I’ve made many lists over the last couple of years. I think it’s time to update one of the oldest ones.

Below I am going to list, in order, the chat clients I prefer with a short description/review (maybe). This is again an update of a previous write up I did on Multi Protocol Chat Clients. There are some new players this time. There are also some new features that you need to know about as well. I probably won’t list features for Yahoo or AIM or even MSN since these are so feature rich that that alone is why some people look for other, more lighter chat clients that don’t hog your memory. I also won’t list the most common features like file transfer, voice, logging, group, tabbed, etc. These are becoming common-place now in all clients.

1. Adium and/or iChat for the Mac, hands down. Audium is of course free and supports many many services that it’s ridiculous. I prefer Adium over iChat just because of this and the fact that iChat isn’t a free app (though it is included with recent versions of OS X).

When on Windows or Linux (Ubuntu)
2a. Digsby: On top of being a multi-protocol client, Digsby has become your first client to wrap your social networks and email into one client. That’s right. I’ve talked a little about this before. Now, I haven’t fully configured Digsby with all my ‘things’ so I can’t give a full review yet…but you can look for a full blown review once I get it up and running completely. I’ll tell you this though…I can’t wait to see how it actually handles everything.

2b. Pidgin (formerly known as Gaim): I absolutely love how light and fast Pidgin is. I loved it when it was called Gaim. It supports all major clients (AIM, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, Groupwise, ICQ, IRC, MSN, MySpaceIM, QQ, SILC, SIMPLE, Sametime, XMPP, Yahoo!, Zephyr). As you will notice this is 2b of a list that I prefer in order. I use Pidgin exclusively at home. I don’t have any other chat clients installed on my primary home Laptop. I’ll soon have maybe Digsby because of all it can support, but hands down this client takes the cake (on Windows: see #1 above).

2c. Miranda: I use Miranda at work. Miranda is also a very small and light weight chat client that supports most (if not all) the same protocols that the above clients do. I use this one at work because it very well might be the lightest, meaning it’s not battling with Visual Studio, SQL Server Management Studio, Aptana, Outlook, and many other apps I have open on a daily basis. This one is also the most feature rich through Addons. There is huge support for this chat client.

It’s really a toss up between Pidgin and Miranda…hence the three way tie.

3. GTalk: Ah man, who doesn’t like GTalk? I can chat stand alone or inside my Browser while reading email or surfing the internet. There’s even a new gadget that similar to the ‘popout’ when in Gmail where all you see in a mini browser is your list of friends. I’ve always liked Gtalk…but it just doesn’t support enough services yet. One thing I want you to know is that integration is doable…but I don’t want to go in and hack up gtalk myself. This is one of those things that I want out of the box and ready from minute one after install.

4. Meebo: well, Meebo is just cool because it’s a web based multi protocol chat client. You run it in your web browser. Right now it only supports the 4 majors (Yahoo!, AIM, GTalk, MSN) and their own network. This has tons of potential. I keep an eye on it from time to time to see how things are going. Though, I’ve only used it once.

5. Instantbird: I don’t have this one yet either, but it’s on my list to try and review. But from what I have read this is an up and comer too. This one is built off the Mozilla technology and based on Pidgin. You know from above how I feel about Pidgin. It’s a little behind on it’s support (IM, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, ICQ, IRC, MSN, QQ, XMPP, Yahoo!) but it’s getting there. It’s also cross platform! That’s always a plus because I will at various times run on anyof the three majors (Mac, Windows, Linux).

Yahoo!: Messenger now supports Windows Live Messenger too…making this really a Dual Protocol instead of a Multi Protocol. They add feature after feature that you can read about on their site, though I do use it on occasion, I don’t use it as much since I can’t see all of my chats in one client. One feature I do want you to know about is that Yahoo has now integrated this chat into their web based email if you allow them to upgrade your email to the New Version. It’s nice…but always crashed my browsers so I went back to the Yahoo! Email Classic so I don’t use this anyway. Just wanted you to know about it.

Windows Live (formerly known as MSN): As with Yahoo! this client has brought the two together so that you can chat with both your MSN/Live and Yahoo friends/buddies in one client. Still not enough to swing me to a Dual Protocol Client. I Do use this at some times while I am at work. We are mostly a Microsoft shop, so I need to take advantage of some of the features that others in the office use. But, these features are being addressed in some of the above clients like Miranda and Pidgin.

AIM: I’ll just come out and say it…I only use this singled out for the games. I don’t have very many AIM buddies, but when I get bored…I get on here and challenge some people. That’s it.

Never. Trillian: I am not going to review Trillian as I’ve decided that with so many other better clients out there (free) that I will never again try to justify Trillian. It’s good, but heavy. You even have to purchase a version that supports certain protocols that are free in all of the above. I don’t recommend Trillian at all.

In the end, it really just depends on you, the end user, and what you really want out of a chat client. I like to see all of them in one window, where I can chat anyone up, send them a file, go into a group chat, but also want to stay light and feature free (available by plugin if I want them). And with Digsby as described above, I can even get my email and social networks plugged in. That’s Awesome!

Let me know what you think and what you use. What you like about it and dislike. I’d like to see a long discussion over this in the comments!!!