Looking for the perfect IM client? Sorry, it doesn’t exist. Well, I don’t know. Maybe Adium is perfect, but it’s for OS X, so I’ll probably never know. In the meantime, here’s what my search has revealed (without value declaration or filtering). I’m specifically trying to measure things up to Meebo, and the MeeboMe widget, so I’ll start the list with that.
Meebo (& MeeboMe): I like the support for all the major IM services (including gtalk / jabber, which many others often ignore). However, I do wish that there was a downloadable client (all browser all the time sucks). The MeeboMe widget isn’t as customizable as I would like (particularly in colors / transparency). Some safety concerns, though you can make it more secure by using https:// if you want.
www.meebo.com
Wablet (in Alpha): Sign up to test it. Strange caller id feature, but the tech mags seem to like it so far. I’ve not yet received my invite to test it, so who knows.
www.wablet.com
Plugoo: Supports all the right clients, but you have to pick one of them. Also, you can only chat with one person at a time. Lame.
www.plugoo.com
GAIM / Pidgin: As of April 2007, GAIM is now Pidgin. Pidgin runs on a boatload of OSes, supports a metric boatload of IM services, and overall seems very cool indeed. Sadly, there is no widget support. Apparently, Pidgin is the Adium of Windows (or vice versa). Maybe they’ll develop some fun widgets, eventually.
pidgin.im/pidgin/home
Miranda: Miranda touts itself as the “smaller, faster, easier” IM client. Personally, I hate it. I guess maybe it’s just not for me (e.g. it’s for developers and skinners and the like), but I find it to be the most unintuitive and clumsy program of the bunch. If you want, you can get an Adium X skin for Miranda (http://aqua-soft.org/board/showthread.php?t=30032). Maybe that would help.
www.miranda-im.org
Trillian: I like Trillian, but it doesn’t support GoogleTalk, so it’s a bust. I’m firmly convinced that everyone worth chatting to must have a gmail account by now. Right? Right!? Also, no online widgets. Trillian is working on a very, very, very feature-rich new version though, called Trillian Astra. If memory serves, it’ll do everything for you except make you coffee in the morning (and still may not include an online widget). Whether or not the features are actually worth the cost of developing, I guess only time will tell.
www.ceruleanstudios.com/learn
Gabbly: This incredibly odd little app allows you to discuss any website with anyone else that wants to discuss that website. Simply put gabbly.com/ before any url (e.g. gabbly.com/ahniwa.com/blog) and you’ll see the website with an included gabbly chat box. You can chat with anyone else who did the same thing. Technically, this is more a chatroom than an IM, but it’s kind of neat. Someone noted in my web perusal that you could use Gabbly in an online learning environment by pushing Gabbly links out to a group of people, thereby jumping with an entire class (for instance) from page to page.
gabbly.com
eBuddy: Supports AIM, MSN, and Yahoo. So no GoogleTalk / Jabber, which is annoying. Also seems fairly commercial (i.e. there are a lot of adverts on the website). Sorry, that’s all I got. Doesn’t appeal to me.
www.ebuddy.com
IMHaha: Very similar to Meebo, except drop GoogleTalk / Jabber and add QQ instead. Claims to use https:// so that you can IM securely. I don’t see any mention of a widget, and the lack of GTalk is a dealbreaker for me, again.
www.imhaha.com
ILoveIM: Allows web-based access to any one service: MSN, AIM, Yahoo, GTalk. That’s it.
www.iloveim.com
KoolIM: Meh, same sort of deal. Supports the same four as ILoveIM, plus ICQ. They claim they’ll add SMS support “soon”, which would be neat, but looking at their set-up, I somehow doubt that it’s really gonna happen.
www.koolim.com
Chatango: Chatango is all widgety, which is nice, but only supports it’s own service. Which means, in the end, people can only chat with you through the widget. The library at Oregon State University is using it, and I was impressed with how nice it looked (and subsequently disappointed that it didn’t support any third-party services).
chatango.com
Snimmer & Interaction: Both along the same lines as Chatango, in that they’re web-based. Snimmer uses one of your choice of messenging services, whereas Interaction uses its own service exclusively.
www.interactionchat.com
www.snimmer.com
As far as embedded chat goes, MeeboMe appears the clear winner, despite its imperfections. Chatango and Plugoo are the runners-up. As for non-embedded chat, at least you’ve got choices! Unless you’re on OS X, and then your life is blessedly simple. Still, for windows, I’d recommend Pidgin. Trillian gets the silver.
As far as embedded chat in libraries, LibSuccess has a nice list of who is using what.
At some point I’ll try and clean this up a bit, add better links, and rate things in more detail (just in case people find it useful).