A while back we found out that Gaim had been having some problems with AIM (read legal threats). Because of this they chose to change the name of the project to Pidgin. The transition from Gaim to Pidgin didn’t just mean that the name changed, but also a graphical update in many ways; new icons and a new mascot. Those of you who are new to Gaim/Pidgin have really missed out on something, Pidgin is namely an Instant Messaging client with support for a vast amount of protocols (AIM, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Groupwise, ICQ, IRC, MSN, QQ, SILC, SIMPLE, Sametime, XMPP, Yahoo!, Zephyr). Pidgin is also based on a form of plugin system that let you extend the program with even more functions.
Pidgin is written for Linux primarily, but works just as well under Windows. Pidgin also brings functions that aren’t available with other clients, for example very good spellchecking feature. There are two big drawbacks though, and those are the lack of video and audio chats. Pidgin/Gaim has grown through the years and become more than just an open source alternative for the commercial multiprotocol clients, offering even more than some of its more expensive competitors.
The configuration possibilities are many and varied which makes it a client that suits many individuals with different interests and preferences. The new version also comes with updated emoticons and sounds, through the help of professional musicians and artists.
The developers chose to perform a major change of the contact list just before the final version was launched as you now have icons indicating the status of the contact instead of what protocol he or she is using. Pidgin can also use themes to change its appearance for those who feel that the regular isn’t flashy enough. Pidgin 2.0 can be downloaded from Pidgin.im (10.9MB Win, 5.8MB RPM)
