among the multi-protocol supporting clients I've tried are Trillian and Miranda IM.
I don't like Trillian because all of the skins look silly to me. The ones designed to mimic Windows' style don't fit in if you've even slightly customized your windows appearance (as I have). If Trillian looked like a native Windows program, I think I'd be much more open to it. But it doesn't so that's that. As far as other features go, Trillian is pretty good, it supports just about everyting the official AIM supports.
Miranda IM is pretty much the opposite of Trillian. It acts and looks like a Windows program and it's design is appropriately customizable. However, it's missing a lot of AIM features. Basically, it's good for one-on-one text conversation, and that's it. Images, file transfers, chats, buddy icons, and various other features are either completely missing or don't function correctly.

And now we come to Gaim. It supports all the features AIM supports, and can mimic your windows appearance. It's almost perfect. It doesn't 100% act like a Windows program. It uses a front-end that has been ported from Linux.. and you can tell it's not a native Windows program. Things are almost right, but not quite. Anyway, this is easily the best instant messenger for me. The features I like are the ability to hide offline buddies, making the contact list translucent, tabbed messaging (see picture to the right where I'm talking to myself and two others), and giving your buddies custom screen names.

Even though I only talk on AIM, I still prefer to use Gaim over the official AIM program. It has a much more simple interface and more useful features. Check it out.

(to download the windows version go here)

Screenshots: (buddy names have been blurred to protect the innocent :P)

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